Professional Learning for Busy Educators

In the last decade, rates of anxiety-related disorders in teenagers have steadily risen, particularly in girls. Researchers and psychologists posit several hypotheses about why these rates are on the rise -- from digital hyperconnectivity to heightened external pressures to simply a greater awareness, and therefore diagnosis, of mental health concerns.

Whatever the causes, Dr. Lisa Damour has hopeful news for parents and teens: first, some degree of stress and anxiety is not only normal but essential for human growth. And if those levels become untenable, there are tested strategies for reining anxiety back in.

For years, common experience and studies have prescribed that humans learn best in their earliest years of life – when the brain is developing at its fastest. Recently, though, research has suggested that the period of optimal learning extends well into adolescence.

The flurry of new findings may force a total rethinking of how educators and parents nurture this vulnerable age group, turning moments of frustration into previously unseen opportunities for learning and academic excitement.

New evidence shows that the window for formative brain development continues into the onset of puberty, between ages 9 and 13, and likely through the teenage years, according to Ronald Dahl, professor of community health and human development at the University of California, Berkeley. Dahl spoke at a recent Education Writers Association seminar on motivation and engagement.

From filing taxes to acing a job interview, an Ontario high school student has set out to teach his peers important life skills they don’t learn in a classroom.

Austin Chan developed an online curriculum called “What You Didn’t Learn in School” (WYDLIS). It covers a broad range of topics to help students become successful adults after polling his fellow classmates about what they felt they were missing in their education in an online survey.

The Grade 10 student at Markville High School included the results of his poll into five different subjects: professional development, self-growth, lifestyle, money, and social skills.