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EdSurge
Why Research Says Adolescence Is the Right Time to Focus on Social Action
By Megan Vroman
Mar 5, 2020
Middle school often gets a bad rap. It’s a time when students begin
questioning rules and the world around them, becoming increasingly
focused on fairness, equity and forming closer, yet fewer relationships.
In the classroom, this might play out as a student getting upset when a
teacher tells her to stop chewing gum despite a classmate chewing gum
beside her. Or it might emerge through the development of cliques and
increased drama among friendships. Middle schoolers are frequently
described as defiant, rebellious or melodramatic—and these
characteristics often challenge educators.
There’s a scientific explanation for all of this.
It is common knowledge that the body goes through significant physical
changes during adolescence, but it is less recognized that the brain is
also developing and changing significantly. In his book, “Age of
Opportunity,” Dr. Laurence Steinberg, professor of psychology and
expert on adolescents, says that the brain during early adolescence is
like driving a car with a sensitive gas pedal and bad brakes. I see
this often in my students, a brash reaction with little thought or
evidence of self-regulation, and Steinberg’s analogy always helps me
reframe my reaction.
The brain is highly malleable during adolescence, meaning it is
especially sensitive to experience—both toxic and positive. During this
time, the brain is undergoing a process called synaptic pruning, where
it is deleting unnecessary and unused synapses, so the experiences a
student goes through during this age range is literally impacting the
structure and composition of the brain. It’s a critical window of time
when regions of the brain are evolving.
This malleability during adolescence is similar to the developmental
period from birth to 3-years-old, and the impact of experience during
these stages is likely to have enduring effects. That can be concerning
because extended exposure to toxic environments, for example, can lead
to prolonged challenges in life, such as depression, substance abuse
and aggression. But there’s also reason to be optimistic. Emotions are
more intense and developmentally, students are building their identity.
As a result, adolescents create deeper relationships, so it is a time
of opportunity to build strong relationships, connections and
experiences that put students on a path towards success in college and
career.
Unfortunately, the challenges of early adolescence are often
misunderstood, which too frequently results in negative experiences for
educators, families and students. But what if we understood the
neurological reasons behind the bizarre middle school behavior we often
see? Would our response as educators change? Would we be able to
leverage their identity development and the fact that they’re more
attuned to issues of equity and justice during this age range as an
opportunity to help students develop a strong set of values?
Developing a better understanding of how the brain works—especially
during the middle school years—has helped me normalize my students’
experience and prepare thoughtful strategies to support them when
opportunities arise. About two years ago, I started wondering if
helping other educators learn more about the adolescent brain could
result in a totally different experience for middle school students and
educators. So, after a decade as a teacher and administrator, when I
was presented with an opportunity to start a new middle school, I
seized it.
With a founding team of teachers and school leaders, I began
programmatic planning for Ida B. Wells Middle School. As I created a
vision, I reflected on my experience in schools and what I’d learned
about adolescent development. I considered how the same brain research
that indicates the middle school years are a time of identity formation
also makes this developmental stage ideal for service learning.
Students are eager to address inequities and their tendency to move
towards action can be harnessed to make positive social change.
Providing students the opportunity to engage in service learning helps
them envision themselves as service-oriented leaders and advocates.
That’s why I designed a model that leverages research about the
adolescent brain to create a culture of social action and service
learning. During the planning phase, the staff read excerpts from Dr.
Steinberg’s book, which shares some of the challenges that adolescence
brings, including an increase in mental health needs, aggressive
behavior and in some cases, low achievement. We also discussed
strategies from “Middle School Matters," a book by Phyllis Fagell,
school counselor and author who focuses on adolescence, which echoed
that adolescent students are more attuned to equity and justice issues
and that during this age range, they solidify values they will hold for
life.
Our school opened its doors in August 2019 to 180 sixth grade students,
30 students above expected enrollment. The school will grow to include
grades six through eight over the next two years, serving as a
traditional neighborhood school.
Along with nine other D.C. public schools, Ida B. Wells Middle School
is a social action enrichment school, meaning we utilize the Schoolwide
Enrichment Model (SEM) to develop individual talents and interests and
we guide students to find connections between these interests and
social justice needs. SEM was developed by Dr. Joseph Renzulli out of
the University of Connecticut as a more inclusive alternative to gifted
and talented education. Our SEM coordinator works to design
interest-based workshops for students and supports our staff with
developing enrichment clusters for students.
Considering Dr. Steinberg’s finding that the brain is likely to hold
onto experiences and adapt to environments during this developmental
stage more than other stages of adulthood or youth, and Fagell’s
findings about the importance of fostering kindness and empathy during
adolescence, we designed enrichment clusters to hook middle school
students with the focus on student interest and the ability to address
inequities and we hope that our students will take the values of
service and pursuit of justice with them for the rest of their life.
This past fall, all students were divided into 15 enrichment clusters,
or small groups based on interest for a weekly 45 minute class. The
cooking cluster spent the semester learning about the principles of
baking, baked many delicious dishes, but also learned about food
insecurity in D.C. and food deserts in our community. As a culminating
project, they mass baked granola bites and delivered them to an
organization feeding individuals who are food insecure in D.C. The
video game and coding cluster learned how to code and ended their
cluster by visiting a local elementary school and teaching younger
students how to code.
Through our enrichment clusters, students have opportunities to engage
in high-interest, project-based instruction, developing their natural
creativity and internal motivation while directing these strengths
towards problem-solving and critical thinking skills which grow our
scholars' empathy and love of learning.
Recently, we led our first schoolwide day of service, with students
performing various community service activities in small groups across
our city. Our students bundled up and braved the biting wind to commute
to their service locations, delivering hygiene packs to people who are
homeless, cleaning up the community, serving at animal shelters,
nursing homes and more. When we offered to head back to the school
early, students asked to continue their work, and suggested heading to
a nearby community park to pick up trash. This kind of dedication isn’t
uncommon. Many of our students regularly give up recess or another
preferred activity to help serve our school community in some way.
Designing experiences that promote self discovery through service and
learning is critically important during the adolescent years as
research shows how sensitive the brain is to experience during this age
range. Most middle schoolers have an inherent desire to do good, to see
themselves as community leaders and to continue learning about the
world around them.
Adolescence can be a difficult time for students—so much is changing in
their bodies and minds, but it can also be a time when students
discover that empathy, service and love already lies within them.
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