Prepare a brief summary of the history of learning theories and examine how the cognitive aspects of neuroscience are used to help you choose or create learning activities that will work best for your students. In addition, apply this understanding to a practical situation in your area of professional focus and analyze (describe how, when, and why) you would chose a brain-based activity in that situation.
Answer the following questions using your research for this paper:
- What does the research say about the left brain and right brain with respect to learning?
- How does the neurophysiology of learning affect information processing, memory, and language?
- How do you motivate your students?
- Is motivation really a non-cognitive function? Explain why or why not.
- Could mood have any implications for learning? How do you know?
- How has this new information modified your personal definition of learning?
- What could you add to your practice to integrate your understanding of brain-based learning?
Your paper should be four to five pages in length, not counting your title page or references. Be sure to use examples from your research to support your position throughout your paper. Papers should be double-spaced with a font size of 12 and follow APA style.
Additional Requirements
- Number of references: A paper of this length should include references. As a graduate student, you are responsible for determining the appropriate number of resources. The majority of them should be original research articles published in legitimate scientific journals. A few review or survey articles are also acceptable.
- Article distinctions: There are three different types of articles. Research articles present original research, review articles discuss research already presented elsewhere, and survey articles are comprehensive review articles that discuss an entire field or area of research. References to books are acceptable, but they should be kept to a minimum—probably no more than five.
- APA style: You must use proper APA style to cite and list your references. Refer to the Capella Writing Center’s APA Style and Formatting guidelines for more information.
- Format: Use the following structure to organize your paper:
- Cover page (your name, your specialization or program, title and course number, current quarter and year, and instructor’s name).
- Abstract (optional).
- Body of paper, including headings and subheadings over the appropriate content.
- Reference list.
- Refer to the APA Style and Formatting guidelines for additional formatting information.
- Style: Write in the third person as an impartial narrator. Avoid the use of I, we, or you. In particular, avoid phrases like “I think” in favor of phrases like “the evidence suggests” or “research indicates.” In science, personal opinion carries no weight unless supported by a combination of empirical research and statistical or logical-mathematical inference.
- Other notes: Avoid long quoted passages from your source texts. Your paper should be a synthesis of your own ideas, in your own words—even if your ideas refer to the original ideas of others, in which case the references should be explicit. A paper at the graduate level should be scholarly and more than a mere summary. It should present a unique thesis or at least a significant point you are trying to make, adding appreciably to what is already known of your topic. Your point or thesis will stand or fall solely on its strength—that is, the quality and quantity of the evidence you present.
Must address and be original:
Summarize historical and contemporary theories of learning and cognition.Analyze the influence of behavioral and cognitive sub-processes on learning.
- Explain how neurophysiology affects information processing, memory, and language.
- Discuss how knowledge of neurophysiology impacts the design of learning activities.
- Analyze the role of motivation in learning.
- Analyze a practical situation in one’s specialization from a brain-based perspective.
