Pat’s Articles
Below are a few of Pat’s articles. Click to read the full articles online:
Brain Research and Education: Fad or Foundation?
» — Appearing in
If you’ve been involved in the field of education for any length of time, you’ve seen many innovations and programs come and go. Teaching machines, Time on Task programs, Epstein’s plateaus of adolescent cognition and Madeline Hunter’s Elements of Effective Instruction are just a few of the programs that at one time garnered many adherents [...]
It’s All Academic: A Few Thoughts on Brain Development in the Early Years
» — Appearing in
Recently I’ve been reading articles in the news about the large number of parents who are concerned about getting their children into what they consider the best “academic” preschools in order to make certain they do well when they begin their formal schooling. Some are even signing their babies up before they are born! This [...]
The Adolescent Brain: A Work in Progress
» June 2009 — Appearing in PatWolfe.com
One day a child is cheerful, loving and obedient, comes to a parent or teacher for advice, dresses in appropriate clothing, and turns in for the night at 10:00pm. Homework is done without nagging and parent/teacher conferences are a joy. Then somewhere between ten and twelve, a strange thing happens. Almost over night it appears [...]