Students will begin by brainstorming ways they see neuroscience in everyday life. As a class, they will then develop a working definition of neuroscience and return to their questions from the previous lesson. Students will use their questions to begin thinking about experimental questions. Lastly, students will complete an activity related to independent and dependent variables.

Students will conduct an exploration of the role of electricity in neural communication. In this exploration, students will record electrical signals from neurons in a cockroach leg. They will work in groups to: (1) observe electrical signals in response to sensory stimulation (touching the leg); (2) trigger leg movement using electrical stimulation. By the end, students should discover the role electricity plays in communicating with our brain and apply their learning to Tilly’s prosthetic arms.

Students will begin by reflecting on their learning from the SpikerBox lab. They will then learn about the main parts of a neuron and how neurons communicate through small group research. Lastly, students will learn about different types of neurons and the functions of each one.

Students will review the parts of a neuron and how neurons communicate through a brief video followed by direct instruction regarding action potentials. Students will learn how a message is sent from the dendrites to the axon terminals within a neuron. After learning the general principles of action potentials, groups are presented with a case study (Multiple Sclerosis or Alzhiemers) where students investigate and provide neurological explanations for subjects' behaviors. Lastly, students will apply their learning about action potentials and the relationship between neurons and behavior to make an initial hypothesis about the science behind prosthetics.

Students will learn how a message is sent from one neuron to another via neurotransmitters. Similar to the prior lesson, groups will put their knowledge to use by applying their understanding to different case studies to identify how drugs affect neurotransmission. By the end, students should describe the role neurotransmitters play in allowing communication between neurons.

As a post-assessment, students will make revisions to their original model then construct a consensus model as a class. As an exit ticket, have students attempt a brief individual explanation to the module driving question: How can prosthetics be improved to compare to natural limbs? Responses in the exit ticket can be used to guide teachers in the next module in terms of what topics they may need to revisit before continuing with course.

Groups will explore a brain anatomy simulation 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. Lastly, students will apply this knowledge to make inferences about the case study patient and their brain.

In this lesson, students will discuss the ethical concerns of using animals in science before engaging in dissection of a sheep brain. 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, recognize the different lobes of a real brain and apply their learning to the dystextia patient.

Students will use their existing knowledge of the brain to explore behavioral changes 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). Students will briefly discuss issues of equity in science research.

As a post-assessment, students will make revisions to their original model using a “Gotta Have List” (checklist of items to include in theri revisions). As an exit ticket, have students attempt a brief individual explanation to the module driving question: What happened to the patient and why? Responses in the exit ticket can be used to guide teachers in the next module in terms of what topics they may need to revisit before continuing with course content.

Students will explore their own learning and memory through two games before repeating the mirror tracing task from the last lesson. Students will be introduced to the concept of neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to change its pathways. Neuroplasticity will be discussed in more depth in the next lesson.

Students will continue their learning about neuroplasticity in greater detail. Students will explore specific examples of neuroplasticity and work in small groups to describe the changes to the brain and how and why they occured. These examples will be discussed in order to improve student understanding of the concept. Lastly, students will revisit the mirror tracing activity one last time and begin constructing an explanation of their findings using their knowledge of neuroplasticity, learning and memory.

Students will revise their initial explanations from the previous lessons to address the driving question: what trends exist in the mirror tracing data and why? To close, students will complete the fourth and final neuromyth kahoot. If time allows, teachers can lead the extension activity in which students complete the mirror tracing task with a new shape and compare their results to the star.

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 see how their brain waves look in real-time, identify what affects their brainwaves, and see how they can use their brainwaves. First, the teacher will demonstrate use of the EEG before allowing students to engage with the devices themselves. In the next lesson, students will complete specific tasks using the EEGs and make observations.

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.