Study conducted in Rangareddy District of Andhra Pradesh, India.

The contributors reveal new findings about the basic mechanisms underlying brain development, with particular reference to mathematical reasoning as well as to decision-making in a variety of situations.

Adolescenceâ€"beginning with the onset of puberty and ending in the mid-20sâ€"is a critical period of development during which key areas of the brain mature and develop. These changes in brain structure, function, and connectivity mark adolescence as a period of opportunity to discover new vistas, to form relationships with peers and adults, and to explore one's developing identity. It is also a period of resilience that can ameliorate childhood setbacks and set the stage for a thriving trajectory over the life course. Because adolescents comprise nearly one-fourth of the entire U.S. population, the nation needs policies and practices that will better leverage these developmental opportunities to harness the promise of adolescenceâ€"rather than focusing myopically on containing its risks. This report examines the neurobiological and socio-behavioral science of adolescent development and outlines how this knowledge can be applied, both to promote adolescent well-being, resilience, and development, and to rectify structural barriers and inequalities in opportunity, enabling all adolescents to flourish.

Adolescence is a time when youth make decisions, both good and bad, that have consequences for the rest of their lives. Some of these decisions put them at risk of lifelong health problems, injury, or death. The Institute of Medicine held three public workshops between 2008 and 2009 to provide a venue for researchers, health care providers, and community leaders to discuss strategies to improve adolescent health.

Annotation Adolescence can be a turbulent period. Encompassing both classic and modern research, Smith explores its cultural and historical context, the biological changes to the adolescent brain, and the difficulties - the search for identity, relationship changes, risk-taking and anti-social behaviours - that adolescence brings.

Interest in the role that decision making plays in adolescents' involvement in high-risk behaviors led the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Planning and Evaluation of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to request the Board on Children, Youth, and Families to convene a workshop on adolescent decision making. The Board on Children, Youth, and Families is a joint activity of the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine. A workshop was held on January 6-7, 1998, to examine what is known about adolescents' decision-making skills and the implications of that knowledge for programs to further their healthy development.

Brain Based Teaching With Adolescent Learning in Mind addresses adolescent learning and its implications and applications for curriculum design and research-based instruction. Glenda Crawford connects new research to the larger picture of students' social, emotional, and intellectual needs and points to productive ways to help adolescents learn and succeed.This resource acknowledges the wide range of differences that new century adolescents bring to classrooms. The author offers lesson examples that easily differentiate for very individual brains of students who have varying cultural backgrounds, levels of English language proficiency, background experiences and prior knowledge, and individual abilities and interests. Readers will find key concepts related to adolescent learning, including metacognition, motivation, social cognition, and self-regulation. Educators will learn about linking instruction to relevant issues and reality-based problems, and about student-directed inquiry, interpretation, debate and analysis, technological access, cooperative learning and global collaboration. Standards-based content examples and scenarios focus on the elements of relevance, active learning, content depth, collaboration, inquiry, challenge, student ownership, ongoing assessment, and guided reflection. The Adolescent-Centered Teaching (ACT) Models in each chapter illustrate this framework, with emphasis on: Essential content understandings Strategies for inquiry Adolescent motivation and challenge through intriguing and authentic events, problems and questions Teachers serving as active facilitator as students become progressively self-directed Metacognitive development and assessment, during which adolescents are involved in evaluation, reflection, and the transfer of learning to comparable and extended experiences Technology connectionsMultiple examples illustrate these interacting social, affective, and cognitive dimensions of an environment that is conducive to adolescent learning. This handbook also provides strategies for promoting transfer of learning to new contexts and more practical ideas for putting brain-based, adolescent-centered teaching into practice.