The Adolescent Learner

1
The Adolescent Learner

• Issues to contemplate about adolescent behavior
  that may influence their learning and reading.
• Betty Marcoux, LIS 566
• Information School, University of Washington
• Fall Quarter 2004

2
Definition of Adolescence

• NOT alien life form just undergoing physical,
  emotional, intellectual, social, spiritual growth
  all at once
• Tend to be more isolated than other age groups
• Undergoing rite of passage between childhood and
  adulthood
• Look to hear inner voice when making decisions
• Want to be accepted and accept themselves as they
  are

3
Caught between two worlds

• Independence Belonging
• Parents
• Peers
• Teachers
• Between childhood adulthood
• Easier to teach than to be
• 2nd most rapid period of human maturation
• Reaching the comfort zone
• Who they are
• What are their interests

4
Ways to connect

• Know them
• Be there for them
• Relate to them
• Honor them
• Nurture them
• Child centered approach to learning
• Emphasis on making learning relevant to students
  lives

5
Uses of adolescent literature to boost adolescent
literacy

• Addresses contemporary issues
• A window into adolescence
• Coolness factor
• Interest in their world

6
Notes on Adolescents

• Can be good company
• Bring back our memories of being an adolescent
• Dont like to be categorized as YA often
• Harder to be young today
• Test tethers which bind them to parents,
  teachers, peers

7
Adolescent literature

• Tend to like books that are interesting mix.
• Not always familiar with YA authors or reading
  their stuff.
• Tend to love science fiction and fantasy
• - a genre crossover
• - read by all adolescent ages
• Often turn to magazines
• At the age when pleasure reading amount tends to
  decrease significantly (18-24 yr olds from 59
  to 42 1982-2002)
• Older teens tend to find YA lit dumbed down or
  too immature for their interests.
• YA is a book between kids and adults that no one
  knows how to classify.
• A young adult book means a childrens book for
  people who dont want to be called children.
• A YA book is any book a YA reads.

8
First voice preference

• Ever evolving reality
• Goes inside the mind
• Usually more authentic to teens
• Invites teens to think
• Challenges YA questions on life
• Not always happy endings
• Help teen self focus/center on selves

9
Solutions to Teen Reading

• Teen advisory boards
• Displays of YA materials how are they done?
• Consider getting rid of the term YA
• Consider creating a non-category for older teen
  fiction and shelve it with adult fiction, how-to
  books, graphic novels, sci fi/fantasy poetry,
  biography, college guides, etc.
• Look for material that transcends the teen
  audience and is not trite, boring, generally bad.

10
One size doesnt fit all!

• Know your audience
• Learn their reading interests
• Be there for them but not one of them
• Dont waste their time
• Help them feel more positive about themselves
• Accept them as they are.
• Help them through this rite of passage