This discussion connects instructional design with valuable educational experience for both teacher and learner. Before beginning your initial post, consider the following comments by Degen (2014) about “lizard brain,” a mode of thinking that you would do well to avoid in this exercise and elsewhere in your scholarly and professional life.

The lizard brain does not reason: it reacts… It loses the ability to correctly interpret subtle clues from the environment; it reverts to familiar, tried-and-true behaviors; it loses some of its abilities to index, store, and access information; it becomes more automatic and limited in its responses; it loses some of its ability to perceive relationships and patterns; it becomes less able to use higher order thinking skills; it loses some long-term memory capacity; and it tends to overreact to stimuli. (p. 20)

In this forum, you will apply strategies to walk students through material at a reasonable pace so that they have the opportunity and ability to transfer information from the working memory to the long-term memory. Without such strategies guiding the experience, the principle of cognitive load quickly becomes an issue. Cognitive load is exactly the type of threat that could result in lizard brain.

Last week, you observed and commented on instruction and the role of cognitive structures. Now, you will apply the cognitive apprenticeship model to draft a lesson plan that instructs your peers on the following topics:

• the concepts of cognitive structures and learning style
• the relationship between cognitive structures and learning style
• instructional approaches and learning styles

Your initial post to this forum should:

• be a PowerPoint presentation.
• be five to seven slides in length.
• include notes that provide instruction in the topics identified in the bulleted list above.

For assistance and tips on how to develop strong PowerPoint presentations, review the Writing Center’s tutorial, How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation.

To guide your work on this presentation, consider the resources you reviewed for this week and experiences that have inspired your curiosity and learning. Since everyone will be teaching the same topic, leverage creative opportunities to engage your peers. Rather than providing terminology and definitions, develop an activity that requires your peers to do something in their response to your post.

As seen in this course, think about using a resource to prime your peers to learn about the topic. From cat videos to instructional lessons, the internet can help you find fun and ingenious resources. Two great examples are Ted Talks and Ted Ed Lessons.

In your responses to no fewer than two of your peers, offer constructive criticism and recommendations regarding useful strategies that could have been adopted in addition to those that were. Frame your responses from perspectives of both learner and teacher.

Reference

Degen, R.J. (2014). Brain-based learning: The neurological findings about the human brain that every teacher should know to be effective. Amity Global Business Review, 9, 15-23.

Post your discussion by Day 3 of the week. Before beginning, carefully review this guide, “Writing a Good Discussion Board Post” by the Writing Center.

Make your discussion post at least three paragraphs long (around 300 words). Respond to at least two of your classmates’ initial posts throughout the week by noting how their perspective is the same or different than yours. Each of your responses should be at least 100 words long. Both your initial post and your responses should refer both to your own experience and to content from readings, media, or websites.

Articulate the theories that support and explain learning and cognition along with their evolution.

Analyze the role of neuroscience in understanding how we learn.

Apply the concept of cognitive structures to instructional and curricular design and delivery.

Analyze the relationship of learning and cognition to the teaching of critical thinking skills.

Design teaching and learning approaches that incorporate theories of learning and cognition.

1. Synthesize core proficiencies in the major area of study in a manner appropriate to the degree level to important issues within the field.
   1. Utilize the relevant skills so that knowledge acquired can be utilized in a manner appropriate to the degree level in the major field and/or career.
   2. Provide scholarly support for conclusions related to issues associated with the field and/or career using discipline-appropriate reasoning.
2. Integrate skills from core competencies in order to respond to civic, societal, environmental, and economic challenges.
   1. Apply the principles of critical thinking to contemporary issues.
   2. Exhibit clear, sustained, and coherent arguments and narratives
   3. Utilize information literacy skills appropriate to the graduate degree level, by contributing to, expanding, evaluating or refining the information base within the field of study.
   4. Construct and defend solutions to problems through qualitative or quantitative analysis and/or computational skills and practices.
3. Synthesize theories and approaches to the discipline in solving complex problems.
   1. Develop problem solving framework and construct solutions to complex unstructured issues and problems through reasoned analysis, including consideration of diverse views.
   2. Apply knowledge of commonalities and differences across varying cultural, economic, and geographic populations as part of global citizenship.
4. Construct ethical responses to
   1. Evaluate key ethical issues and apply theory-based knowledge to the concerns of society.
   2. Demonstrate service to the community in responding to local, national, and global challenges.
   3. Evaluate the application of ethical standards in research and practice.
5. Demonstrate lifelong learning skills and self-reflective capacity by engaging in continuous professional and scholarly development.
   1. Apply discipline-specific content and skills to produce works appropriate to the field.
   2. Evaluate contemporary research within the field.
   3. Apply collaborative skills in teams to solve problems.
   4. Demonstrate professional dispositions and behaviors appropriate to the discipline.