ANNOTATED FOLIO OF PRACTICAL ACTIVITIES

1. Neural Bases of Learninga. THE Brain That Changes Itself – Neural Plasticityb. Lolly neuron – neural structure and long-term

potentiation

2. Classical Conditioninga. Sherbet powder experimentb. Classical conditioning in The Office

3. Operant Conditioninga. Big Bang Theory video b. PRAISE & PUNISH YOUR PEERSc. Schedules of reinforcement in games

4. Trial-and-error Learninga. The Moron Test

5. Observational Learninga. T-Shirt Folding

NEURAL BASES OF LEARNING

1a. The Brain that Changes Itself

In this folio activity you will investigate plasticity and how the brain is able to adapt and change in order to learn new things and re-learn old things. You will need to Watch selected stories from The Brain that Changes Itself (You can watch it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFCOm1P_cQQ ). Focus specifically on the stories about Michael (about 25 min in) and Michelle (about 45 min in) and Take notes about their cases. Be on the lookout for evidence of neural plasticity and learning.Which hemisphere was damaged when Michael had his stroke? Justify your answer using examples seen in the documentary.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________What is the term given to describe Michael’s ability to regain many of his cognitive and behavioural functions after his stroke?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In the clip that highlighted Michael, many children and adults were undergoing Constraint Induced Therapy to improve the motor skills and coordination. Explain why the children in the room would be able to recover faster than the adults. Use key terms in your explanation.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Referring to theoretical concepts, explain why it was necessary for the patients to have their undamaged hand restricted as a part of their treatment, rather than being allowed to use their good hand.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________What type of plasticity best explains why Michelle was able to learn how to use language even though she was born with no left hemisphere?______________________________________________________________Put a number or key term in the box to refer to the stages of developmental plasticity in the correct order (1=first, 5=last)

Myelination

Circuit Formation

Migration

1 4

Explain why Michelle was able to successfully use language despite her missing left hemisphere. Refer to stages 2 and 3 of the above concept. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

1b. LOLLY NEURON

In this folio activity you will investigate the structure of a neuron and how neurons change due to learning (called Long-Term Potentiation).You will be provided with a range of lollies and will use these lollies to create a model neuron. You need to label your neuron, making sure to include the nucleus, soma, dendrites, axon, myelin sheath, Axon Terminal and Synaptic Gap.Make a model neuron and appropriately label it. Once you have finished Your neuron, have Ms O’Neill check it for accuracy. Once it is ‘passed’ you need to take a photo for use in your folio (you can copy or PASTE it in below).

Model Neuron

Explain the process by which information is transmitted along a neuron (be sure to specify the different structures and their roles):____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________After this, you need to alter your neuron to illustrate the changes that occur as a result of long-term potentiation. You may like to create a second neuron to demonstrate communication between neurons. Again, have this checked by Ms O’Neill and take a photo for your folio.

Long-Term Potentiation

Identify two neurotransmitters that are involved in learning and explain their specific roles:____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Explain the synaptic changes that occur as a result of learning:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CLASSICAL CONDITIONING

2a. SHERBET POWDER EXPERIMENT

In this activity, students will be classically conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell, by pairing the sound of a repeatedly ringing bell with tasting sherbet powder (Wiz Fizz).INSTRUCTIONS:

1. To begin you will need one sachet of wizz fizz between two, blindfolds and a way to play an automated bell sound.

2. Students should pair up, with one to be the experimenter and one to be the participant.

3. The Participant is to be blindfolded and instructed to sit with their mouth slightly open at all times to be administered the wizz fizz.

4. The Teacher should sound the bell sound. http://soundbible.com/tags-school-bell.html and check for ‘no relevant response’ (no salivation). Record on results sheet.

5. Teacher should instruct Experimenters to administer wizz fizz in order to check normal salivation response. Record response on results sheet.

6. Conditioning begins. Teacher should sound the bell sound and experimenters should immediately administer one scoop of wiz fizz into the participant’s mouth.

7. Experimenters are to record response (observe and also ask ‘what did you experience?’)

8. Continue this for 5 more trials9. In the ‘after conditioning’ section, experimenters are instructed to

no longer administer the wiz fizz after the bell. This should not be a verbal instruction, instead use a big whiteboard message or hand signals. Record response to see if conditioning has occurred.

10. You might like to test stimulus generalisation too, by playing a different bell sound at trial 10 or 11 http://soundbible.com/tags-school-bell.html

11. At the end of the period, test if conditioning remains by unexpectedly playing the original bell sound again and record response.

Trial Stimulus ResponseBefore Conditioning

1

2

During Conditioning

3

4

5

6

7

8

After Conditioning

9

10

11

12

The Classical Conditioning Procedure

Concept MapTime

No Relevant Response

Leads to

Which automatically

leads to the

Is associated with

Leads to

A conditioned response, which is a SIMILAR response

to the UCR

NS

UCS UCR

NS

UCS UCR

CS CR

Complete the diagram below to show the classical conditioning procedures for the Wiz Fizz activity:

In the class Wiz Fizz activity, extinction occurred. Define extinction and explain when and why this happened in the activity, using the language of classical conditioning in your response.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________When a different sounding bell was rung, some students still salivated. Using key terms, explain why it occurred.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Following the Wiz Fizz activity, one student developed a strong phobia of Wiz Fizz, due to her severe dislike of the fizzy sensation on her tastebuds. Her partner would not let her stop and instead force-fed her large quantities of the fizzy sherbet while holding her down. Now every time she thinks about Whizz Fizz she has a panic attack and is starting to feel afraid of being around anything white and powdery, such as icing sugar and talcum powder.Ms O’Neill thinks she can remove the phobia using an application of classical conditioning before anyone finds out and she loses her job.Suggest a possible method for removing this student’s phobia and explain the steps involved in this particular example. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Explain one reason why Ms O’Neill would be unlikely to use aversion therapy to help this student.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Classical Conditioning Procedure

Concept MapTime

No Relevant Response

Leads to

Which automatically

leads to the

Is associated with

Leads to

A conditioned response, which is a SIMILAR response

to the UCR

NS

UCS UCR

NS

UCS UCR

CS CR

2b. CLASSICAL CONDITIONINGIN THE OFFICE

Watch the following clip from The Office and complete the diagram below, illustrating the classical conditioning principles:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfZfMIHwSkU

OPERANT CONDITIONING

3a. BIG BANG THEORY VIDEOhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt4N9GSBoMI

In this video, Sheldon makes an error in his explanation of Operant Conditioning. He states that getting chocolate is positive reinforcement and that being electrocuted is negative reinforcement. This, however, is incorrect.Explain the following elements of operant conditioning:Positive Reinforcement: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Negative Reinforcement: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Positive Punishment: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Negative Punishment: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Based on the above, how should Sheldon have explained the use of chocolates and electrocution in modifying Penny’s behaviour? Use the language of operant conditioning.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3b. PRAISE & PUNISH YOUR PEERS

http://www.education.uiowa.edu/docs/default-source/teach---social/praise_and_punish_your_peers_operant_conditioning_activity.pdf?sfvrsn=2

This folio activity is based on the traditional “hot and cold” game, in which participants are operantly conditioned to behave in a particular manner.INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Two volunteers should be selected and asked to leave the room. They are instructed that they will be required to complete a task upon re-entering but no further instructions are given.

2. Once out of the room, the class should decide on an appropriate task to be carried out (ie. sit in a certain chair, touch a certain poster in the room). The task should not be too complex.

3. The teacher should instruct the class that the first volunteer to re-enter should only be guided towards this behaviour with positive reinforcement- clapping their hands when the subject heads in the right direction.

4. To encourage shaping, the class will only clap when the subject gets nearer the required behaviour. If the volunteer gets completely lost, the class should revert back to reinforcing an earlier step in the behaviour. There should be nO TALKING AT ALL from the class.

5. If the volunteer takes a wrong direction, class is to cease all reinforcement – ie. Stay silent.

6. When the volunteer discovers their correct behaviour they should be congratulated and rewarded.

7. The teacher should instruct the class that the second volunteer to re-enter should only be guided towards this behaviour with (positive) punishment- a loud ‘boooo’ sound when they head in the wrong direction.

8. If the volunteer takes a right direction, class is to cease all punishment-ie. Stay silent.

9. When the volunteer discovers their correct behaviour they should be congratulated and rewarded.

In the operant conditioning class activity, the behaviour of participants was shaped. Explain what this means. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Identify the correct name for both types of consequences that were used in the operant conditioning activity. Define each key term that you use.Clapping was a _________________________________________________which is defined as ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Booing was a __________________________________________________which is defined as ______________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Why was clapping a more successful technique than booing in terms of shaping behaviour? Give at least one reason in your response.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Give an example of how negative reinforcement could have been used in the shaping activity instead of the types of consequences that were used____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What type of reinforcement schedule was used in the class shaping activity?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Give one reason why this reinforcement schedule would be considered the best for the acquisition of the target behaviour?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3c. SCHEDULES OF REINFORCEMENT

IN GAMES

A key element of operant conditioning is the manner in which desired behaviours are reinforced. Identify the schedule of reinforcement used in each of these games and justify your response, making sure to use the language of operant conditioning.4 PICS 1 Word: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Mario Kart: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Flow: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Candy Crush: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Which of these games would be the most addictive? Why?Which would be the easiest to quit? Why?In your answer, reference the Speed at which the desired behaviour is learned and its resistance to extinction.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

TRIAL-AND-ERROR

LEARNING

4a. THE MORON TESTThis activity involves completing a level of an iPhone/iPad game called ‘The Moron Test’. It tests the efficiency of Trial-and-Error Learning.

1. Complete Section 1 ‘Old School’ of The Moron Test. the fastest person to finish will receive a prize. Students should try and beat each other’s scores.

2. Record how long it took you to complete the level.3. Sharing the iPad/iPhone with others in the class, Complete

the level three times in total, making sure to allow at least five minutes between each attempt.

4. Record your results below

Person Trial 1 (seconds)

Trial 2 (seconds)

Trial 3 (seconds)

Mean Time taken

Work out the average time taken for each trial and then plot these on a simple graph. Remember to label your axes!

How does this activity show trial and error learning? Refer to the definition.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How is this activity similar to Thorndike’s study?____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Do you think your results replicate Thorndike's study?  Explain your answer.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Was there motivation and reward for the individual to complete this task successfully? Describe whether this impacted on the trial and error learning process.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How do the three laws apply to this activity? Explain each one.________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING

5a. T-SHIRT FOLDINGStudents should bring in their own t-shirt to take part in the t-shirt folding competition. A plain crew neck t-shirt with proper sleeves works best.Watch the YouTube clip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS9Pa81vuvo carefully paying attention and following the steps.Once finished, practice T-shirt folding in the new style before having a class competition for the fastest and neatest folder.

Name and explain how each of Bandura’s five stages of observational learning were evident in the t-shirt folding activity:

Stage 1: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

STAGE 2: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

STAGE 3: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

STAGE 4: _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

STAGE 5: _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Explain how one feature of observational learning that is similar to that of operant conditioning. Link your answer to the t-shirt folding activity.____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Explain two key features of the TV presenters that made them more likely to be successful models.Attribute 1:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Attribute 2:________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Give one explanation as to why some people were more successful in completing their t-shirt fold. Refer to key terms in your answer________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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