Enhancing teacher efficacy: research and implementation of brain-based pedagogy for educators of adolescent learners

Abstract

Adolescence is a time characterized by immense physical, emotional, and social changes (Blakemore, 2018; Siegel, 2011). It is a period in which there are significant differences in neural structures, directly affecting the way adolescents learn and respond to traditional instructional strategies (Blakemore, 2018; Siegel, 2013). Contrary to popular opinion, the adolescent brain is not a dysfunctional adult brain: it is quite literally wired differently, with a unique structure and function, necessary for adaptation to specific environmental contexts and geared for social survival (Blakemore, 2018; Cozolino, 2013). The adolescent brain is sensation seeking, risk taking, and reward driven; it is sensitive to social threat and dominance hierarchies, self-consciousness, and alert to social risk appraisal, and it is hyper-responsive to social influence such as status and respect (Cozolino, 2013; Yeager, Dahl & Dweck, 2017). It is a brain uniquely situated to challenge social norms, question purpose, and seek meaning and connection. The project, a web-based repository of resources, provides essential knowledge and practical resources for all educators who work directly and indirectly with adolescents. It explains how the adolescent brain is wired differently, how teachers can use this knowledge in instructional design, and why adolescence is considered a "second window of opportunity" in neural development (Dahl et al., 2017).