Last week I did a podcast with author and speaker Ed Gerety, CSP, on the subject of Tapping the Power of the Adolescent Brain.  Some of the take-aways from the interview include: “What were they thinking?” A lot of things are going on in the teenage brain that were not going on 2-3-4 years ago....Read More

There’s an age-old concept in the field of education called ”the teachable moment.” This is when an event happens unexpectedly that provides an opportunity for students to learn something new.  So, for example, if a great statesman died, this might be the chance to learn something about his life, or to examine the traits of...Read More

If you close your eyes and visualize a typical high school classroom, chances are you’ll be imagining a class where students are sitting at desks listening to a teacher lecture or working on written assignments.  Now we’re learning that this scenario may increase the risk of depression in adolescents.  A new study in the journal...Read More

I have a new article on the site MiddleWeb, which focuses on the importance of understanding recent brain research and how it can inform the creation of ”brain friendly” practices for young adolescents.  I was a junior high school teacher, a professor of courses in childhood and adolescent development, and a consultant to middle schools,...Read More

A study that appeared in the November, 2016 issue of Pediatrics (the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics), revealed that the rates for depression in adolescents have increased over the past several years, from 8.7% in 2004 to 11.3% in 2014, a 37% increase.  The increase has especially hit girls, where the incidence of major...Read More