NEURAL AND COGNITIVE BASIS OF LEARNING (I AND II)

Credits

One credit in the Fall (NCLB I) and one credit in the Spring (NCLN II)

Duration

15 hours in the Fall and 15 hours in the Spring.  Sessions last 1.5 hours

Every Tuesday from 3:30 to 5:00pm starting October 16^th for the Fall session.  Spring session will start Tuesday, January 8^th 2008 and will continue every Tuesday until March.

Location

Hendrick Hudson High School – Room 223 (science wing)

Contact information:

crogers@henhudschools.org or mclrogers@optonline.net

Mobile phone: (917) 679-4159

Prerequisites:

• No prerequisites for NCLB I
• Must have taken NCLB I to continue to NCLB II in the Spring

Audience:

All administrative and teaching staff

Assessments:

Participants will be expected to attend all classes, do the assigned readings as well as write a daily journal, commenting and reflecting on their readings. Journals can be written by hand or types, they can be given to me directly or emailed.

In-Service Course Guidelines:

• Teachers are expected to attend all sessions.
• Teachers are expected to sign an attendance sheet at the start of each session.
• Teachers enrolled in a one-credit course sponsored by the HHSD are permitted one absence provided that the individual discusses and completes make-up activities identified by the instructor. 
• Teachers enrolled in a half-credit course must attend all sessions to receive in-service credit.

Fall Semester:

A course dealing with physiological and cognitive processes such as information acquisition, including attention processes, motivation and learning.  This course is an introductory course in neurosciences designed to familiarize teachers to the biology of learning in the brain, and its sensory, linguistic and emotional components.  We will learn the basic anatomy of the brain and explore how the brain functions, especially how it perceives our surroundings and becomes aware of its environment.  How are various types of memories formed?  What is attention and what is consciousness?  How do emotions arise?  How does the brain perceive and appreciate music and visual arts?

Spring Semester:

Multitasking, perception errors, special abilities and disorders of the brain will be addressed.  Emphasis will be put on complex cognitive processes and especially the pathology underlying disorders of the brain for a deeper understanding of brain functions.  One of the most stunning discoveries in brain science (mirror neurons) may revolutionize the way we think about mental processes and help tackle the understanding of serious disorders such as autism.  This topic is among many that will be explored, as it is important for teachers to understand how the brain works.

Abbreviated Syllabus

I.                    General Anatomy of the Nervous System

II.                 The Neuron and the Glial cells.

III.               Communications between Neurons. Electrical activity and neurotransmitters. How do medications work on the brain?

IV.              Development of the Nervous System (embryo, children and young adults)

V.                 Neurobiology of Perception. The five senses. Awareness of perception. Music appreciation and its role in learning. Kinesthesia and Synesthesia.

VI.              What about the Neurobiology of art appreciation? Right brain, Left brain, does it mean anything?

VII.            Neurobiology of Language (understanding the spoken and written words).

VIII.         Neurobiology of Learning. Learning styles and multiple intelligences.

IX.              Memorization, short term and long term memories. What creates a memory? The role of sleep in memorization.

X.                 Neurobiology of Attention. The brain as a survival organ: the thin line between attention and anxiety. The stress response and its links with attention.

XI.              Emotions and their impact on learning.

XII.            Pathology of learning and attention problems. Special abilities and autism.

XIII.         Mirror Neurons and their role in learning. Recent developments of imaging studies.

XIV.         What is consciousness?