Virginia Dicken-Gracen

P2: Activities

Three Initial Questions

 
What activities do you enjoy running during an in-person event?
In teach Introduction to Psychology, one of my favorite activities has been having students
“role-play” communication within and between two neurons.  Each student plays a neuron’s
dendrites, cell body, axon, or terminal buttons.  Each of these roles has a motion and noise,
and I start with 4 students standing in line doing their motion and noise in order as we narrate
what is happening within the cell.  Then 4 more students are asked to come up and form a
second neuron, and the first neuron “releases neurotransmitters” (candy) into the “synaptic
gap” for the second neuron to receive, starting the process over again.  I am now teaching
Introduction to Psychology solely online, and I miss this activity. 
 
What is the goal of the activity?  What is achieved once the activity is complete?
This activity serves multiple purposes.  It provides an interactive, multi-sensory learning
opportunity that reinforces the neural communication concepts students have read about in
their textbook.  It creates a story-based memory (improving recall).  It also is just plain fun,
helping students relax a bit when it comes to this otherwise challenging topic.
 
What features in the online tool can help reach that goal?
Within the LMS, I have access to discussion boards and Zoom meetings as two potential
interactive tools.  The Zoom meeting may be the best way to present an adaptation of this
activity, and I could do so during the exam review session (which I already conduct live via
Zoom).  It would need to be more auditory and less kinesthetic for this adaptation, as the
students could not directly interact in each others' space but could hear and possibly see one
another.
 
Create Your Own Activity
 
Audience: Psyc101 students (expected: 8-10 per exam review session)
 
Time: 15 minutes
 
Platform:  Zoom video meeting
 
Materials: A set of slides showing a pair of neurons with each component highlighted on a
different slide.
 
Technical Considerations: Students will access the Zoom meeting via phone or computer. 
All will have audio connection, but those with weak internet connections may need to keep
their video feed turned off.  If possible, have those with video play the more visual roles, but
each role can have an audio component.  The link is provided via the LMS.
 
Activity:
 
Instructor – “Several students struggled on the quiz questions related to neural
communication, so I would like to introduce an activity that will help you better understand
and remember how this process works.  First, take a look at the slide here.  Each neuron has
four major components you need to be familiar with.  Which of these do you remember?” 
 
Elicit responses from participants – 1) the dendrites, which receive neurotransmitters from
other cells and holds onto them, 2) the cell body, 3) the axon which carries an electric signal
away from the cell body, and 4) the terminal buttons, which release neurotransmitters into the
synaptic gap where they may be received by the dendrites of another neuron.
 
Instructor – “To help with remembering these components and what they do, I would like
each of you to act out the part of one of the components.  [Student A], I would like you to be
the dendrites.  When it is your turn, reach out into the air and pretend to grab some
neurotransmitters and then tell the cell body ‘Hey cell body, we have neurotransmitters here!’  
[Student B], I would like you to be the cell body.  Since you’re in charge, you will put on
your best boss look and command the axon to fire.  [Student C], you’re the axon.  You’re
firing an electric signal, so represent that with an electric wave of your arms and give a
‘Buzzzz’ sound to help us remember that’s an electrical message.  [Student D], you’re the
terminal buttons.  After the electric signal has passed along the axon, it reaches you, so
pretend to throw some neurotransmitters out in front of you and say “Catch!” to remind us
that those are being released into the synaptic gap, heading toward the next neuron.”
 
Confirm that each student remembers their motion and sound.  Start off the role play by
pretending to toss some neurotransmitters to the dendrites saying “Catch!”  As students go
through the sequence of producing their sounds and motions, state the component name.
Lead the 4 students in 2-3 rounds of this activity with just their single neuron.  Then, if there
are at least 4 additional students available, assign them roles so they can “continue the
message,” with the dendrites “grabbing” the neurotransmitters that the previous terminal
buttons “released.” Afterward, discuss elements of the activity such as how the
neurotransmitters were never “passed” within a neuron but were only transmitted between
two neurons.  The message carried within the cell was electric, not chemical.