Faculty attend adolescent brain conference
Theology teacher Dan Burke was one of three MC faculty who recently attended an adolescent brain conference in Boston.
On the weekend of November 13 – 15, three Mount Carmel faculty members ventured to the Westin Copley Place Hotel in Boston, Mass., to learn more about the adolescent brain. The conference, sponsored by MIT and Harvard, offered Dan Burke, Sean Sweeney, and Patrick McGarry access to some of the nation’s top experts in the field.
“The Science of Character: Using Brain Science to Raise Student Self-Regulation, Resilience, and Respect,” offered participants a wealth of research data, though little in the way of immediate applications for the classroom, an area that all three Mount Carmel teachers intend to explore upon their return.
According to Burke, “The conference was more towards the science (of the brain)” as opposed to applying that science in the classroom.
McGarry agreed the conference seemed well organized and featured highly qualified speakers, but lacked the element of practical applications. “Basically they said ‘here’s the data, do what you want with it.'”
Nevertheless, McGarry enjoyed the conference and learned a great deal about the “monumental tasks of being a teenager in high school,” including digital living, pressure to comply, fear of missing out, etc. Sweany noted that as obvious as that might seem, “Of the 1000 or so people that go to this conference, many have no idea what kids are going through or what they have to deal with.”
Burke also returned from the conference with a new understanding of the teenage brain. “We as high school teachers expect teenagers to be mini adults. Their brains just aren’t there yet.”
While it will take time to distill all the information, all three MC faculty participants seem confident that what they learned at this conference will help them to be more effective teachers. In fact, both McGarry and Burke suggested that more Mount Carmel faculty should attend this conference in the future, as they believe strongly that if the information is applied correctly to the classroom, it will not only help their teaching, but also help them cope with those young teenagers.
