In 500 words After reading and watching all of the materials on Vygotsky’s theory, think about a teaching or learning experience you have had, perhaps one that involved learning something really chall
EDUC 380 Blog Post Samples Module 1: The Brain Below are some student examples that are excellent blog posts for the first two prompts in Module 1 (The Brain). The go al for the discussion posts is to engage in the module materials directly and explore some of the questions and issues in each module more deeply. The posts are very importan t for your learning . Below you w ill find comments to help you understand how these students met the rubric requirements. The rubric for blog posts is posted in the end of this document and is in the course syllabus. Blog Post # 1: ● Describe a time when you engaged in somethin g adults might consider risky and/or thoughtless: ● How old were you? ● Why did you do it? ● What were you thinking at the time? Think back to the article on risk - taking you read and to the video you watched on the teen brain. What connections can you make between the lecture, the article, and/or the video? Growing up, my family would take annual trips to the river in Laughlin, Nevada. We would go with our family friends who had kids with a wide range of ages. I was 13 years old at the time within the middle age range. A big activity at the river is jumping off of ro cks. My parents did not want my sisters and me to engage in this activity. During one of the annual trips, I joined the older teenagers on a boat ride to the “jumping rock.” Depending on how much risk they wanted to take, there are different levels for peo ple to jump off of. All of the older teens were jumping off of the highest level. I decided to join the older teens and jump from the tallest rock. At the time, I wanted to do it because all of the older teenagers were doing it. I wanted to be like them. T his was not an impulsive decision. I had thought about doing this activity the whole trip and decided to go on the boat ride, knowing they were going to jump off the tallest rock. The article, “Beautiful Brains,” explains, “Seeking sensation isn’t necessar ily impulsive. You might plan a sensation - seeking experience - a skydive or a fast car…” (Dobbs, 2011, p. 49). By jumping off the rock with them, I thought this would change their view of me as an older and more mature teenager. When they changed their opin ion about me, it would allow me to hang out with them all the time. I was taking more risks because I would get a higher reward. This relates to the article, “Beautiful Brains,” which states, “Teens take more risks not because they don’t understand the dan gers but because they weigh risk versus reward differently. In situations where risk can get them something they want, they value the reward more heavily than adults do” (Dobbs, 2011, p. 54). By jumping off the tallest rock, it gave me the reward of spendi ng more time with the older teenagers. If I had jumped off the shorter rock, I could have not been accepted into the group because they did not view me as mature as themselves. Therefore, I would have been penalized for not taking the risk. Additionally, t his connects to the video, “The Teenage Brain,” when it talks about our pleasure and reward zone called the Nucleus Accumbens. The video explains, “When teens are presented with a big reward their brains light way more than adult brains.When the reward wa s small, the teen brains barely fired at all” (SciShow, 2014). Since I The student brings in an article from the mo dule (in yellow) to suppor t her observation and reflection on the story she tells. The student brings in the article again, explaining directl y how the article helps her unders tand her experience. The student brings in a second sou rce from the module: a video. You can use articles, videos or anything else from the module. Word Count: 494. had a big reward, it motivated me to engage in the risk. If I had a small reward, I may not have engaged in the risk. In other words, if the older teenagers said I would not be able to hang out with them even if I jumped off the rock, I most likely would not jump from the tallest point. References: Dobbs, D. (2011, October). Beautiful brains. National geographic, pp.42 - 43, 48 - 49, 54 - 55. SciShow. (2014, March 12). The teenage brain expla ined [Video]. You T ube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=hiduiTq1ei8&feature=emb_logo Blog Post #2: How can neuroscience help us take an asset - oriented view of adolescent brains? Use the information in the article, lecture and videos to support your thinking . Sample 1 : “Neuroscience can help us understand that even though we believe teenagers to be risk takers; we should understand that these risky decisions may also be an asset to their growth. The article “ Beautiful Brains ,” explains how taking risks can cause people to expand their circle of friends, “which generally makes us “healthier, happier, safer, and more successful.” In my opinion, having a wider circle of friends does lead us to having a happier existence. The ar ticle went on to explain “the teen brain is similarly attuned to oxytocin, another neural hormone, which (among other things) makes social connections in particular more rewarding.” This helps us understand that teenagers find social connections rewarding ; therefore, the risk of making new friends and keeping friends is worth it. I believe that since teenagers view these friendships as vital, they are willing to put themselves in possible risky situations to do things to be liked or accepted by their peer s. The article sums this up best by stating, “peer relations (are) not a sideshow but the main show.” Ultimately, even though the teenage brain is still developing and learning the appropriate risks to take, the asset of the teenage brain is to form new f riendships. I think in today’s world of social media, peer relations being the main show is an interesting concept to explore further. Social media in combination with the teens developing brain could be the cause of more anxiety and depression reported in teenagers. Forging into new friendships may be one of the biggest assets of an adolescent brains but being able to learn to handle the emotions of these friendships is a delicate balance for teens. Dobbs, D. (2011, October). The Beautiful Brains. Nati onal Geographic. 42 - 43, 48 - 49, 54 - 55, last page. T he student brings in direct quotes (in yellow) from one of th e readings, which supports her observations about teenagers ’ friendsh ips an d the how those peer relationships influence behavior. The student provides a citation to the article and sources she uses. You don ’ t need to use A PA style necessarily, but you should list the resources you used at the end of your post so your readers know what you ’ re referring to. Sample 2: Neuroscience has helped us understand the developing brains of teens. It has identified the causes and/or reasons as to why adolescents choose to do things. The article, “Beautiful Brains,” explains the brain is so adaptive during this period because of th e slow back - to - front brain development and the forebrain’s myelination (Dobbs, 2011, last page). The more we understand the adolescent brain, the more parents can advise and help them during this adaptive time of their life. The article highlighted the pro s to the highly functional adolescent brains. It states, teens “fully recognize they’re mortal. And like adults, says Steinberg, ‘teens actually overestimate risk’” (Dobbs, 2011, p. 54). The article continues saying teens think as well as adults, but give more attention to their Nucleus Accumbens (risk vs. reward zone.) This information demonstrates that adolescents are thinking more clearly than we thought. Most of the time adolescents get a bad representation as not making thoughtful decisions. However, t his article demonstrates they deserve more credit than what we give them. The adolescents know what they are doing and why they are doing it. Even though they make thoughtful decisions about engaging in risk - taking, parents and caretakers still have a ro le in helping teenagers develop into adulthood. The article states, “Studies show that when parents engage and guide their teens with a light but steady hand, staying connected by allowing independence, their kids generally do much better in life” (Dobbs, 2011, last page). Here, the article is saying that adolescents still need some guidance, but without being a helicopter parent. I believe that teens feel more respected by their parents when some independence is given and will consider their parent’s advic e more often. In the end, this may help teens not take too big of risks. References: Dobbs, D. (2011, October). Beautiful brains. National geographic, pp.42 - 43, 48 - 49, 54 - 55, last page. Here is another example of using the text or course m ateria ls to support your thinking. Word Count: 292.
You don ’ t need to go all the way to 500 words, especially if you are grounding your discussion in the class materials. DISCUSSION POSTS RUBRI C Discussion Board Criteri a Every module includes a forum with at least 1 discussion question. An initial response to each thread prompt should be posted as early as possible, but by Day 4 of the week (Wednesday) at the latest. This gives everyone plenty of time to respon d. Participants are also expected to actively engage in ongoing conversation with classmates in the discussion threads by posting at least two additional substantive contributions to each discussion thread by the end of the module (Saturday) . Criteri a Achievemen t Meets or Exceeds Expectation s Approaching Expectation s Below Expectation s Initial Respons e 6/10 pt s Initial post fully addresses the prompt and contributes in a constructive way to the discussion.
Initial response demonstrates critical thinking skills and provides examples or details relevant experience to substantiate response. The post refers directly to course materials (lecture, readings, videos, etc.) . Initial post somewhat addresses the prompt. Initial response may lack detail or explanation. Examples or questions raised may require further exploration. The post does not directly refer to course mat erials (lecture, readings, videos, etc.) . Initial response does not address the prompt or may require significantly more depth. Initial response may be inappropriate for professional context. Non - performanc e Follow - up Responses (2 ) 4/10 pt s Responses to classmates clearly and constructively build on the existing conversation. Responses elicit robust replies from peers and are supported by examples, relevant experience, and further questioning. Responses to classmates add ideas, but may not c onnect to existing conversation or may be inapplicable for professional context. Examples or arguments may require further exploration or detail to appropriately support dialogue. Response posts are minimal or do not elicit a robust response from peers. R esponses may be flat or rhetorical. No responses to peers.
