Formulating Questions for Futher Research

Aim: How do we craft questions for further research?

Do Now: Read the last post of the student sitting to the right of you. Leave a comment explaining one detail you thought s/he did particularly well and why and one detail that could use improvement.

Today we are going to investigate what the National Institute of Mental Health says about teenage risk-taking and develop our own questions for further research.

The mark of a great scientist is a great question. What questions do you have about your developing brain? Physically, you may be at the healthiest part of your life, but mentally, your adult brain probably won’t be fully developed until your early 20s. As a teenager, you may be at the peak of your learning power in many ways; yet your genes, your experiences, and your environment all have an impact on your behavior. And how does your developing brain factor into all of this? Today we will read what government scientists are learning about the teenage brain and formulate questions that are still unanswered.

Step 1: Create a graphic organizer in Google Drive with these three sections: 

• What scientists know for certain about the teenage brain.
• How scientists interpret these facts.
• What scientists still want to learn about the teenage brain. 

Step 2:  Read "The Teen Brain: Still Under Construction" independently, with a partner or as a class. Complete the graphic organizer you created.

Step 3: Share the link to your Google Drive document on your blog. (Change the sharing to "anyone with a link.")

Step 4: Choose a question for further research on this topic that you find particularly interesting and post it on your blog.

Final Reflection: On your blog, describe the last decision of yours that was NOT influenced by your environment, your friends, or your emotions. Tell us how you came to this decision.