BrainWaves

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

Part 3: How does our brain allow us to learn and remember?

Picture of Learning and Memory

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Lesson 1: Engage – What do you already know about how we learn and remember?

As a pre-assessment, students will brainstorm different ways they can learn a new skill or fact and how it can be placed in memory. Students will be given a set period of time to remember and recall as many neuroscience terms as possible. Additionally, students will go through the final neuromyths.

Lesson 2: Explore – How do we learn and remember?

Students will undergo the mind palace and mirror tracing tasks to learn about neuroplasticity. While at each of these stations, students will be actively collecting data for later analysis. Once complete, students should use Excel to analyze the data with the possible finding that students’ performance on the prior tasks improves over time. By the end, students should articulate different strategies and how they are affected by time and practice.

Lesson 3: Explain / Elaborate – How does neuroplasticity affect our brain?

Students will investigate the underlying mechanisms that allow neuroplasticity to occur. Students will also explore different case studies exemplifying the ability for the brain to reorganize itself based on different activities (e.g. taxicab drivers). By the end, students should recognize the significance of neuroplasticity and how it applies to their own learning.

Lesson 4: Elaborate – What do neuroscience experiments look like?

Students will learn how the field of neuroscience can test the different theories covered throughout the course thus far. Through the use of an EEG, students will work in groups to see how their brainwaves look in real-time, identify what effects their brainwaves, and see how they can use their brainwaves.

Lesson 5: Evaluate – How do we conduct neuroscience experiments?

Students will undergo a range of different behavioral experiments (e.g. stroop). For each experiment, students will need to identify the different parts of the experimental designs, execute the experiment, and undergo data analysis to test their hypothesis. By the end, students should begin having ideas of how they can modify these different experiments to make it their own.