BrainWaves

An EEG-based Neuroscience Curriculum and Teacher Training Program for High Schools

Part 2: How do different parts of our nervous system work together?

Picture of a Connecting Neurons Forming a Network

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Lesson 1: Engage – What do you already know about the brain?

As a pre-assessment, students will share what they know about the brain and the role ethics plays in neuroscience research. Aligned with a course goal, students will identify existing myths within neuroscience. Afterward, students will review and discuss pressing ethical issues within neuroscience (e.g. the use of animals in research) identifying the pros/cons.

Lesson 2: Explore – Virtual Dissection Lab: What are the different parts of the brain?

Groups will undergo a virtual dissection of a sheep brain to identify the different parts and functions of the brain. Students will also hypothesize how damage to different parts of the brain can affect different behaviors to the sheep. By the end, students should understand that different parts of the brain have different functions.

Lesson 3: Explore – Sheep’s Brain Dissection Lab: What do real brains look and feel like?

Once having undergone the virtual dissection, groups will receive a real sheep brain and learn the procedures for conducting a dissection. Groups should pair their knowledge about the parts and functions of the brain with the observations of the real brain. Students will take pictures of the different parts of the brain as they dissect. By the end, students should know the proper dissection techniques and recognize the different lobes of a real brain.

Lesson 4: Explain – What do the different parts of our brain do?

Students will work in groups to transition their knowledge of the sheep brain to human brains. Groups will create a clay model separating the different parts of the brain and labeling their function. By the end, students should have an accurate model of the human brain to help them answer case studies in the next lesson.

Lesson 5: Elaborate/Evaluate – What happens if we damage our brain?

Students will use their existing knowledge of the brain to determine behavioral alterations that occur upon injury to the brain. Students will work in groups to investigate the defects of brain damage through a number of classic neuroscience case studies (e.g. patient HM). Furthermore, students will be introduced to the concept of neuroplasticity (the ability of the brain to compensate for damage).