A classroom icebreaker with Lego, to introduce students to each other and to the instructor. A playful way to start to get to know your students and seed a constructive classroom culture.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
Proposed format for a Thinking with Things lesson. You can remix this as a way to begin documenting your resource.
Material Type: Lesson Plan
This is an activity where students create and label a brain using air dry modeling clay. It is a good first or second day activity for community building and can replace the world's most boring neuroanatomy lecture. Also, it provides students with a 3D study tool at home. You will want to provide some guidance as to size (example template in Lesson Instructions) and areas of interest for your course. I provide appropriately sized labels (example in Lesson Instruction) that I have printed on a 8.5x11 inch sticker that they can choose to cut out and use or not. I generally have a couple of labels that occupy the same space (e.g. BA 44 and Broca's area) to highlight different labeling systems.Most students often find this activity very engaging and many comment that it reduces their anxiety about jargon in neuroanatomy. In my experience, there is a varied level of detail and enthusiasm for the project, but it meets the learning objectives in a more entertaining way than simply reading or listening.
Material Type: Activity/Lab
