In this video, I explore six key findings from recent research into how the adolescent brain functions and develops over time.  To further explore these issues, see my book The Power of the Adolescent Brain: Strategies for Teaching Middle and High School Students.   Below is the transcript of the video: Hi, I’m Dr. Thomas...Read More

I’m starting a new video series based upon my book The Power of the Adolescent Brain: Strategies for Teaching Middle and High School Students (ASCD).  This is the first video, entitled ”The Passion and Promise of the Teenage Years.”  For those of you who prefer to read a transcript rather than watch the video, I’ve...Read More

A new study from the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that a adolescents will eat healthy foods if they believe they are ”sticking it to the man.”  When given accurate information, for example, about how the food industry engineers junk food to make it addicting and engages in deceptive marketing practices aimed...Read More

Erik Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development model represents probably the most well-known and highly regarded map of the human life cycle in contemporary western culture.  This theory was first articulated in 1950 in chapter seven (“The Eight Ages of Man”) of his book Childhood and Society, and further developed in later books and articles. Erikson...Read More

A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates a big increase in the percentage of teenage suicides from 2003 to 2004.   For all young people between the ages of 10 and 24, the suicide rate rose 8 percent.  This is the biggest single year increase in fifteen years.  The largest increase was in...Read More