Description
Cognitive psychologists have been exploring the human mind through behavioral studies for over fifty years. In parallel, neuroscientists have built-up our understanding of the human brain. Cognitive neuroscience lies at the intersection of these fields, asking some of the toughest but most fascinating questions in science: How are memories stored in the brain? Is our brain pre-prepared to learn language? How does the average human brain outperform many face recognition algorithms? What is the role of sleep in cognition? We will explore these and many other questions in this course. Participants will take away an understanding of how the brain functions to affect our thinking. This course will build a basic understanding of cognitive neuroscience, gaining insight into the wiring of the brain and its effects on cognition.
Course Outline
Week 1: Student Orientation
Week 2: The Nervous System
Week 3: Historical Perspectives
Week 4: Memory and Learning
Week 5: Executive Function
Week 6: Emotion
Week 7: Social Cognition
Prerequisites
This is an intermediate level course for teachers, literacy coaches, curriculum specialists, professional development specialists, or other school personnel. Participants are expected to have regular access to computers with Internet access. In addition, participants should be proficient with browsing the Internet, uploading and downloading content, navigating to computer files, and with using word processing software, email, and attachments.
Required Materials
All materials in this course are the property of the South Carolina Department of Education Office of VirtualSC PD. All course materials needed/required for the workshop are available online.