Course Identification

Neuroscience for Learning Science
20215051

Lecturers and Teaching Assistants

Dr. Orit Furman
N/A

Course Schedule and Location

2021
First Semester
Thursday, 09:00 - 10:30
29/10/2020

Field of Study, Course Type and Credit Points

Science Teaching: Lecture; Elective; Regular; 2.00 points

Comments

For research students

Prerequisites

No

Restrictions

15

Language of Instruction

Hebrew

Attendance and participation

Obligatory

Grade Type

Numerical (out of 100)

Grade Breakdown (in %)

25%
25%
25%
25%
Final paper

Evaluation Type

Final assignment

Scheduled date 1

N/A
N/A
-
N/A

Estimated Weekly Independent Workload (in hours)

3

Syllabus

Neuroscience is an interdisciplinary domain that draws upon molecular biology, chemistry, physics, behavioral psychology, cognitive psychology, computer science and more. This course provides an introduction to the study of neural processes which produce human behavior, focusing on learning and memory. During this course we will describe and consider how neurobiological methods can augment science education research.


A. Introductory lectures:

1. Introduction to cell biology & neurobiology: From neuron structure to brain function (morphology, signal transduction, chemical signaling, hormones, homeostasis).

2. Functional neuroanatomy: Outline of brain anatomy and functional specialization.

3. Methods for measuring neural activity: EEG, fNIRS, PET, SPECT, fMRI, Single cell recording, eye tracking, GSR.

B. Research focused lectures:

In this part we will shift between lectures and student seminars.

4. Introduction to learning & memory: how many kinds of memory are there? How is a memory created? How do we forget? What creates false memories? Brain plasticity.

5. Student seminar: paradigms in science education research

6. Emotional memory: emotions affect memory creation and memory retrieval.

7. Student seminar: describing emotional influence on learning

8. Social neuroscience: brains work in a social context

9. Student seminar: monitoring effects of social influence on learning

10. Dopamine as driver of Motivation

11. Student seminar: quantifying motivated learning

12. Attention systems in the brain: how do we focus attention? What happens in brains that cannot attend properly, such as those with attention deficit disorder (ADHD)?

13. Student seminar: measuring attention on-line

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of the course, students should be able to:

  1. Comprehend principles of basic research techniques in human brain research.
  2. Comprehend research questions and key concepts in cognitive brain research, such as memory, consolidation and attention.
  3. Design experiments that integrate measurements of brain function during learning.
  4. Critically read scientific literature and present key concepts and scientific findings.

 

Reading List

Will be supplied at the beginning of the semester.

Website

N/A