Student and Teacher Perceptions of an Adolescent-Friendly Classroom

• In Event: AERA Graduate Student Research in Progress Roundtable Session One
  In Roundtable Session: Student and Teacher Perspectives on Learning, Well-Being, and Resilience in Schools (Table 14)

Abstract

Recent research on adolescent brain development reveals the importance of brain-friendly instructional strategies, not only engaging teens in the learning process but also contributing to their future self-awareness and brain development. For several decades, educational researchers have stressed the importance of a student-centered classroom for maximizing content knowledge, but new research also demonstrates how brain-friendly activities lean into the teen's natural development, rather than push against it. This study presents a review of the literature on brain-friendly teaching strategies and seeks to understand if the student and teacher views on learning experiences line up. The researcher sought to learn 1) the teachers' perceptions of the frequency of adolescent brain-friendly strategies in classrooms, 2) the students' perceptions of their participation in adolescent brain-friendly classroom activities, and 3) what discrepancies exist between the student and the teacher view that can be used by instructional leaders to drive professional learning for teachers.

Author

• Lisa Diane Pogue, Texas A&M University - Commerce
  Presenting Author