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TOPICS & ACTIVITIES
MODULE ONE
BRAIN DEVELOPMENT &
RISK-TAKING BEHAVIOUR
Years 11 & 12 Band, Health & Physical Education
FOCUS AREA:
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Alcohol & Other Drugs
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Food & Nutrition
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Mental Health & Wellbeing
LESSON PLAN:
Brain development & risk-taking behaviour - 45 minutes
TOPICS:
1. How does the brain change in adolescence?
2. Facts & myths about drugs
3. How to stay healthy, physically and mentally
Close - Out of session assignment
SUGGESTED SESSION TIME ALLOCATIONS:
15 minutes
15 minutes
10 minutes
5 minutes
NOTE ON FLEXIBILITY:
Teachers may prefer to allocate 2 or more 45 minute sessions to this module, to allow students more time to respond online and re-watch videos. This would be particularly relevant, if additional, longer-term projects were determined as useful to consolidate and share knowledge and findings in the wider community.
BRAIN DEVELOPMENT &
RISK-TAKING BEHAVIOUR
Introductory Notes:
It is important for teachers & facilitators to understand that social and emotional learning fosters the ability to make positive choices about how we behave. As teens, students need to build up the ‘tool kit’ of life skills to strengthen their decision-making skills.
These include:
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self-awareness
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self-concept
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social awareness
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social management
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critical thinking
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problem solving
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reflecting & analysing
These can be incorporated through the segment via online group discussion. Additionally, when face to face group opportunities present themselves use may be made in pedagogy such as role-play, debating, presentations at assemblies, and local community groups. Teachers will also know that our experiences and actions affect the way our brains develop and positive role models and interactions from family members and others such as club leaders, coaches, teachers, friends and social groups.
Quality feedback, reactions and experiential learning add to the teen’s ‘tool kit’ by helping them to learn:
• Strategies for relating and interacting with others
• Assertive behaviour skill
• How to establish and manage changing relationships – offline and online
• General health and wellbeing activities
• What impact Social / emotional health has on general well being
• Observe real resilience skills in action that support resilient behaviour
• See how others demonstrate coping skills and help seeking strategies
Topic 1 - How does the brain change in adolescence?
BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR TEACHERS & FACILITATORS
UNDER
CONSTRUCTION
Being mindful of our mental and emotional health and wellbeing is a vital contributor to overall health. For adolescents it can be a more vulnerable time, because of the rapid changes in their brain development, puberty, new relationships and transitioning into adulthood and the associated decisions they need to make for their welfare and future life.
"If a teen is doing music, sports or academics, those are the connections that will be hard wired. If they're lying on the couch or playing video games or MTV, those are the cells and connections that are going to survive."
Source: PBS Frontline
Further pre reading:
ONLINE CLASSROOM TASK ONE
Read and discuss: The Prefrontal Cortex and Teen Brain Development
The brain develops in a back-to-front pattern. Hence, prefrontal cortex development is the last part of the brain maturation process. As a result, teen brain development is not yet complete.
Lack of frontal lobe maturity catalyzes a variety of teen behaviors. That’s because the prefrontal cortex is involved with a wide range of functions, known as executive functions.
These include the following:
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Complex decision-making
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Planning skills
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Impulse control
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Emotional reactions
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Focusing attention
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Prioritizing competing information received all at once
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The ability to ignore external distractions.
Therefore, children and teenagers are unable to access certain skills and abilities until later in the frontal lobe development process. Consequently, lack of executive functions can result in teen risky behavior. And lack of emotional self-regulation skills can affect teen mental health.
Source: Newport Academy
ONLINE CLASSROOM TASK TWO
Read and discuss: The Prefrontal Cortex and Teen Brain Development
AND/OR
Watch this video and ask students to discuss one part of the brain that changes during their adolescent stage.
Topic 2 - Facts & myths about drugs
BACKGROUND INFORMATION FOR TEACHERS / FACILITATORS
Adolescents hear myths about drugs and alcohol from all sorts of places: friends, social media, TV, movies, music or from other family members.
ONLINE CLASSROOM TASK ONE
Have students discuss the following 6 myths about alcohol & drugs:
1.
MYTH: I can drink and still be in control.
FACT: Drinking impairs your judgement, which increases the likelihood that you will do something you'll later regret such as having unprotected sex, being involved in date rape, damaging property, or being victimised by others.
2.
MYTH: Marijuana isn't addictive.
FACT: Around 1 in 11 people who use marijuana could become addicted.
3.
MYTH: Drinking isn't all that dangerous.
FACT: Alcohol contributes to deaths from alcohol-related unintentional injuries. Alcohol also contributes to assaults, sexual assaults or date rapes and poor academic performance.
5.
MYTH: Beer doesn't have as much alcohol as hard liquor.
FACT: A standard bottle of beer has the same amount of alcohol as a standard shot of 80-proof liquor (either straight or in a mixed drink) or half a glass of wine.
Take a look at the
Standard Drinks Guide:
4.
MYTH: I can sober up quickly if I have to.
FACT: It takes about 2 hours for the adult body to eliminate the alcohol content of a single drink, depending on your weight. Nothing can speed up this process - not even coffee or cold showers.
6.
MYTH: Vaping is less dangerous than smoking cigarettes.
FACT: Vape pen coils are laced with many harmful chemicals including acrolein (used for embalming bodies), diethylene glycol and heavy metals like nickel, chromium & lead.
Read the research on this:
ONLINE CLASSROOM TASK TWO
Ask students to look at further myths & facts on drugs and alcohol from the following websites and develop a quiz on 10 myths & facts.
9 Myths about drugs & alcohol
Drug myths & facts
Drug facts
6 Things you should know about vaping
Topic 3 - How to stay healthy physically and mentally
ONLINE CLASSROOM TASK & OUT OF SESSION ASSIGNMENT
Using the references below, ask students to develop a fortnightly or monthly program to ensure they include at least one physical strategy and one mental health strategy to help them stay healthy. The same two strategies can be replicated at intervals within the program, depending on time allocations and other activities that are being recorded.
PHYSICAL HEALTH
Watch this video
OR
Us this discussion resource
MENTAL HEALTH
Mental and emotional wellbeing is critical to overall health. By supporting adolescents with the development of their healthy coping skills, you can set them up for success in dealing with stress and challenging circumstances in the future.
Here are a few strategies to support this:
Knowing the impact of drugs on the brain
Managing stress
Want to get involved?
REACH OUT
If you are interested in participating at any level, or want more information, please contact Jo Baxter at Drug Free Australia