LESSON 1 Knowing and Understanding Oneself

Background Information for Learners

Personal Development is a process of overcoming one’s challenges. It is a personal undertaking of improving
yourself by honing your self-confidence, knowledge, skills, and capabilities. However, improving yourself means
that you need to know who you are. You need to know how well you know yourself so that you will be able to
maximize your strengths and to strengthen your weaknesses. Knowing yourself very well will also help you in
communicating with others better.
By understanding this, you need to know your self-concept. Self-concept is defined as an individual’s perception of
self. It is the construct that negotiates the two selves (ideal and actual self). In other words, it connotes first the
identification of the ideal self as separate from others, and second, it encompasses all the behaviors evaluated in
the actual self that you engage in to reach the ideal self. It is what helps make each individual unique. Your view of
yourself change over time and it depends on individual’s development level.
The actual self is found upon awareness of oneself or what we call self-knowledge. Self-knowledge is derived from
social experiences which offer insight into how others are reacting to you. The actual self is really who we are. It is
the way we think, we hear, we look, and we behave. We can see the actual self, but since we have no way of really
understanding how others see us, our self-image is the actual self.
At the other hand, the ideal self is an idealized picture that we have built over time, based on what we have
experienced. The ideal self may include components of what our parents taught us, what we value in others, what
promotes our culture, and what we consider to be in our best interests.
After knowing your strengths and weaknesses, it is important for you to know how to maximize these to attain your
life goals. These could be attained by practicing personal effectiveness. Personal effectiveness is the process of
using your personal resources such as knowledge, skills, experiences, and abilities to achieve your goals.
Here are some steps on how to know yourself:
1. Get to know your personality
Personality is referred to as the set of behaviors, feelings, thoughts, and motives that identifies an individual.
Knowing your personality will help you understand why you are acting at certain situations. It will reveal what
you are and what you are not. Learn to understand what makes you react in a certain way in life. Ask and
answer yourself these questions, “Why did I react that way? What is the reason?”.
2. Get to know your core values
Core values are the moral codes and the principles you hold near and dear to your heart. Here are some
examples of core values: dedication, commitment, accountability, resilience, professionalism, benevolence, and
compassion.
3. Get to know your body
Knowing your own body means knowing your capabilities and limits. This will help you discover the things that
you can and cannot accomplish. By doing this, you can know if you have a flexible body, strong stamina, clear
vision, and etc.
4. Get to know your dreams
Knowing the things you want in the future will create a pathway in your life. It will serve as a guide on what
actions you need to accomplish to achieve those dreams. Let us say for example that you want to be an
engineer in the future. Ask yourself the things that you need to consider in achieving your dream. By asking
yourself, you are thinking of the ways on how you achieve your dreams.
5. Get to know your likes and dislikes
Knowing the things that you enjoy and do not enjoy will help you to be happy. Doings things that you dislike
will just make you upset. It is really important that you are doing what you really wanted. Liking something just
because it is popular and disliking something just because it is not trendy is not a good thing to do.
LESSON 2: Various Aspects of Holistic Development
Background Information for learners:
Have you ever asked yourself, “What do I feel? What do I really feel? How am I?” or “What do you think
about that?”. If so, you’ve used a therapeutic technique! One of the biggest misconceptions about therapy is
that it is boring, talking to someone who is a.k.a. professional asking those funny questions, and all of your time
is spent laying on a couch talking about how you feel. While talking about your feelings is an integral part of
therapy, there are several other key elements as well. One of them includes identifying our thoughts, feelings,
behaviors, and the relationship between them.
The idea is that if we are aware of the connections between these aspects of an experience (at minimum
our thoughts, feelings and behaviors) we can understand how they are influencing each other and reflect on
how to impact them for positive change.
The self-concept is represented by several aspects of the self. It is conceived as collection of multiple,
context-depended selves. This construct believes that context activates particular regions of self-knowledge
and self -relevant feedback affect self-evaluations and affect. A deeper look on the different aspects of self can
identify specific areas for self-regulation, stability and improvement.
An individual is composed of three basics but very different aspects of the self. They are the physical or
tangible aspects as they relate to the body, the intellectual and conscious aspects as they relate to the mind,
and the emotional and intuitive aspects as they relate to the spirit. All the three aspects of the self-work
together I perfect harmony when attention is paid to all three simultaneously.
Many individuals put a strong emphasis on the physical aspect of the self. The body is tangible, obvious
and we respond to it easily. More time and money are spent on enhancing the physical component than either
of the two aspects. Thus, does not mean however, that the body is healthy or strong. The body provides place
to house the spirit (often experienced as feelings) and the mind (often experienced as thought).
It may be important to some that their mind be prominent and well educated. The mind is important, as it
is the part of self that directs the other two aspects. The mind learns what to do and communicates the
information to the body and the feelings. What the mind believes, the body manifests or act on, and the
emotions feel, or responds to life circumstances in the most prominent manner. The mind provides access
creativity and serenity which are necessary for such processes as prayer, forgiveness, acceptance, and passion.
The human emotions are the most feared aspects of the self, as individuals are reluctant and unprepared
to manage them. Managing feelings is like trying to hold water in the palm of your hand. They are illusive and
deceptive. A decision made under emotional stress and strain usually impacts emotions negatively. Negative
emotions that are not manage are stored and repressed. Repression is destructive to a content self since all
feelings, not only negative ones are stored away. Accessing feelings when they are needed now becomes
difficult, leaving the individual numb and hopeless.
For instance, a girl realizes that she is giving much attention to physical aspects and less attention on her
intellectual self. In this way, she can discover how much money and time spent maintaining her physique and
its consequences in her grades. By this honest evaluation of herself she can plan effective actions to improve
her study habits. She can start seeking for help and for related books to read or browse articles to help her
improve her study habits.
LESSON 3: DEVELOPMENTAL TASK & CHALLENGES OF MIDDLE & LATE ADOLESCENCE
Background Information for Learners:
The most challenging period for growing up children and parents is adolescence. It is the confusing stage for
children where physical, emotional, and social development happen. Together with those developments, there
are also tasks that are expected from them, those complications that individuals normally face at different stages
throughout life.
The study of human development stages is essential to understanding how humans learn, mature, and
adapt. Throughout their lives, humans go through various stages of development.

Based on the developmental stages, Robert J. Havighurst elaborated the Developmental Task Theory in the
most systematic and extensive manner. His main assertion is that development is continuous throughout the
entire lifespan, occurring in stages, where an individual moves from one stage to the next by means of successful
resolution of problems or performance of developmental tasks. These tasks are those that are typically
encountered by most people in the culture where the individual belongs. This theory presents the individual as an
active learner who continually interacts with a similarly active social environment.

CHALLENGES OF MIDDLE AND LATE ADOLESCENCE

Adolescence encounters challenges as they grow and make their way into adulthood. Changes in physical
appearance which is called physical development is one of the challenges both for girls and boys. As they grow
older most girls have completed the physical changes related to puberty while boys are still maturing and gaining
strength, muscles, height and are completing the development of sexual traits. Second challenge is on emotional
development because they easily get stressed on school matters, seek privacy and time alone, and they start to
want both physical and emotional intimacy in relationships. They also complain that parents are too strict and
prevent them from doing their things independently. Another challenge is social development. They seek friends
that share the same beliefs, values, and interests, and are more aware of the social behaviors of friends and
friends become more important to them. They start to have more intellectual interest, explore romantic and
sexual behaviors, and may be influenced by peers to try risky behaviors, Most of all they shift in relationship with
parents from dependency and subordination to one that reflects the adolescent’s increasing maturity and
responsibilities in the family and the community. Last challenge is on mental development, adolescence becomes
better able to set goals and think in terms of the future, has a better understanding of complex problems and
issues. And they start to develop moral ideals and to select role models.
The critical developmental considerations as adolescents progress through adolescence stage, include self -
esteem, mood, body image, cognitive development, family relationships, interaction at school and with peers and
participation in health-risk behaviors.
Self – Esteem
Self - Esteem, the regards adolescents have for themselves, is influenced by feelings of accomplishment and
competence, their abilities, reaction from peers, and how well they compare to standards they have for
themselves.
Mood
Mood is a state of feeling, the emotional tone of a state of mind. With adolescence comes an accumulative
consciousness of the distinctions of one’s own moods, in addition to those of others. Emotionally healthy
adolescents can distinguish many shades in mood. Depression is a common psychiatric concern among
adolescents. Adolescents with mood difficulties and conditions are at higher danger for using substance and
drugs. Furthermore, adolescents with mood disorder may be in danger for suicide.
Family: Identity and Independence
Seeking autonomy and independence from parents is a main developmental task of adolescence. As they grow,
they want to gain freedom in making decisions for there own life which always cause misunderstanding with the
parent and the adolescent. They also confide with their peers rather than their parents because of fear of
disagreement.
Peer Relationship
Peer associations are important in adolescent development. They help the adolescent create identity outside the
family and provide an opportunity for the adolescent to progress on social skills with a wide range of
acquaintances.
Transition from high school to college or work
Transition from high school to college or work can be demanding and challenging for adolescents. As they grow
more expectations from family, friends, and community should be meet. The shift from high school to college is
considered as a major life transition and has a lot of challenges that an adolescent should undergone.
LESSON 4: DEFINING RESPONSIBILITIES AND EXPECTATIONS, AND COPING WITH STRESS DURING MIDDLE AND
LATE ADOLESCENCE
Background Information for Learners:
Studying Personal Development through this Learning Activity Sheet as an alternative material for
teaching-learning process aims to make learning more engaging and significant for Senior High School Learners.
Since the learners are in their adolescence facing specific challenges that result from the changes happening to
them, it is appropriate for them to know more about themselves, their responsibilities, as well as coping with life
challenges even stress as they prepare for adulthood. Meaningful, practical and doable activities are set forth in
here for the learners to ponder and accomplish.
Defining Responsibilities and Expectations in Middle and Late Adolescence
Before dealing with the responsibilities and expectations in middle and late adolescence, might as well
define first adolescence and its stages, for learners to understand it clearly. Adolescence is a period in life when
young people experience various changes such as behavioral, cognitive, emotional-social and physical
development as they transition from childhood into young adulthood. The Association of Maternal and Child
Health Programs (AMCHP), Washington DC, and other researchers suggest adolescence undergo three primary
developmental stages namely:
Early Adolescence (ages 10-14) - adolescents experience the beginning stages of puberty manifested in physical
growth and increased sexual interest. In this stage, adolescents’ capability for abstract concepts is limited yet
intellectual curiosity heightens. Moral thinking during the early adolescence stage also develops.
Middle adolescence (ages 15-17) - at this stage, puberty is completed for males and females and they progress in
abstract thought. Adolescents become interested in the meaning of life and moral reasoning as they start to set
long-term goals. They also experience numerous social and emotional changes, including increased self-
involvement and an increased drive for independence.
Late Adolescence (ages 18-24) - or young adulthood phase typically experience fewer physical developments and
more cognitive developments and gain a firm sense of identity.
During this last phase of adolescent development, young people also experience increased emotional
stability and independence.
As a Filipino adolescent, it is better to understand each stage of development with the underlying changes
and challenges (as discussed in earlier topics of the Personal Development subject) in order to have a firm grip of
responsibilities and expectations. Becoming responsible and accountable to own choices are very important traits
in any phase of life. The same is true for adolescents, even they are just beginning to incorporate and put into
action values, virtues and other qualities necessary in life.
According to Santos (2016), in defining your responsibilities, your self-identity should be made clear to you.
As you get to know your responsibilities, your values must also be defined clearly with these. In defining your
responsibilities, your role in society should also be considered. Santos, also identified some roles of a Filipino
adolescent as follows:
1. You are a citizen of the world and of the Philippines.
2. You are a citizen of your town, city and barangay.
3. You are a member of your family.
4. You are a student in a public or private school.
5. You are a friend to somebody (friendship or romantic relationship)
6. You are a member of an informal friendly group or student organization
7. You are a child of the universe.
8. Lastly, you are you, and you have responsibilities to yourself as your own steward.
 The above-mentioned roles will help you determine your responsibilities. What do you think are your
personal responsibilities and what are expected of you? As you ponder each of these roles, do not forget the
values you hold onto in fulfilling your responsibilities.
The administrator of the website named www.OurHappySchool.com suggested the following eight (8)
simple rules which could help you, teenagers, to become a responsible adolescent prepared for adult life:
1. Focus on your studies and do well in all of your endeavors. There is a time for everything.
2. Take care of your health and hygiene. A healthy body and mind are important as you journey through
adolescence.
3. Establish good communication and relation with your parents or guardian. Listen to them. This may be
easier said than done at this stage, but creating a good relationship with them will do you good as they are the
ones you can lean on especially in times of trouble.
4. Think a lot before doing something. Evaluate probable consequences before acting. Practice self-control
and self-discipline.
5. Choose to do the right thing. There are plenty of situations in which it is better to use your mind rather
than your heart.
6. Do your best to resist temptations, bad acts, and earthly pleasures and commit to being a responsible
adolescent.
7. Respect yourself. You are an adult in the making. Do not let your teenage hormones get into you. If you
respect yourself, others will respect you too.
8. Be prepared to be answerable or accountable for your actions and behavior. It is a part of growing up and
becoming an adult.
Preparing for adulthood may not be a cloud nine phase for some due to lots of things going on various
facets of human lives. The demands and expectations of parents, significant others, and society may be stressful.
But having these ‘difficulties’ as ‘challenges’ makes life exciting and worth living. This is the mindset of an
adolescent who is becoming a responsible and mentally mature one.

Coping with Stress during Middle and Late Adolescence

Meeting the necessities and requirements of life vis-à-vis roles and responsibilities is exhausting at times.
Even the adolescence period cannot escape from experiencing stress.
What is stress? Personality Development, Teacher’s Guide of the Department of Education, 2016, defines
stress as the body’s response to anything that makes us feel threatened or pressured. It is caused by any kind of
demand, to which we must adapt, adjust, or respond. It is the body’s automatic way of reacting to changes,
challenges, and demands placed on us. Stress is also described as an emotional factor that causes bodily or
mental tension.
Mental Health is the first consideration as we talk about stress. It includes our emotional, psychological,
and social well-being as we function satisfactorily as a human being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also
helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. It is important at every stage of life,
from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. Mental health is a positive concept related to the social and
emotional, even psychological well-being of individuals and communities. Being mentally healthy, is more than
just the absence of illness, moreover, it is a state of overall well-being.
Causes and Effects of Stress
Santos (2016), stated that there are certain types of stress that can benefit a person. This can energize,
motivate and move a person to productive action. One good example is the stress that we feel before speaking in
public. This pushes us to prepare and be an effective speaker. Positive and healthy stress can stimulate us to be
competent individual to perform well and be better version of ourselves. This is good stress or eustress.
Stress may be deemed necessary, however, too much of it can wear and tear our body and mind. There is
also bad stress or distress which is devastating like breakdown, burnout, and depression if unmanaged.
 Some of the major events in life like annulment or separation (of parents), changes and challenges along
with the phases/transitions of human development, death of loved ones, transferring from one school to another,
issues of friendship, may bring about anxiety and distress. The school works and project dues can also cause
stress. Our intention in knowing the causes of stress is to learn how to recognize what might trigger these and
learn strategies to cope and control such.
Keep Stress under Control: Coping with Stress
Personality Development, Teacher’s Guide of the Department of Education, 2016, identified effective
ways to handle stress. As you read these, you will be encouraged to manage your life and would not wish to avoid
stress, even stressors, or else you would never grow. Here are some suggestions from the said guide book that
you may follow in managing stress:
Understand the Causes of Stress. Understanding why you are under stress is important. This may seem
obvious, but it requires deliberate, conscious effort to pause and simply ponder your situation. By now, you are
familiar with the stress response, the emotional or physical symptoms of uncontrolled stress. Now you need to try
to discover the stressors, the factors of which are creating the stress in your life.
Analyze your Stress Factors and Write Them Down. Write down your response to stress. For example, you
may write down, “I feel tired most of the time. My lower back seems to ache all through the day and night. I miss
deadlines and run behind schedule.” Analyze stress responses and consequences, and consider each item, and ask
why. “Why am I feeling tired? Why does my back aches? Why do I run behind schedule? Carefully consider each
answer, because the answers will reveal stressors, such as deadlines, anxieties, trying to do so much, managing
time or money poorly, or poor health habits.
Deal with the Stressors. Develop techniques to deal with the causes of stress. The longer you avoid dealing
with the stress factors, the more the stress will build up. If tension comes because you have put off an unfinished
task, restructure your priorities so you can get the task that you have been avoiding out of the way and off your
mind.
Learn to Work under Pressure or Unusual Conditions. When you can’t reduce the stressors, you need to
manage your stress response. Almost everyone, at least at some point, has to meet deadlines, keep several jobs
going at once, resolve problems that come up, and do extra work when necessary. However, when the pressure
mounts, you can relieve it.
Relaxation is key—but most people must train themselves to relax when the pressure is on. Some tips to relax
when under pressure are the following:
 Stop for a moment (especially when you feel your muscles tightening up) and take a few deep breaths.
 Do a relaxing exercise. Swing your hands at your sides and stretch.
 Take a “power nap.” Lie down and totally relax for a few minutes.
 Find time to do the things you enjoy.
 Leave your study area for a while to take a brisk walk.
 Find a quiet place to read a magazine or novel during break or at lunch.
 If possible, look at some peaceful images such as forests, beaches, etc.

These images can initiate a relaxation response:

 Look up.
 Keep something humorous on hand, such as a book of jokes.
LESSON 5: CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF STRESS, AND PERSONAL WAYS TO COPE WITH STRESS DURING MIDDLE
AND LATE ADOLESCENCE
Background Information for Learners:
The middle and late adolescence begin at the age of 14 to 19 years old, at this age, they are vulnerable to
stress. When they reach the teenage years, children start to care about how they look and how others view them.
They start forming their own identity by experimenting with who they are. If a teenager is unable to properly
develop an identity at this age, his or her role confusion will probably continue in adulthood. Teens need to
develop a sense of self and personal identity.
According to Erick Erickson, success leads to the ability to stay true to yourself, while failure leads to role
confusion and a weak sense of self. In this activity sheet, you will learn personal ways of coping with stress for
healthful living and identify sources of one’s stress and illustrate the effect of stress on one’s system.
Causes and Effects of Stress in Middle and Late Adolescence
Stress can be defined as the degree to which you feel overwhelmed or unable to cope as a result of pressures that
are unmanageable.
In order to cope with stress, it is best to understand first the causes and effects of it. The following words
describe the emotions linked with stress. Try to ponder each word as you think about the causes and effects of
stress.
Anxiety is your body's natural response to stress. It's a feeling of fear or apprehension about what's to come. The
first day of school, going to a job interview, or giving a speech may cause most people to feel fearful and nervous.
Pressure the use of persuasion, influence or, intimidation to make someone do something.
Panic is a sudden sensation of fear, which is so strong as to dominate or prevent reason and logical thinking,
replacing it with overwhelming feelings of anxiety and frantic agitation consistent with an animalistic fight-or-
flight reaction
Misery a state or feeling of great distress or discomfort of mind or body
Tension feeling of being so nervous you cannot relax; feeling of lack of trust between people.
Anger a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure or hostility.
Desperation a state of despair, typically one which result on rash or extreme behavior.
Dejection a sad and depressed state; low spirits.
Stress if not detected and managed early, leads to devastations, breakdown, burnout and depression.
Everyday frustrations causes stress build up. Every day, you experience stress from the time you wake up until
you go to sleep, you may be confronted with a succession of stressful situations. Managing to get yourself out of
bed and be ready to face the day, may challenge your patience and ingenuity.
A series of stressful and frustrating experience of being under lots of pressure, facing big challenges,
worrying about something, not having much or control, and having enough work or activities in yourself, any of
these if not resolved may lead to prolonged stress.
Problems in our daily live can be devastating. Everyday stress described above can be difficult surviving the
normal, but far more serious and painful circumstances can create long-term stress. Other major causes of stress
are problems with drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, care of children and elderly relatives, chronic
mental illness, injury, physical handicap, even moving to a new home, even managing finances causes a lot of
burden. The list goes on and on. These things can make life difficult.
A common cause of stress is dealing with life’s transitions. Wallace, H.R. & Masters, L.A. 2001, stated that life is
full of transition, but sometimes life throws in forced transition like death, losing a job, health problem, divorce. A
person must cope with too many transitions all at once. For example, Ellen has just completed a program in
fashion merchandising. Shem is eager to get started on her new job. Her mother is ill and requires care. Her father
died a few months. Ellen’s new job requires that she relocate to a town 100 miles from home. The move, a new
career and change in family relationships may cause excessive stress for her. Too many changes have arrived at
the same time.
Stress Response
Stress response includes physical and thought responses to your perception of various situations. It is the
collection of physiological changes that occur when you face a perceived threat or when you face situations
where you feel overwhelmed by the demands of it and the resources to cope with are limited. What was just
described is known as stressors.
Changes in your body system occur whenever your response is triggered. This may be a chain of
events/changes. Your body may release substances like adrenaline and cortisol whenever you face stressors. This
may bring about short-term or long-term changes. Other changes like burst of energy is likewise a stress response
of our body. The worst scenario is, if the response to stress leads to chronic stress, which can wear and tear your
body and relaxation response may not resolve it.
Coping – facing or dealing with responsibilities, problem or difficulties, successfully or in a calm or
adequate manner after. It is the typical manner of confronting a stressful situation and dealing with it.
Mental Health – according to World Health Organization, mental health is a state of wellbeing in which an
individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life; can work productively and is
able to make a contribution to his or her community

Personal Ways to Cope with Stress during Middle and Late Adolescence
Santos (2016), suggested some personal ways of coping with stress, these may also be a combination of
both problem-focused and emotion-focused remedies. Here are the following examples:
1. Conduct creative imagery of the problem, where you can assess and change the way you look at the
stressful situation.
2. Seek a group or social support.
3. Get into relaxation activities like exercises, meditation or yoga, reading a good book and listening to
relaxing music.
4. Learn to manage your time.
5. Eat properly by selecting nutritious, healthy food, eat regularly and avoid skipping meals.

Santos (2016), also added that in addition to the above stated suggestions, you may also wish to seek
spiritual growth through prayer and meditation, have a worthwhile hobby, watch a movie with friends, have a
nice, quiet walk with the members of your family, and the more important is, believe in yourself.
LESSON 6: BRAINPOWER: COMPLEX ORGAN CONTROLS YOUR EVERY THOUGHT AND MOVE
Background Information for learners
How are we going to get in here? No, no, no! About your conception of birth? It's not a question about it,
How are we going to get here? On this page. Reading this story. The answer is a lot more complicated than, "I
taste on it by accident” or “My teacher notify me to read on it”. The answer order an idea, as in "I want to go on
the Internet"; movement — grasping a mouse and pressing the computers button; memory—like remembering
how to search engine or use a browser; and remembering word such as "Brainpower" and a mastery of its
meaning. Briefly, the answer means and it goes by the name of Brain that is essentially composed of water and
fat; a wrinkled, pinkish-gray, three-pound organ.
You come by to this feature because that spinal cord is a jelly-like mass topping that fired electrical signals
to your hand telling it how to move. You got to this article since your brain gathers information on how to make
use of a computer and the definition of words that you gain years ago. You come by to this article it’s because
your brain is functioning. Keep on reading to discover out how it functions, if it restores itself and if the result of
drug use are permanent.
The power to act
Our brain consists of three major parts-the cerebellum, brain stem and the cerebrum. The brain and the
spinal cord is connected to the brain stem. There are different functions that controls such as food digestion,
blood pressure, breathing and heart rate that that keep us alive. Those are the activities that are instant without
any thinking. It occurs naturally in our body.
The cerebellum are different, it controls our voluntary movement. An example of these are lifting a fork,
waving a hand winking an eye and combing a hair. The cerebellum transmits these actions to our mind and
performs these actions. Things happens so rapidly. We believe how little time pass through our will to extend
reading this. These all seems so automatic but it’s not.
The nervous system has its basic functions, the Neurons, and are the key to brain functions which part
three units. It consists of axon, dendrite and cell body, it turns our thought into motion by the power of a fire-
rapid process.
The ideas and thought advances as this electrical signal passes from the nerve cell down to the dendrite
and the axon, which appears like branches at the nerve cells end. A synapse is a signal that passes from the end of
dendrite to one cell and the to the other dendrite cell with the help of chemicals which is the neurotransmitters.
These signals proceed jumping to from cell to another cell until it arrives to the muscles we need to walk, wink
and wave.
The largest of the three brain sections, the cerebrum, it composed of 85 percent of the brain’s weight and
it has four lobes. These lobes are the frontal, parietal, occipital and temporal. Each of these have different
functions. They obtain their names from the skull’s sections that are adjacent to them.
Another part is the parietal lobe, which helps to understand what we see and feel. While the frontal lobe
identify our emotions and personalities. In the occipital lobe locates the vision functions. While the hearing and
word recognitions are in the temporal lobe.
A critical age
The doctors highlighted and advises to protect our brain from injury and chemical abuse. Because our
brain’s essential to our living and our standard of life. Doug Postels, a pediatric neurosurgeon in New Orleans
stated that the brain cells restore and renew through life and that the new growth occur gradually after a definite
age. "Postels explains that the size of our brain does not grow much after 3”.
Throughout the first three years of life, the brain grows and develops nearly of its learning potential. This
time the Synaptogenesis or the pathways of creation for brain cells to occur and transmit. Postels assume that
Doctors in general accepted that the cessation points in two reasons. Initially, when the doctors in this situation
take out the brain of a younger patient of 3 to correct a disorders. Some remaining section of the brain developed
to presume the role of the brain portions that doctors removed. But if the physicians execute the same surgery to
an older patients, that functions adapted will not takes place. Second, taken from the experiments that if put a
person to stimulate his intellectual simulation and place them in a darker room that it makes to a changes in the
brain permanently. Postels said. "That happens most absolutely before the age 3. After this age, it's impossible to
socially conduct a study." In the preceding study that construct information about the outcome of stimulation
deprivation, but modern honest guidelines forbid such research to people because of the possibly dangerous
outcome.
Drug damage
According to Sue Rusche, a co-author of “False Messengers,” a book on how addictive drugs changes the
brain. Since so small recovery come off to brains damaged after the age 3, the result of drugs and alcohol on the
brain might be lifelong. Doctors have knowledge what inhalants, steroids, marijuana, cocaine and alcohol
performs to the brain when people take them. "The examination that scientists are not able to answer now is if
the destruction is permanently," Inhalants, namely aerosols, gasoline, paint and glue, devastate the outer lining of
nerve cells and make them not able to transmit with one another. According to National Families in Action, a drug
education center based in Atlanta. In 1993, more than 60 young individuals have died from sniffing inhalants.
Studies have found that marijuana use obstruct learning, memory, reaction and judgment, however steroids can
cause aggression and violent mood swings. On the other side, Ecstasy consume is rising among younger age,
Rusche said, and scientists found out that drug ruin the neurons that make serotonin, a chemical crucial that
controls mood swings, violence, sexual desire and sleep. While the doctors and scientists have knowledge about
some effects of drugs that affects the brain, but they don't have a full picture of it, Rusche said. "While some
people started using a drug, the scientists didn’t know nothing about it. These people are presenting to be a
guinea pigs," said Rusche, who is a cofounder and executive director of National Families in Action. "Once enough
people assume it, scientists contributed and started to examine it. People are creative. They discovered new
drugs and developed new ways to extract old drugs-like crack from cocaine. "There's a lot we won't realize about
until behind of time," she said. "The typical model are cigarettes. We permit people to smoke for 100 years before
we knew about all the dreadful actions that nicotine will do.
THE DOMINANT SIDE OF THE BRAIN
Researchers have an idea that brain dominance regulates a person’s preferences, career choices,
personality characteristics, and problem solving styles. For instance, a rightbrain individual will swiftly get a
feeling for a circumstances, while a left-brain individual will usually demand a lot of queries first. The following
chart reflects additional difference between left and right-brain dominance.
PERSONAL PREFERENCE
LEFT DOMINANCE RIGHT DOMINANCE
Classical music Popular music
Being on time A good times
Careful planning To visualize the outcome
To consider alternative To go with the first idea
Being thoughtful Being active
Monopoly, scrabble, or chess Athletics, art, or music
There is nothing good or bad about either preference. Both arrangements can be uniformly successful in
achieving a single task; however, one may be more suitable over the other depending on the circumstances.
RESEARCH STUDY “THE BRAIN’S LEFT AND RIGHT SIDES SEEM TO WORK TOGETHER BETTER IN
MATHEMATICALLY GIFTED MIDDLE-SCHOOL YOUTH”
WASHINGTON- In some point actually may be something unrelated about the brains of math-heads.
Mathematically skilled teens did greater than average-potential teens and college students on tests that is
needed to the two halves of the brain to collaborate, as presented in the April issue of Neuropsychology,
published by the American Psychological Association (APA). In the research, a joint attempt of psychologists at the
U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences at Fort Benning, Ga. and the University of
Melbourne, Australia, analyst studied 60 right-handed males: 18 mathematically gifted (averaging nearly 14 years
in age), 18 of average math ability (averaging over 13), and 24 college students (averaging about 20). Math
competent appears to favor boys over girls, appearing an approximately six to 13 times often. It's not known why
but prenatal submission to testosterone is distrust to be one authority due to its demanding benefit to the right
half of the brain.
The gifted boys were engage from a Challenges for Youth-Talented program at Iowa State University.
Considering the average Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) math score for college-bound high-school seniors is 500
(out of 800), the mathematically talented boys' average SAT math score in middle school was 620.
The boys observe letter patterns gleam on the left or right sides of a computer screen, and had to specify
whether two patterns complement or not – an easiest way of learning how the brain answers to data put before
besides the left or right visual field, correlate to processing in the right or left brain because the input normally
crosses over to the other side.
The letter patterns were introduce in three conditions - one-sided, to the right hemisphere (left eye); one-
sided, to the left hemisphere (right eye); or bilaterally (both eyes). It happens in two types of tasks -- "local,"
saying two letters matched or mismatched on the small letters that builds into making big letters (for example, a
big T whose two strokes were made of smaller T's), and "global," saying two big letters matched or mismatched.
For the middle teens and college students, the left brain hemisphere was rapid for local matches whereas
the right brain hemisphere was faster for global matches. This fit previous research, which has designated that
the left hemisphere is gifted at processing visual "parts," in this case the letter details, while the right hemisphere
is more skilled at analyzing visual "wholes," in this case the global shapes of the big letters.
Nevertheless, the mathematically gifted boys appeared no such hemispheric differences. Those who were
advanced in math were equally good at clarifying global and local elements with either hemisphere,
recommending more interactive, cooperative left and right brains.
Furthermore, whereas average-ability boys and college students were moderate on collaborative trials,
which introduce letter patterns on both sides of the screen, the math-gifted showed the contrasting pattern. They
were moderate on one-sided trials, but when a task "asked" both sides of the brain to do task simultaneously,
they were greatly swiftly than the other boys
The study maintained the growing notion that the mathematically skillful are improved at relaying and
combining information between the cerebral hemispheres. Says co-author Michael O'Boyle, PhD, "It's not that
you have an extraordinary math module around in your brain, but preferably that the brain's delicate functional
organization - which permits the right- hemisphere contributions to be better combination into the overall
cognitive/behavioral equation – to make susceptible to it towards the use of high-level imagery and spatial skills,
which in turn exactly happen to be very functional when it comes to performing math reasoning."
The research maintained the broader notion that "the functional (though not automatically structural)
organization of the brain may be essential contributor to individual dissimilarity in cognitive abilities, talents and,
at the minimum, knowledge processing styles," says O'Boyle. He adds, "Numerous expressions of exceptionality,
such as experts in math, music or art, may be the outcome of a brain that has functionally systematic itself in an
approximately contrasting way than the normal left/right hemispheric asymmetry.
“However, O'Boyle is not sure whether the discovery could employ to math education overall. “Our work
maybe something to say about the most appropriate timing of when a delicate brain is most 'ready to learn' or
obtain a given skill, Still I don't think we can 'create' a math genius without the natural gift already there," he says.
Eventually, providing the rising use of testosterone by adult men, O'Boyle reprimand such thing,
"Testosterone taken behind in life will not assist your math, as the window of action on brain development is
somewhat prenatal. It may enrich muscle mass, but it is unexpected to help you answer calculus problems.
YOU CAN GROW YOUR INTELLIGENCE
New Study Shows the Brain Can Be Developed like a Muscle. Numerous people consider that the brain as
a mystery. They don’t know more about intelligence and how it is perform. When they execute and consider
about what intelligence is, many people conclude that a person is born either smart, average, or dumb—and
spends that way for life. But new analysis shows that the brain is more like a muscle—it improves and gets
powerful when you use it. As well as, scientists have been capable to exhibit just how the brain increase and gets
secure when you learn. Everyone is aware that when you lift weights, your muscles get bigger and you get
muscular. An individual who can’t lift 20 pounds when they begin working out you possibly get strong enough to
lift 100 pounds after exercising for a prolong time. Since the muscles eventually become larger and stronger with
exercise. And when you stop exercising, the muscles decrease and you become weaker. That’s why individuals say
“Use it or lose it!” But most people don’t realize that when they implement and gain new things, parts of their
brain transform and get huge enough like muscles act when they exercise.
Moreover, Neurons are found at the inside of the cortex of the brain that have billions of tiny nerve cells.
The nerve cells have branches associated to them and to other cells in a detailed network. Communication
between these brain cells is what permits us to think and solve problems.
Once you gain new things, these tiny connections in the brain literally multiply and become stronger. The
more that you dare your intellect to learn, the more your brain cells increase. Afterwards, things that you
immediately found very difficult or even impossible to do—such as doing algebra or speaking foreign language—
appears to become easy. The conclusion is a stronger, smarter brain.
How Do We Know the Brain Can Grow Stronger?
Scientists begin thinking that the human brain could possibly develop and transform when they examined
animals’ brains. They establish out that animals who reside in a challenging environment, with another animals
and toys to play with, were dissimilar from animals who lived alone in uncovered cages. However, the animals
who dwell alone precisely ate and slept all the time, the ones who lived with different toys and other animals
were consistently active. They hang around and finding out how to manipulate the toys and how to get along with
the other animals. These animals are more associated between the nerve cells in their brains. There were
stronger and bigger connections, too. Indeed, their whole brains were about 10% heavier aside from the brains of
the animals who lived alone without toys. Those animals who were playing with toys and exercising their brains
and each other were also “smarter”—they were best at solving problems and understanding new things.
Surprisingly, old animals got clever and developed more combinations in their brains when they possibly have the
chance to play with new toys and to another animals. Just when scientists place very old animals in the cage
together with younger animals and have new toys to play, their brains too grew by about 10%!
The Key to Growing the Brain:
Practice! From the beginning they were born, babies can hear people around them talking all day and
every day to the baby and to each other. They make strange sounds and try to figure out what they mean. In such
a way, these babies are listening hard and exercising their brains. Later on, they start practicing talking to
themselves when they need to tell their parents what they need. At the beginning, they just make a googoo
sounds. Then, words start coming from their mouth. And by the time reach three years old, they can say whole
sentences perfectly. Once these children adapt a language, they don’t easily forget it. Eventually, child’s brain has
changed—it has actually become smarter. Because this happen causes a permanent learning changes in their
brain. The babies’ brain cells gets bigger and increase in size and new connections between them. The child’s new
brain gets a stronger connections that’s make the child ‘smarter, just like the weightlifter’s big muscles that make
them stronger.
The Real Truth About “Smart” and “Dumb”.
Nobody thinks that babies are brainless because they can’t even talk. They just haven’t learned how. But
some individuals will call a person wordless if they can’t solve such mathematical problems, or spell a right word,
or read faster—although all these things are gain with more practice. At the beginning, nobody can easily read or
solve equations. But with a lot of practice, they can learn to do it. And a person increases their learnings, much
easier and obtain to learn new things—because their brain “muscles” have become stronger! Each students
thinks as the “smartest” may not have been born any unlike from anybody else. Even, they may have started to
practice reading before they started school. They had already started to build up their “reading muscles.”
Afterwards, inside the classroom, each person said, “That’s the intelligent student in the class.” They don’t
understand that any other students could follow to do as well if they exercised and perform reading as much.
Remember, all other students learned to speak at least one whole language already—something that adults find
very difficult to do. They just have to build up their “reading muscles” too.
What Can You Do to Get Smarter?
As much as a basketball player or a weightlifter, you have to practice and exercise to be a brain athlete.
You build your brain stronger, by rehearsing. In a smarter way, you also learn skills that you use your brain- just
like any basketball player learns new moves. Some other people think or miss out the chance to grow a stronger
brain because they think that they can’t do it or they think that it’s too hard. For you to become a better ball
player, it really does take work to become stronger physically. Often times it even feels hurts! But when you bear
yourself you will get better and stronger, all the hardships is worth it!
THE MYTH OF MICHAEL JORDAN
Michael Jordan is one of the best basketball players of all time. His average points per game is the highest
in NBA history – 31.5. He is one of two players to score more than 3000 points in a single season. And he has 11
MVP awards – five for the regular season and six for the finals.
It was dazzling to watch Jordan play. People often spoke of his grace on the court. They talked about his
natural abilities. But the true story is different. When he was a sophomore in high school, Michael Jordan didn’t
even make the team. “It was embarrassing not making the team,” he says. “They posted the roster [list of players]
and it was there for a long, long time without my name on it. I remember being really mad, too, because there
was a guy who made it that wasn’t as good as me.” Someone else might have sulked, or quit. But this setback only
fueled Jordan’s desire to improve. “Whenever I was working out and got tired and figured I ought to stop, I’d
close my eyes and see that list in the locker room without my name on it,” Jordan says, “and that usually got me
going again.”
The physical education teacher at Jordan’s high school, Ruby Sutton, describes Jordan’s commitment to
the game in those days. “I would normally get to school between 7 and 7:30. Michael would be at school before I
would. Every time I’d come in and open these doors, I’d hear the basketball. Fall, wintertime, summertime. Most
mornings I had to run Michael out of the gym.”
LESSON 7: DEVELOP A PERSONAL PLAN TO ENHANCE BRAIN FUNCTIONS DISCUSS THAT UNDERSTANDING THE
INTENSITY AND DIFFERENTIATION OF EMOTIONS MAY HELP IN COMMUNICATING EMOTIONAL EXPRESSIONS
Mind Mapping
Mind mapping is a powerful thinking tool. It is a graphical technique that mirrors the way the brain works,
and was invented by Tony Buzan. Mind mapping helps to make thinking visible. Most people make notes using
lined paper and blue or black ink. Making notes more attractive to the brain by adding color and rhythm can aid
the learning process, and can help to make learning fun. The subject being studied is crystallized in a central
image and the main theme radiates out from the central image on branches. Each branch holds a key image or a
key word. Details are then added to the main branches and radiate further out.
Mind maps have a wide variety of uses, for example, note taking, revision planning, planning for writing
and problem solving can all be successfully carried out using the technique. The colors and the graphics used will
help children to organize their ideas and thoughts. They can be very simple or, quite detailed depending upon the
age of the children and the complexity of the subject. Because creating the mind map involves the use of the left
and right brain, remembering the information becomes easier! Dodd (2004)
How to draw a mind map:
1. Turn the page on its side (landscape). Use plain paper.
2. Draw the central image using different colors. The central image should encapsulate the subject of the map.
3. Add the branches representing the subject’s main topics or themes using key words or images.
4. Add detail with more key words and images. Use color.
5. Print the words clearly.
6. Use arrows to connect linked ideas.
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand, use, and manage our emotions. Emotional intelligence
is sometimes called EQ (or EI) for short. Just as a high IQ can predict top test scores, a high EQ can predict success
in social and emotional situations. EQ helps us build strong relationships, make good decisions, and deal with
difficult situations. One way to think about EQ is that it's part of being people-smart. Understanding and getting
along with people helps us be successful in almost any area of life. In fact, some studies show that EQ is more
important than IQ when it comes to doing well in school or being successful at work.
Improving Your EQ
Emotional intelligence is a combination of several different skills: Being Aware of Your Emotions Most
people feel many different emotions throughout the day. Some feelings (like surprise) last just a few seconds.
Others may stay longer, creating a mood like happiness or sadness. Being able to notice and accurately label these
everyday feelings is the most basic of all the EQ skills.
Being aware of emotions — simply noticing them as we feel them — helps us manage our own emotions.
It also helps us understand how other people feel. But some people might go through the entire day without
really noticing their emotions. Practice recognizing emotions as you feel them. Label them in your mind (for
example, by saying to yourself "I feel grateful," "I feel frustrated," etc.). Make it a daily habit to be aware of your
emotions.
Understanding How Others Feel and Why
People are naturally designed to try to understand others. Part of EQ is being able to imagine how other
people might feel in certain situations. It is also about understanding why they feel the way they do. Being able to
imagine what emotions a person is likely to be feeling (even when you don't actually know) is called empathy.
Empathy helps us care about others and build good friendships and relationships. It guides us on what to say and
how to behave around someone who is feeling strong emotions.
Emotions
Emotions are what you feel on the inside when things happen. Emotions are also known as feelings.
1. Afraid: feeling fear and worry
2. Angry: feeling mad with a person, act, or idea
3. Ashamed: feeling bad after doing wrong
4. Confident: feeling able to do something
5. Confused: feeling unable to think clear
6. Depressed: feeling sad, blue, discouraged, and unhappy
7. Embarrassed: feeling worried about what others may think
8. Energetic: feeling full of energy
9. Excited: feeling happy and aroused
10. Glad: feeling joy and pleasure
11. Jealous: feeling upset when someone has something that you would like to have or they get to do something
you wanted
12. Lonely: feeling alone and that nobody cares
13. Proud: feeling pleased for doing well
14. Relaxed: feeling at ease and without worry, calm
15. Stressed: feeling tense, tired, uneasy, and overwhelmed
Managing Emotional Reactions We all get angry.
We all have disappointments. Often it's important to express how you feel. But managing your reaction
means knowing when, where, and how to express yourself. When you understand your emotions and know how
to manage them, you can use self-control to hold a reaction if now is not the right time or place to express it.
Someone who has good EQ knows it can damage relationships to react to emotions in a way that's disrespectful,
too intense, too impulsive, or harmful.
Choosing Your Mood
Part of managing emotions is choosing our moods. Moods are emotional states that last a bit. We have
the power to decide what mood is right for a situation, and then to get into that mood. Choosing the right mood
can help someone get motivated, concentrate on a task, or try again instead of giving up. People with good EQ
know that moods aren't just things that happen to us. We can control them by knowing which mood is best for a
particular situation and how to get into that mood.
EQ: Under Construction
Emotional intelligence is something that develops as we get older. If it didn't, all adults would act like little
kids, expressing their emotions physically through stomping, crying, hitting, yelling, and losing control! Some of
the skills that make up emotional intelligence develop earlier. They may seem easier: For example, recognizing
emotions seems easy once we know what to pay attention to. But the EQ skill of managing emotional reactions
and choosing a mood might seem harder to master.
That's because the part of the brain that's responsible for self-management continues to mature beyond
our teen years. But practice helps those brain pathways develop. We can all work to build even stronger
emotional intelligence skills just by recognizing what we feel, understanding how we got there, understanding
how others feel and why, and putting our emotions into heartfelt words when we need to.