Active learning ideas
This topic explores the physical changes that occur in the brain during the formation of memories and the acquisition of new skills. Students examine neural plasticity, specifically focusing on the processes of long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD). By understanding how synaptic connections are strengthened or weakened, students gain insight into the biological basis of 'use it or lose it' in learning. This topic is foundational for understanding how habits are formed and how the brain recovers from injury.
Activity 01
Students use props (like hula hoops for receptors and balls for glutamate) to act out LTP and LTD. They must demonstrate how an increase in receptor density makes the postsynaptic neuron more sensitive to the neurotransmitter.
How does the brain change as we learn new information?
Activity 02
Pairs discuss a skill they once had but lost (like playing an instrument or speaking a language). They must explain this experience using the terms 'long-term depression' and 'synaptic pruning' to describe what happened at the neural level.
What is the difference between long-term potentiation and long-term depression?
Activity 03
Create stations showing different examples of plasticity (e.g., a musician's brain, recovery from stroke, learning a new language). Students move through stations and identify whether the changes shown are examples of developmental or adaptive plasticity.
How do neurotransmitters and neurohormones consolidate memory?
A few notes on teaching this unit
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Long-term depression (LTD) is the same as the psychological disorder of depression.
Students often confuse the biological term with the mental health condition. Using hands-on models of the synapse helps clarify that LTD is a healthy, necessary process of weakening unused connections to make the brain more efficient.
Neural plasticity only happens in children.
Students may believe the adult brain is 'fixed'. Case studies of adult stroke recovery or learning new skills in old age help them understand that adaptive plasticity continues throughout the entire lifespan.
Methods used in this brief
Models of Learning
Compare and contrast classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and observational learning. Students will apply these models to explain the acquisition of various behaviours.
8 methodologies
The Process of Memory
Examine the multi-store model of memory, focusing on sensory, short-term, and long-term memory. Students will also explore the brain regions involved in the storage of explicit and implicit memories.
8 methodologies
Reliability of Memory
Investigate the reconstructive nature of memory and factors that influence its reliability, such as leading questions. Students will analyse the implications of memory fallibility in eyewitness testimony.
8 methodologies