- Research and choose 3 educational topics related to course key understandings as part of the course signature assignment.
- Purpose
- To research an educational topic and understand how it impacts educational environments.
- Requirement(s)
- Using the Signature Assignment Planning Template, submit three educational topics related to the brain research and why you chose these topics. Your explanation should be in 2-4 sentences for each topic (more details below).
- Assessment
- You will be scored using this rubricLinks to an external site..
- Resources/Tools
- Signature Assignment Planning TemplateLinks to an external site. | APA Resources
Overview
This week you will begin researching and choosing topics to focus on for your Signature Assignment (due in Module 7). You need to complete Step 1 of this assignment and submit it by day 7 of this week (you can earn up to 25 points. See rubric for details). In Module 4, you will continue with Step 2 and complete by and submit your Signature Assignment in Module 7/Step 3.
Details
Step 1: Research and Choose topic options for your Signature Assignment. Submit to Canvas in Module 1
For this assignment, your task includes researching educational topics related to brain research.
- List 3 potential topics related to brain that you want to research for your Signature Assignment
- Explain why you are interested in the topic in 2-4 sentences. Complete this for each topic choice.
Use the Signature Assignment Planning TemplateLinks to an external site. to list your potential topics and why they interest you.
Draw topic ideas from weekly course readings, viewings, and other additional resources such as websites.
Consider the following questions:
- A full description of the topic
- What does the research literature have to say about the topic?
- How does this topic relate to how people interact with the world?
- What affect does the topic have on cognition and your field of interest?
- Why you are interested in the topic?Acceptable/suggested topics include but are not limited to:Chapter 1
The workings of the adolescent brain
Teenage brain and self-consciousness
Hippocampus of taxi drivers
Number of cells in the brain
Musicians have better memory
Einstein's brain and the Omega sign
Memory of the futureChapter 2
The brain hallucinates your conscious reality
Visual illusions
Prism goggles
Wiring the brain by interacting with the world
Synchronizing the timing of signals
Hollow mask illusion
Synesthesia
TimewarpChapter 3
How your unconscious mind rules your behavior
The power of the unconscious brain
Dilated eyes and attractiveness
Flow state
Subconscious influences on decision-makingChapter 4
Are we in control of our decisions?
Decision-making
Coalition of neurons
Trolley dilemma
Dopamine and unexpected rewards
Judges and parole decisions
Emotions in decision-making
The power of now and instant gratification
Willpower
Politics and disgust
Oxytocin
Decisions and society
Real-time feedback in neuroimagingChapter 5
Reading intention into others
Empathy
Empathy and outgroups
Circuitry of the brain devoted to other brains
Babies and trust
Reading emotion by simulating others' faces
Botox diminishes ability to read faces
Romanian orphans
The pain of social exclusion
Solitary confinement
Psychopaths and the prefrontal cortex
Blue eyes brown eyes experimentChapter 6
Can we create new human senses?
Number of cells in human body
Brain plasticity
Cochlear implants
Sensory substitution
The "connectome": making a map of all the connections in a brain
The human brain project
Computation on other substrates
Chinese room argument
Leibniz' mill argument
Ants
Consciousness
Submit to Canvas by day 7 of Module 1.
Looking ahead - Step 2: Find and Submit 3 References to Support your Research Topic (Module 4).
You will have researched and narrowed down your topic for the Signature Assignment in Module 1. With your topic and research for Signature Assignment chosen by now, the next step is to note your chosen topic and identify and list your references.
You can continue using the Signature Assignment Planning TemplateLinks to an external site. provided in Module 1 to list your Signature Assignment topic and add your references.
- List the topic you chose to research for your Signature Assignment.
- Provide a minimum of 3 references in the reference section in APA format. References should be from reliable sources such as course readings and viewings, the ASU library, peer or scholarly review articles.
You can use APA Resources page to access tutorials and examples about APA formatting.
Post your revised template to Canvas assignment in Module 4.
Looking ahead - Step 3: Submit Signature Assignment (Module 7)
You must have researched and chosen a topic and identified references related to the brain in Step 1 (Module 1) and Step 2 (Module 4) of the Signature Assignment. You should start preparing a narrated presentation with a minimum of 12 slides. Narrations should be between 4 to 6 minutes in length. Your presentation can be completed using any presentation software such as PowerPoint, Prezi, or Google Slides, and must include the following elements:
- A full description of the topic
- What does the research literature have to say about the topic?
- How does this topic relate to how people interact with the world?
- What effect does the topic have on cognition and your field of interest?
- Why you are interested in the topic?
- The most important things you have learned about the topic, especially things that are related to your field of interest.
- Why you feel it is important for others to know about the topic and how it could impact your practice of your field of interest.
- Include a minimum of 3 references in your reference section in APA format. References should be from reliable sources such as the ASU library, peer or scholarly review articles.
Signature Assignment needs to be an original work and should be related to course readings and videos.
NOTE: Standard guidelines for a college-level paper apply. Full credit will be taken off for poor grammar, spelling, and/or punctuation. Your Presentation must be in APA format. Review the ASU Library's APA Tutorial to help you.
Signature Assignment is due in Module 7.