Strategies
This unit involves the introduction of conceptual knowledge that integrates student understanding of electrical physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics. It is my belief that the best way to teach students is to provide them with engaging material that they will embrace because it captivates their imagination. Obviously, study of the brain is a compelling topic. We will explore the relevancy of electrical phenomenon by making the students the subjects of their own study. It is unusual that scientific learning at the high school level is interdisciplinary but this will draw on my students' previous knowledge and relate it to the new physics concept of electricity. In the spirit of constructivist learning, I will create the zone of proximal learning, where the student is most ready to transform their experience, by creating the desire to learn but with a sense of unease about the scope of the project. I will scaffold the students so that their varied background knowledge is reinforced. We will proceed with our learning by stimulating as many questions as answers. The labs that we do will be inquiry based, in which we manipulate simple electrical elements to create parallel circuits that simulate the electrical potential across the cell membrane. We will investigate mathematical relationships that will enable my students to derive the Nernst equation and quantitative solve previously problems related to signal generation in neurons. The hands-on activities will continue with the electrical simulation of the action potential and the graphical realization that the action potential is a pulse.
Building on this knowledge of neuron function, the students will pursue their own interests in macroscopic brain issues by researching topics of their choice in how the brain works. Our current understanding of brain functioning provides a wealth of avenues for further research on this subject. This is an opportunity for a student-centered creative pursuit of the current scientific literature. I will inquire as to whether or not anyone is familiar with seizures and encourage some of the students to explore epilepsy as a topic. The students will present this information to the class to further own their work. As a culmination activity and to enhance the students' conviction that scientific knowledge is an active process of accumulation, I will present my patented prototype and have the students test the properties of electrical stimulation that the RF vagus nerve stimulator produces using an oscilloscope. The students will write a paper summarizing their experiences of the electrical unit.
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