Psychology Unit Plan

Overview:
Standards: Content Standard: Classical conditioning Students are able to (performance standards): 1.1 Describe the principles of classical conditioning. 1.2 Describe clinical and experimental examples of classical conditioning. 1.3 Apply classical conditioning to everyday life. Content Standard: Structure and function of the nervous system in human and non-human animals Students are able to (performance standards): 1.1 Identify the major divisions and subdivisions of the human nervous system 1.3 Differentiate between the structures and functions of the various parts of the central nervous system. 1.4 Describe lateralization of brain functions. Objectives: -TSW be able to describe the steps involved in classical conditioning, and be able to differentiate between classical conditioning and operant conditioning with 85% accuracy. -TSW be able to identify all the parts of the brain, and describe their functions with 75% accuracy. Assessments: Throughout the unit I will have several different assessments, listed below are the ones I plan on using. 1. Pre-Assessment: a. I will ask students if they have ever trained their pet, and for those that did I will ask what methods they have used. And those that havent I would ask how they would go about doing it. (Lesson 1) b. I will ask if any students if they know about being left brained and right brained. I will also ask if they know if the brain has any other sections, and what those might do. (Lesson 2) 2. Formative Assessment: a. Students will be given examples of classical conditioning, and I will ask them to identify the conditioned stimulus and conditioned response. (Lesson 1)

b. Students will be given a worksheet and be asked to identify whether the method used is classical or operant conditioning, and if it is classical conditioning then they must identify the conditioned stimulus and conditioned response. (Lesson 1) c. After given the names of the different parts of the brain I will ask what they think that the parts do. (Lesson 2) d. After I have gone over what the different parts of the brain do I will give them a worksheet with different case studies of people who have had brain damage. They will have to identify what part of the brain was damaged by the symptoms listed. (Lesson 2) 3. Summative Assessment: a. Students will be given a quiz that includes the different types of conditioning and the student will have to identify which ones they are. They will also be asked to come up with their own example of something they classically conditioned. (Lesson 1) b. The students will be given a quiz that includes a drawing of a brain with the different sections blank. They will have to label each part of the brain. Then the students will be asked what each part of the brain is responsible for doing. After that there will be some case studies that the student must identify what part of the brain was damaged based on their symptoms. (Lesson 2) Accommodations: c. The lesson will be taught using a variety of methods. I will be using real life examples, lecturing, and will draw a timeline that shows when all the parts of conditioning occur. This will help students see the material in a variety of different ways. (Lesson 1) d. This lesson will be taught using a variety of methods. I will be using real life examples, lecturing, and drawings so that students can see the material in a variety of different ways. (Lesson 2) Unit Sequence: The unit will be taught in 2 days, the first two being content and formative assessments, and the third being the summative assessment. The unit will be taught in 3 days, the first three being content and formative assessments, and the fourth being the summative assessment. Technology: In these lessons I will use the technology that is available to me in my current teacher assisting classroom. These include the document camera, which would allow me to go over worksheets in a way that everyone can see. And also a whiteboard, which I can use to draw the classical conditioning timeline.

Lesson Plans
Lesson Plan 1: Conditioning I. Behavioral/Objective a. Content Standard 1: Classical conditioning Students are able to (performance standards): i. 1.1 Describe the principles of classical conditioning. ii. 1.2 Describe clinical and experimental examples of classical conditioning. iii. 1.3 Apply classical conditioning to everyday life. II. Objective a. TSW be able to describe the steps involved in classical conditioning, and be able to differentiate between classical conditioning and operant conditioning with 85% accuracy. b. This is important for students in order for them to understand how to condition people and animals alike. It can be used every day to shape behavior into something that you want to see more. Students can also use this information as the basis for their pet training. III. Anticipatory Set a. For my anticipatory set I will ask for a student volunteer who doesnt mind being sprayed with a spray bottle. I will then say random words at the student, and every time I say a word that begins with the letter c I will spray the student. Eventually the student will subconsciously make the connection, and when I say a c word the student should flinch, even if I dont spray them with the bottle. IV. Purpose/Objective a. What? Today we will be learning the different types of conditioning, and classify different methods of conditioning as either classical or operant. b. How? The activity we will be doing to better understand classical conditioning consists of storytelling. I will tell stories of ways you can use classical conditioning in your everyday life and where you might have been conditioned yourself. c. Why? In order to help understand the widespread use of classical and operant conditioning. V. Input a. Task Analysis i. The step by step procedures of the lesson is to do the anticipatory set, then explain why I did it. I will then talk about Classical Conditioning in places they may have seen it in their lives. I will then have students group up and come up with examples. b. Thinking Levels: i. Knowledge- Knowing and defining classical conditioning. ii. Comprehension-Understand the steps involved in classical conditioning.

iii. Application- Apply the knowledge to come up different examples. iv. Analysis- Differentiating between classical and operant conditioning. c. Learning Styles i. I will lecture to students, giving examples and explanations of what the types of conditioning are. I will also have students group up and come up with examples on their own. d. Method and Materials i. I will lecture, discuss, and demonstrate the different types of conditioning. ii. The materials needed are a squirt bottle and a power-point presentation. VI. Modeling a. I will show the students an example of someone being conditioned in front of them. VII. Checking for Understanding a. I will explain what each type of conditioning is, and have students talk amongst themselves to come up with examples in their lives. b. Describe an example you have seen of classical conditioning in your lives. c. How does this relate to previous chapters? d. When might we use classical instead of operant conditioning? Independent Practice a. Students will work independently on their homework writing which situations are which types of conditioning. b. Unfinished work will be assigned as homework.

VIII.

IX. Closure a. Exit Passi. Where might you use classical conditioning outside of class?

Lesson Plan 2: The Brain and its Functions I. Standards a. Content Standard 1: Structure and function of the nervous system in human and non-human animals Students are able to (performance standards): i. 1.1 Identify the major divisions and subdivisions of the human nervous system ii. 1.3 Differentiate between the structures and functions of the various parts of the central nervous system. iii. 1.4 Describe lateralization of brain functions. Objective a. TSW be able to identify all the parts of the brain, and describe their functions with 75% accuracy. b. This is important for students to understand because they should know more about their brain and its functions. Everyone has a brain, so it is interesting to know what parts are responsible for what jobs. Anticipatory Set: a. I will bring up a case study where a person received brain damage to their frontal cortex, and list their symptoms. I will ask the students why that person lived but only suffered those conditions. b. Ask if anyone has known anyone who has had some head trauma in a certain part of their head, and seemed to act differently after it happened. Objective/Purpose a. What? Today we will be learning the different parts of the brain, and the functions that each part is responsible for. b. How? The activity today we will use is with visuals. They will have a sketch of a brain divided into parts, and they will fill out what they think each part of the brain does. c. Why? In order to help the students understand what the brain does. Input a. Task Analysis i. The information the learner needs is knowledge of what a brain is. ii. First I will present the anticipatory set, then will show them a picture of the brain divided into segments. I will ask what they think each part of the brain is responsible for, and use it to compare to what I eventually teach them. I will tell them the names of each part of the brain, and then tell them the functions. b. Thinking Levels: i. Knowledge- Knowing the different parts of the brain, and what their functions are. ii. Comprehension- Understand the roles that the parts of the brain play. iii. Application- Use of vocabulary when describing case studies.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

VI.

iv. Analysis- Hearing about a case study and come up with what sort of damage the patient may have received. v. Synthesis- Creating a story about a person who has had brain damage, and saying what area was damaged, and what resulted from it. Learning Styles i. The learning styles I will be working with today are visual, and also auditorial. Because I will be drawing pictures as well as lecturing. Method i. I will present this with discussion first, then will lecture. Afterwards I will let them run some simulations on what might happen if a person has a part of their brain damaged.

VII.

VIII.

Modeling a. I will show students the parts of the brain, as well as tell them what the parts do. Checking for Understanding a. Same question: If a person got in a car accident and had difficulty speaking afterwards, what section of the brain was most likely damaged? b. After teaching for a bit I will stop and have some students come up with made up examples that would display the information I just taught. I would do this a few times throughout the lesson. Guided Practice a. I will give students a worksheet after I finish my lesson that has a list of different situations and the student must say what part of the brain was damaged. After a while we will go over it together and I will have them explain their choice, and elaborate on it if needed. Closure a. Exit Slip- Think about a character from a TV show that may have had some sort of brain damage. Who is it, what part of the brain did they damage, why do you think that?

IX.

X.

XI.

Scoring Guide
Pre-Assessments: -The pre-assessment for lesson 1 I will not be grading them, I just want to get an idea of who has experience with conditioning. -The pre-assessment for lesson 2 will also be ungraded; I just want to get them thinking about the functions of the brain. I will also find out what some of the students know about what the brain does. Formative Assessments: -The formative assessment for lesson 1 where I ask them to identify the conditioned stimulus and the conditioned response will also be ungraded; I just want to know who is grasping the concept well. -The worksheet for lesson 1will actually be graded, it will feature 10 questions. Correctly identifying each will give you one point. A total of 8/10 points will be considered acceptable. -The formative assessment from lesson 2 where I ask what the students think the parts of the brain do will be ungraded. I want to see if any student knows what they do from previous knowledge. -The worksheet for lesson 2 will be scored out of 10 points. It will feature 10 different case studies with people who have brain damage. Each correct diagnosis will give the students a full point. A score of 8/10 will be considered acceptable. Summative Assessment: -Both assessments will be out of 30 points. They will feature questions that I posed in class and also similar ones to the worksheets handed out in class.

Reflection
This unit was very beneficial for me. I think the best thing that I got out of this unit was making me realize that I need to have more formative assessments. Even if they arent graded it is good to know where the students are at with their knowledge of the subject so far. Graded formative assessments should probably be used after the student has had an opportunity to grasp the subject because some students pick up the information slower than others and should not be punished for it. Another good thing about formative assessments is that after you have collected data it can help you in forming your lesson for the next day based on how well the students are doing, or what methods they seem to learn the best from.