The Power of the Adolescent Brain: Strategies for Teaching Middle and High School Students

This book took me down a rabbit hole that I didn’t know existed. It is rich with information, supported by science that is very enlightening as to how the adolescent brain works. I 100% recommended for anyone working with kids, and also parents. You will not be disappointed.

There's a lot of information out there about brain function and adolescent brain development. And for sure adults who work with teens need to have the facts or they won't know how to help these young people prepare for life. The problem for writers who take on this material is to 1) Get it right, no misunderstandings, and 2) Explain it so that the target audience gets a clear idea of what's going on. The challenge is to avoid offering too much or too technical information. I've read well over a dozen books that have attempted this, and Dr. Armstrong's treatment is by far the best of the lot.Furthermore, he gives several dozen detailed, nicely organized suggestions for educators to have a positive impact on brain development of middle school and high school students. Because they CAN have this impact; they're in a position to do so, if only they know what to do. It's important because the outcome at the end of adolescence - the rest of adult life - is not fore-ordained. Not every kid will do the work that exercises the PFC repeatedly to wire his or her brain with many foundation critical/executive thinking skills. Some will do a lot of work and will end up with talented minds. Others will struggle in the world because the foundation is weak.This book can help an educator understand what's going on invisibly, silently and relentlessly in the brains of their students, the high stakes, and what they can do that will make a difference. BEST CASE SCENARIO - every middle school and high school teacher learns about this book, reads it and uses it to improve the way they teach.

An extremely valuable and informative book on recent discoveries about the adolescent brain that transform our understanding of how students between ages 11-18 need to learn in order to be successful in their schoolwork and function optimally in a complex world. In addition to providing facts, concepts, and skills related to their particular subject areas secondary school teachers are advised to help students develop the capacity to think critically, evaluate and control learning processes, monitor emotional responses and develop self-regulation strategies.The book is a catching and enjoyable lecture, written in clear and concise language and referring to a wide-ranging knowledge from the studies of scholars like Eliade and van Gennep on ancient rites of passages of indigenous cultures to brand new neuroscience findings about how the adolescent brain works. At the same time the tone of the author, Thomas Armstrong, is notably respectful and encouraging towards students and teachers.Kristín Unnsteinsdóttir, PhD

This book was absolutely amazing! It reminded me of how important it is for adolescents to love what they're doing and to enjoy education. Unfortunately in many schools education has become a chore or something that students dread experiencing and it should not be that way. I love the way that this book merges scientific research, data and personal opinions to help push the point that we have a responsibility as parents parents and educators to prepare adolescents for adulthood.

I really like that this book isn't too technical but gives lots of researched information. There are lots of ideas for reaching adolescents. Most of the information is for high school and possibly 8th grade, in my opinion. Worth the read because it's a quick one and easy to understand.

This title accurately describes what the book is about. After talking about the details of the teen brain and risks associated with adolescents, the author does a good job giving teachers strategies for teaching teens. Examples: "Ten Ways to Give Students Choices Over Their Own Learning", "Five Ways to Promote Self-Awareness", "Seven Ways to Foster Peer Interaction", and "Six Ways to Encourage Affective Learning". Some of his "Brian Hostile" Activities are beyond my control as an educator..."Ban on social apps in classroom", Early Start to the Day", "Zero-Tolerance Discipline Policy", "Locking students Into a Set of College Prep Courses". I don't agree with every single thing in the book, such as believing in the Theory of Evolution. Also, most of his examples/suggestions deal with reading/history and not math, which is what I teach.

This book is SO good. We are using it as a book study and all of us have started working on ways we will implement the ideas in this book into the next school year, or change our planning in order to work with the adolescent brain

As an educator for over forty years and a parent, it is a pleasure to read yet another one of Thomas Armstrong's books. He has an insightful understanding of middle and high school students. This book combines scientific knowledge about the adolescent brain with practical 'takeaways'and strategies to help students inside and outside the classroom. I highly recommend this book.

Read this for a literature review, and it has provided me with a whole new perspective on adolescence! As an adolescent myself thinking about my future, I hope to keep some of of the mentioned tips in mind. I purchased the kindle version, great for highlighting and making notes!

I'd like to have an international translation which would include more internationally transferrable curriculum which was not limited to the US learning system.