When Students Think beyond the Moment: Enhancing Adolescents' Development by Engaging Their Emotions
Saved in:
| Title: | When Students Think beyond the Moment: Enhancing Adolescents' Development by Engaging Their Emotions |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Christina Kundrak, Kori Street |
| Source: | American Educator. 2026 50(1):17-21. |
| Availability: | American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO. 555 New Jersey Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001. Tel: 202-879-4420; e-mail: ae@aft.org; Web site: http://www.aft.org/newspubs/periodicals/ae |
| Peer Reviewed: | N |
| Page Count: | 5 |
| Publication Date: | 2026 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Descriptive |
| Education Level: | Secondary Education |
| Descriptors: | Adolescents, Adolescent Attitudes, Adolescent Development, Psychological Patterns, Brain, Cognitive Development, Cognitive Processes, Reflection, Secondary School Students, Student Attitudes, Neurological Organization, Self Concept, Transformative Learning, Guidance |
| ISSN: | 0148-432X |
| Abstract: | Adolescence is often framed as a time of risk, rebellion, and emotional turbulence. Evidence from neuroscience shows that it is indeed a period of dramatic change, but what matters most for educators is how that change enables new potential during a period of accelerated brain development. The authors' neuroimaging studies suggest that when teens consider the broader implications of stories, lessons, or events--that is to say, when they think transcendently about the things they are learning--their brain networks are engaged in measurable ways that appear to strengthen them over time. In particular, the network that coordinates reflective, conceptual, and self-relevant thinking and the network for goal-directed focus come to communicate more efficiently. The brain systems that allow young people to plan, empathize, and learn are exercised when they search for meaning. In this article, the authors ask: What if secondary schools were designed to incorporate and leverage, rather than thwart, this important developmental process? |
| Abstractor: | ERIC |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1502897 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Adolescence is often framed as a time of risk, rebellion, and emotional turbulence. Evidence from neuroscience shows that it is indeed a period of dramatic change, but what matters most for educators is how that change enables new potential during a period of accelerated brain development. The authors' neuroimaging studies suggest that when teens consider the broader implications of stories, lessons, or events--that is to say, when they think transcendently about the things they are learning--their brain networks are engaged in measurable ways that appear to strengthen them over time. In particular, the network that coordinates reflective, conceptual, and self-relevant thinking and the network for goal-directed focus come to communicate more efficiently. The brain systems that allow young people to plan, empathize, and learn are exercised when they search for meaning. In this article, the authors ask: What if secondary schools were designed to incorporate and leverage, rather than thwart, this important developmental process? |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0148-432X |
