Stephanie Golski Dept. of Psychology

1. No Brain Left Behind: Enhancing Student Engagement Stephanie Golski Dept. of Psychology

2. Survey Says: The Good Old Days 1. Indicate your major field of study 2. What % of your academic pursuits is currently dedicated to that field of study? 3. Thinking back, what % of your academic pursuits in ________ was devoted to this major field of study? a. Graduate school b. Undergraduate school • Did you attend a liberal arts school for undergrad? c. High school 4. What disciplinary evidence predominates in your major field? • Describe format of this evidence (e.g. research article published in journal with intro, methods, results, and discussion) 5. What should a paper in your discipline from an upper-level undergrad include? (in-text citation of sources? Quotes? Data? MLA syle? New hypotheses/analyses?)

3. Us vs. Them

4. A moment in their shoes… • Exemplars from other disciplines

5. As you can see from this chart supply clearly affects demand

6. Clearly erosion and transport vary based on several factors

7. Note the difference in connectivity here for song learning versus production

8. The differing factors for star classification are described on the H-R diagram

9. Clearly, this scan reveals normal resting brain activity in grey and white matter and CSF

10. What type of neuroimaging scan produced this slide? How do the pseudo colors relate to brain activity? Where do the eyes go on this brain? Orient yourself to the cortical lobes. Identify grey and white matter. Identify CSF. Does the activity appear as you would expect?

11. What do we need to know about brains to teach undergrads? • Brains change • Brains filter • Students vary in expertise from us, and encounter more disciplines than us • Brains have an arousal level at which they function best • And their brains are still growing!

12. In Psych terms those translate to: • Plasticity • Brains change • Use it or lose it • Top-down Processing • Fit it in frameworks • What are your/their expectations? • Optimal Arousal • Depends on task • Selective Brain Development • Works in progress

13. In Pedagogical terms these translate to: Backward design Allows us to Consider: • Brains, especially adolescent ones • Course goals/Learning outcomes

14. Psychology and Neurons Tying human behavior to neurons is difficult. ~ 100 billion neurons in your NVS Each neuron has many connections (w/in brain M = 10K) Connections are changed through use and importance of signal

15. Plasticity • Neuronal changes produced by experience • Spines on dendrites can appear within minutes of stimulation • Existing structure will play a role, be modified • We’ll have to pay attention to existing knowledge

16. Long term potentiation • Think about each term • Change in neuronal response due to experience • Could be easier to fire • Or release more chemicals • All because of previous firing savings effect

17. Changing Brains • Neuronal response is enhanced if: • Stimulation is repeated • Distributed practice • Saturation avoided • Smaller chunks • Making connections • Depth of processing • Highlighters and flash cards don’t cut it • Overlearned/overlapping savings effect

18. Will they remember everything from intro? • No, but may experience the = Faster relearning asconnections are re- established and strengthened savings effect

19. Assignment Design Manage timing review and reuse of critical concepts Increase frequency Include practice with smaller chunks Increase meaning of reading assignments Ungraded assignment sheet (did it?), can use during exams USE critical terms Key term web Maximize Savings

20. You talk • Share an assignment • Include maximization of savings? • Revisions useful?

21. Processing what comes in: Bottom-Up • Association Cortex for integration • Primary Cortical nuclei • Thalamic nuclei • Receptor to transduce energy

22. Processing what comes in: Top-Down Filters • Association Cortex for integration • Primary Cortical nuclei • Thalamic nuclei • Receptor to transduce energy

23. There’s a bathroom on the right • Row,row,row your boat,gently down the stream…merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,life’s a butter dream • Early exposure to materialwill enhance ability to“hear” • Inquiry-based activities • Reading before lecture

24. Blah blah blah 1.Orient 2.Familiarity alters processing

25. Top-Down Processing • Looking at a brain end of semester vs. first week • Expertise • Recognizing your friend from really far away b/c you knew she would be here • Expectations • Hearing the words to the song so clearly once you read the lyrics • 20-20 Hindsight

26. Reality • Raw sensory (biological) info • + past experiences • + context • + motivation • + expectations...

27. Time for some demos…

28. Gossip by George Witherspoon

29. Satan Also Came by George Witherspoon

30. Go beyond “cool”… • Make the connection explicit • HOW you saw the item was influenced by your “preparation” • Once you see it one way it is difficult, but not impossible, to see other ways • Reading ahead of time, slides/outlines available can prime students to get the lecture • Previous knowledge (or rules of other disciplines) can impact how they view the info you teach them

31. Top-down and Teaching • Be aware of biases, prior info • Can we think like Novices? • The obvious is NOT obvious • We see details, students need to be SHOWN • Framework, knowledge reminders • Point out patterns, themes • Encourage/reward reading before class

32. Existing neural networks/knowledge= Top-down processing • Use for: • Examples…concrete, interesting • Vocabulary breakdown • Group work, explanations from students • Teaching approach • Memory of own student habits

33. Existing neural networks/knowledge • Help students find their own networks • What does this make you think of? • What makes this memorable to you? • Use from one semester to another and/or one class session to another (supplemental instructor/tutor) • Language and/or technology barriers • “comparing apples to oranges” • “I can do it on my computer at home”

34. What if their “top” is wrong? • Focus on factually and conceptually correct information • Asterisks in notes • Error in previous thinking- show how it fits in • Freud • Negative correlation, negative reinforcement • Polygraph

35. You reflect: • What are likely to be problem areas of understanding? • How can you think like a novice?

36. Attention: More Filters • The Brain sees what it wants to see, not just what you put in front of it • Same stimuli can be on retina- only cause brain response when attended to • Optimal level of arousal • Engagement/rewards • Depth of processing again

37. Arousal Helps Us Pay Attention- to a point Tasks of avg. difficulty

38. Optimal arousal level high for easy or passive tasks Tasks of low difficulty: lecture, driving

39. Optimal arousal level low for difficult tasks Tasks of high difficulty: stressful exam

40. So Why Doesn’t Fun Stuff Always Work? • Increase arousal but students can miss the point • Improvements= add REFLECTION • Blackboard excellent tool for journaling or discussion • Games as review for test • List topics strongest/weakest in • Sensory illusions • Use vocab words to summarize what was demonstrated

41. Assignment Design Know what is important and make that apparent = backward design Match course contingencies to real value of activities Influence student perceptions of value practice and homework valued? What happens when you assign work that isn’t completed? Class notes/ppts on Blackboard Managing Attention

42. Teacher sees important details, students need to be shown • E.g. purpose of assignments (“busy work!”) syllabus design can include(w/recurring patterns) purpose, procedure, points

43. 10 Minute Reading Reinforcers (RR) Purpose: Reinforce review of correct quiz answers and previous class notes as well as active reading of current chapter. Procedure: Twice during each unit several questions (usually multiple choice) will be projected during the first 10 minutes of class. Please bring a pencil to class everyday (there is a sharpener just outside the classroom on counter in TLC office space). Notes can be used; the text book cannot. Latecomers will miss that day’s reinforcer. Answers will be discussed immediately afterwards. Because this is not intended to take more than 10 minutes of class time, if you have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) through Rider Learning Center that recommends longer time on assessments please advocate for yourself by discussing this with me early in the semester. You should plan regular times throughout the week to read the text and review your notes. Plan on reading about 30 pages per class session on average. Points: 9(5) = 45 points possible (can skip one w/out penalty or drop lowest) [12.7% of grade]

44. You share: • Syllabus modifications • Point value • descriptions

46. Selective Brain Development • Still have some growing to do • Problem is, it is in the region that manages: • Planning • Response inhibition • Emotional regulation • Organization • What’s our excuse?

47. PFC and Teaching • Encourage planning • Interim deadlines • Model applications/abstractions • Sounds like scaffolding doesn’t it? • Use action to complete learning cycle • Group work to test ideas, promote outward use of terms and concepts • Encourage metacognition • Knowing what you know, reflection

48. Assignment Design Use assignments that build on each other Linked Intermediate deadlines Long term planning

49. Could you: • Modify an existing assignment to include more scaffolding? • Repeat an assignment to allow for visible improvement? • Connect information across classes/units? • Use action to complete learning cycle?

50. My Course goal: Increase professionalism • Non-textbook sources • Presentation • Interest • Application • Why is this course goal important in teaching this course? • Skills discipline-specific AND general