The Scientific American Day in the Life of Your Brain

I was going through my books today and rediscovered a wonderful reference for class.  It's called The Scientific American Day in the Life of Your Brain.  It takes a person from 5 am and waking up, what brain chemicals are activating us and other sensory issues.  It goes on to deal with coming to consciousness, morning emotions, directions to work, facing others, performance at work/stress, decision making, the hungry brain, the tired brain, boredom, pain, exercise, the dimming of the day, getting home from work, music, humor, love and lust, getting to sleep, falling to sleep, sleeping and problems, and people who have to work at night.  The book is at a reading level appropriate for those of use brushing up on brain science as well as high school students.

In short, take any person on any day and the book will have a section on what is happening in a person's brain.  I can imagine a creative teacher, with proper resources, making this a class assignment--what is going on with the brain and rest of the biology of humans during each part of the day, and dividing it up like the chapters/sections of this book.  If you do that, just keep this book hidden ;)


posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Motivated by T-Shirts! Maria Vita's cool assignment

High school teacher extraordinaire Maria Vita (@MariaVita1 on Twitter) from Penn Manor High School developed this great, creative way to encourage students to think deeply about motivation theories: Make t-shirts!

Maria challenged her students to summarize key points about a motivation theory of their choice and figure out how to represent them visually. Maria posted the original assignment and pictures of their t-shirts here. Multi-modal learning! Semantic encoding! Awesome fashion statements! Great stuff!

posted by Rob McEntarffer

Using motivation with students - and a great motivator for teachers

Two big fans of high school psychology: Dr. Lee Gurel and Dr. Nancy Budwig (Clark University)

My favorite part* of writing this blog is when I get feedback from readers who enjoy reading the site regularly, so I was thrilled last year when I learned that Dr. Lee Gurel looks forward to reading THSP in his inbox each day that we publish. If you don't know who Dr. Gurel is - and you should - he's an amazingly generous man who is a big fan of high school psychology and who has contributed his time and resources to fund a number of amazing programs from the APA/Clark University workshop each summer to revisions of the TOPSS lesson plans to funding for travel so that teachers can attend conferences and workshops. He is a great motivator for high school psychology teachers! For more on Lee Gurel, check out this nice interview with him (Giving Back to Education) in the June 2010 issue of the APA Monitor.

So I was thrilled to open my inbox last week and find an e-mail from Dr. Gurel with a tip for me - a link to a guest post in the New York Times Learning Network from teacher Larry Ferlazzo on student motivation. I have read Mr. Ferlazzo many times on technology issues, but I didn't know he was a social studies teacher and I'm now wondering if he teaches psychology! His column is about ways to build intrinsic motivation, and he includes references to the work of:

• Edward Deci and Dan Pink on motivation
• Carol Dweck on mindset
• Walter Mischel and Jonah Lehrer on the marshmallow experiment
• Roy Baumeister on self-control

Check out Ferlazzo's column and share your thoughts in the comments below. And thanks again, Lee, for the great tip!
--posted by Steve

*P.S. Okay, it's my second favorite - my favorite is getting fabulous ideas from my fellow psychology teachers!

Dancing Squid and Frog Legs--Do They Connect to Psychology?

This Discovery online uses two different YouTube hits to explain why post-mortem activity can still occur in a dead organism.  Creepy, fascinating, ethical, unethical and more responses are on the various pages where this is linked.  Potential for chemistry of not only deceased organisms, but also potentially applicable for for living ones.  What you do all think?  Of course, I suppose one could apply this to emotions and disgust as well.




posted by Chuck Schallhorn

"If You Love Something, Set it Free"

Sometimes I must just share something that amuses me.  This cartoon makes me giggle.   It was the Zits cartoon from July 27, 2011.  I will be showing this to my students and asking them to make connections to course content.  Just off the top of my head, I can connect it to brain and neuroscience, social psychology, cognition, and motivation.  I'll let our kids find the specifics. :)

Posted by Chuck Schallhorn

"Gamification" as a motivator

Russell Hoffman from NY (thanks Russell!) sent this web link to the AP Psych listserv. This article describes an apparently successful program in Sweden that encourages drivers to slow down. A traffic camera takes picture of speeders AND folks driving at or under the speed limit, and these pictures enter the safe drivers into a lottery for prizes. The article introduces a word that's new to me: "Gamification: the process of using game thinking and game mechanics to engage users and solve problems"

The traffic "gamification" example described above seems benign and pro-social (to me), but it reminds me of a video that disturbed me. Jesse Schell's TED talk describing a future in which many of our behaviors could be "gamified" in the style of Facebook "Farmville" style games. I'm not sure why it disturbed me so much. I'd love to hear your reaction in the comments field if you have time and feel moved to write.

posted by Rob McEntarffer

The Music Instinct: Science and Song

In my recent PBS newsletter, I noticed something about music and science, but it was geared toward grades 3-5.  The combination intrigued me and I went to the site anyway.  What I found was a delightful blend of music, neuroscience, sensation and perception ideas.  What PBS has done was to take the documentary that had aired previously (and I watched and promptly forgot about since it did not fit in perfectly with my lessons) and divided it into 3 minute clips, each of which introduced a different musical concept.  Most clips also mention how the brain interprets these signals and likes or does not like the signals.  One example is major and minor chords.  Here, in the West, we tend to think of minor chords as sad.  This is not universal.  Much of our musical preferences are learned.  For those who like music theory, there is something for you here as well.

Here are the various links for each section--complete with lesson plans/ideas.

• Lesson Overview
• Media Resources
• Chord Structure Interactive
• Web Resources
• Standards
• Prep for Teachers
• Introductory Activity
• Learning Activity 1
• Learning Activity 2
• Culminating Activity

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Mad World

With apologies to Tears for Fears fans, I prefer the Adam Lambert version of "Mad World."  The pace and vocals are haunting, giving the song a feeling of sadness and lamenting for how things are.  There is also a lyric applying to teachers.  This would be a great song to have students listen to and not only interpret the lyrics but also how music can evoke emotions.  Students can also be asked to create videos as to their interpretation of what the music means.

Mad World
All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places
Worn out faces
Bright and early for the daily races
Going no where
Going no where
And the tears are filling up their glasses
No expression
No expression
And in my head I want to drown my sorrow
No tomorrow
No tomorrow

And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had
And I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles
It's a very, very... mad world... mad world...

Children waiting for the day they feel good
Happy birthday
Happy birthday
Made to feel the way that every child should
Sit and listen
Sit and listen
Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me
No one knew me
Hello teacher tell me what's my lesson
Look right through me
Look right through me

And I find it kind of funny
I find it kind of sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles
It's a very, very... mad world... mad world...
Mad World
Mad World

This link is to a YouTube version of the song with lyrics that go with the song.

Here is Adam Lambert singing the song, but without the lyrics.


Here is another link for the Tears for Fears version of the song.


posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Center for Nonverbal Studies

I was catching up on some emails and inside one of them was a link to this site, called Center for Nonverbal Studies.  The site is filled to the brim with anything and everything you could possibly want to know about nonverbal communication, from muscularity of facial expressions to citations of various scholarly work.  It would take hours to navigate and read everything here, but it could make for an excellent resource for students who are investigating the topic. 

From their site:

The Center for Nonverbal Studies (CNS) is a private, nonprofit research center located in Spokane, Washington. Underway since October 1, 1997, the Center's mission is to advance the study of human communication in all its forms apart from language. The Center's goal is to promote the scientific study of nonverbal communication, which includes body movement, gesture, facial expression, adornment and fashion, architecture, mass media, and consumer-product design.

From what I've read, nonverbal communication fits most appropriately within social psychology, with its emphasis on how our bodies and faces interact when others are around us.  Back in the late 80s and early 90s, before I taught AP Psychology (well, before it even existed) I taught an Advanced Psychology class in which NVC was an important unit.  Great stuff. 

If you recall Desmond Morris and his "Manwatching" book from the 70s or the followup studies on facial expressions by Paul Ekman, you may take pause realize that some of the content will belong in the emotions unit.  One could also tie this into the research unit with describing behavior of people with a focus of making sure not to infer while describing.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

The Power of Disgust

This New York Times article describes a clever (devious?) political campaign that involved sending out flyers impregnated with the smell of rotting garbage. The article is a bit undecided about the impact of these specific flyers, but it does provide a nice overview of some of the psychological impacts of "disgust".

The article also reminded me of some clever (and gross!) Disgust tests the BBC posted on their website quite a while ago. Students could use these tests to gather data about differences in rates of disgusts between different groups, and/or track their own emotional/physiological reactions during the tests

posted by Rob McEntarffer

The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

I recently ran across a site called, RSA: 21st Century Enlightenment.  While there is so much on the site to digest, I discovered their "animated" lecture called "The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us" which is also available on YouTube. 

The RSA Animate series of videos takes semi-dry lectures, then has an artist put the words to pictures, graphics, graphic organizers and thought-bubbles.  For those of us (read, me) who are not artistic, but appreciative of art, this approach is wonderful.  It is also great for those who like to share with students another way to transmit information to others.  The payoff is later in the lecture, so it is definitely worth watching the entire 11 minutes.

If you like the premise of the video, check out all the other works here.

posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Maslow's Views: Distorted Humorously

A colleague at another school sent me this cartoon.

The rest of the collection can be found at this website.  Use and share as you see fit. I have permission from the author(s) at http://lunchbreath.com to post this here.  Thanks to them for permission and for being creative with Maslow.


posted by Chuck Schallhorn

No Arms, No Legs, No Worries

 From Nick Vujocic's website:

Imagine being born without arms. No arms to wrap around someone, no hands to experience touch, or to hold another hand with. Or what about being born without legs? Having no ability to dance, walk, run, or even stand on two feet. Now put both of those scenarios together: no arms and no legs. What would you do? How would that effect your everyday life?

Of course, there are other links on this page to more of his work.


Posted by Chuck Schallhorn

The Human Brain Book by Rita Carter

I've been able to purchase and read several books this past spring and summer.  I will be posting about several of them.  The first summer review is The Human Brain Book by Rita Carter (the subtitle is "An illustrated guide to its structure, function, and disorders).  The book makes for not just a great coffee table book (it's over sized), but also includes a DVD that has some additional features one can use in class. The publisher is D/K, the wonderful publishers whose books are among my favorites.



Oh, how I wish I had a book like this when I began teaching psychology.  From a visual learner's point of view, this book hits the jackpot. It begins with a history of studying the brain, landmarks in neuroscience and photos of a series of brain scans.  You know all those pesky little questions that your students ask, but you're not sure of the answer because your neuroscience course was 20+ years ago and the images (I mean drawings) were in black and white?  This book has those answers.  There are 70+ pages of pictures and explanations of brain anatomy (all the parts, not just the ones in our texts), brain zones, neurons, and research to satisfy the best of us. 

This book has a chapter on the senses, one on movement and control, emotions and feelings, the social brain, language and communication, memory, thinking, consciousness, the individual brain, development and aging, and concludes with diseases and disorders.

Although I have not read every word on every page, just for the illustrations, I am giving this book my highest recommendation.  It is a must for every psychology class.  Order by clicking below.  You will not be disappointed.





Posted by Chuck Schallhorn

Self-Discipline more Important for Success than IQ

These findings probably won't surprise most teachers, but I wonder if the findings might start interesting classroom conversations. This LifeHacker blog post summarizes research coming out of Seligman's Positive Psychology Center regarding the relative impact of high levels of self-discipline vs. IQ as predictors of success. As teachers, I bet we would have predicted the outcome: Self-discipline wins. But it might be interesting to hear what students would predict, and whether these findings match their experiences/perceptions? The original research article is also available in full text.

It also might be interesting to bring Dweck's research about "ability vs. effort" attributions into this conversation about self-discipline vs. intellectual "ability"



Posted by Rob McEntarffer

Pro-Ana Sites

There may be some concern about the content of this post.  As a group, we've considered the options and believe it best to expose the teachers to this issue.  While some students may stumble upon this entry and links, we feel that the exposure to teachers outweighs potential risk of student exposure.  Students will find this information in one way or another.

In short, these sites are ones that promote being thin as a lifestyle or see being thin as an ideal, sometimes called, "Pro-Ana" or pro-anorexia. While promoting statistics and information about eating disorders, that masks a reality that is very different. The content of these sites can be disturbing, but teachers need to realize the mind-set and thought processes of their students who may share these viewpoints. The views are of those who are not pro-recovery. At best, reading these blogs is fascinating. At worst, it is disturbing. In any case, they are worth checking out.

The first site is: http://www.mymirrorimage.moonfruit.com/
The site contains several galleries of thin women. There is one of severely obese women--but these are there only as a reminder of how the author feels about her own body.
To me this quote sums up this site: "I'm now back at University until the end of June. The doctor has pushed me into seeing a CPN again, and so i might have to see one again. I'm not going to stop though - I know as much as it might be better for me, i don't want to recover yet."

This next site is a blog called Yummy Secrets. The blog is noted as having a "content warning," but can be accessed by anyone. To quote from this blog (italics mine),
"This is a ProAna blog. For basic accurate information on the ProAna movement, please read Solidarity in the Proana Community, a well-researched article on Associated Content.com. For my personal opinion on ProAna read this post.

If you have an eating disorder and are seeking help for recovery, I wish you success, but please find help elsewhere. This blog will not help you and may be triggering. A good place to start is Something-Fishy.org. I wish you the best of luck and health.

If you are against ProAna and wish to express it, please do so by sending me an email. I will be happy to discuss it with you, but I'd prefer my blog didn't get spammed up with arguments."

One blog linked from the previous site is called, I Am Not Ill. There are dozens of other blogs for those who wish to follow others' views and experiences/perceptions of food and other aspects of life.

While you may not like the sites, they will give you some insight.

Celebrities and Eating Disorders

Celebrities and eating disorders can make for a potentially potent introduction into the eating disorders topic--after all, who has their bodies scrutinized more than celebrities and athletes? 

One site that offers brief descriptions and small pictures is CaringOnline. On the left side of this page is a list/link of nearly 100 famous people who have suffered eating disorders.  Each link goes to a brief description and includes some quotes.

 

The Caring Online homepage can be found here.  The site is also an excellent resource for content related to eating disorders and treatment.

Women and Media Images: About-Face

Today's site is called About-Face.  The site has been of great use for both sociology and psychology classes when dealing with the role and portrayal of women in our culture.  The site calls out the magazines and advertisers about their respective questionable images in a portion called, "gallery of offenders."  However, this is not just exploitation.  The site also has a gallery of winners, featuring ads that have real women in real situations.  There is also a great deal of sarcasm that comes with explaining the offenders--pretty cool if you ask me.

Warning--some images are offensive, either for their violent or sexual aspect of objectifying women--you should preview the site to see if it's appropriate for your school/community.  The kids will likely be fine and some will be outraged.  It's the adults that may find something objectionable. 

The "facts page" links to many issues including body image, media, eating disorders and disordered eating, cosmetic surgery and obesity.

Whether you draw from the site some particular references or have your students explore, it will make for some spirited discussion related to body image, women in the media, and more.  Additionally, the blog makes for some very interesting reading.  Go for it.

Something-Fishy.Org

Earlier in the year, Kent posted about some government-based sites related to eating disorders.  This week, we highlight a couple more.  Today's post is called Something-fishy.org.  According to the site, they are "Dedicated to raising awareness and providing support to people with Eating Disorders, and their loved-ones... since 1995."  The content is quite detailed from descriptions of what an eating disorder is, symptoms of various eating disorders, and treatments, both from without and within.  The site is comprehensive and contains some excellent information.  This link to the site map will give you a great overview.

One point made on the front page is that they are pro-recovery.  We will post later about sites known as "pro-ana."  Something-fishy does not deal with pictures, examples of weight or other triggers for those with eating disorders.  They also have links to professional treatment centers.  If you have experience with the site or their partners, please comment.

Netflix and "Lie to Me"

Recently, there has been talk about using scenes from the television show "Lie to Me" to illustrate some of Paul Ekman's work on facial expressions.  Recently, season one was added to Netflix--not just the disc version, but the streaming version.  If you've ever used Netflix streaming through your computer, you'll know that you can move through the show/movie to get to the exact scene using visual cues (sorry, no scene markers like on DVDs).  Good stuff if you have the Netflix account.

For those who love the show, the second season begins in June.  Set those Tivos and DVRs now!