Discussion

Prior to beginning work on this final project, review the chapters of the textbook and relevant videos and articles assigned. The Final Project will give you a chance to fully demonstrate what you have learned on a specific topic in cognitive psychology. For your Final Project, choose one of the case studies below. Carefully consider, then answer the questions posed in your selected case study according to the final project requirements. Please integrate your professor’s comments and feedback from Week 3’s Final Project Rough Draft into your final project. You have the option to write a paper or create a presentation for your final project.

If you choose to do a PowerPoint or Prezi presentation, it should be 18-20 slides in length, not including title or reference slides. Slides must contain bulleted points and use the notes section to provide more information (do not put all information ON the slide). There should be no more than 50 words per slide, except in the notes section. You are encouraged to be creative and include APA-referenced and cited visuals such as pictures, graphics, charts, tables, etc. Your PowerPoint presentation must include a title slide and a reference slide. This presentation includes the submission of a transcript as a separate 1-2-page Word document, not including title and reference pages.

Case Study #1

Driving while talking on a cell phone, even one that is hands-free, can cause errors in decision making and delays in response time. Read the Texting and Driving Accident… (Links to an external site.) case study and answer the questions.

Sixteen-year-old Emily and five of her teenage friends piled into Emily’s mother’s minivan to drive to a local football game on a Friday night. Emily had just gotten her license and was excited to drive to her first event but made sure that everyone was seat-belted before departing.

As they did, Emily cranked up the stereo and the girls began screaming and singing though Emily was driving safely and within the speed limit. Five minutes into Emily’s drive, she received a text message from her boyfriend Brian, telling her that he wanted to break off their relationship of one year. Rather than wait until she was out of the vehicle, Emily started texting and driving. Getting increasingly upset, Emily began texting using both hands, attempting to drive the minivan with her knees and elbows while reading text messages from Brian.

While not looking at the road, and reading a long message, Emily failed to notice that the minivan began to careen off the road. Unable to correct her driving due to her relative inexperience and all the distractions, Emily accelerated and drove off the road into a ditch. In this car accident, Emily bumped her head on the steering wheel and all the passengers experienced whiplash, with one receiving minor cuts due to the passenger window shattering. All five passengers and Emily were taken to the hospital for various injuries. Emily is headed to criminal court for negligence and causing bodily harm while driving.

• Explain how the central bottleneck contributes to those breakdowns in driving performance. How does inattentional blindness add to the problem? In your view, why do so many people believe themselves immune from these effects, even though others might be impaired by cell phone use during driving? Use course concepts on decision-making and problem-solving to explain your answer.
• Cognitive neuroscience has demonstrated that the adolescent brain is not fully mature, particularly in the prefrontal regions known to be important in decision making. Do you think such evidence should be taken into account in judging the guilt of a 16-year old in a criminal trial? Use the example above to demonstrate your thinking on this topic. How should such evidence be taken into account in formulating a public policy on juveniles accused of crimes?
• You are the judge deciding Emily’s fate in court. What sentence would you deliver and what would you say to her during sentencing? Why? Finally, explain your reasoning using three cognitive concepts you have learned in the course.

Case Study #2

• Select an elementary, high school, or post-secondary school case study from the case studies below. Choose one of Erik’s presenting issues. Define working memory and long-term memory applied to Erik’s age and educational setting. How is working memory similar to and different from long-term memory, again, applied to Erik’s age and educational setting? Why is this an important concept for educators to understand?
  • An early childhood learner has trouble transferring information presented in kindergarten class to long-term memory. Specifically, he cannot recall the letters of the alphabet even though the teacher has the letters posted on the walls around the classroom and quizzes the class daily, has the class singing the A, B, C’s song, and uses books and videos from ABCmouse.com.
  • A high school student is having difficulty remembering math concepts and formulas to solve math problems in class and on tests. The teacher uses videos, creates rap songs, and pairs an advanced learner with Erik.
  • A nontraditional college sophomore (33 years old) served two tours of duty in Afghanistan and recently left the military with 15 years of service. He stated he always has issues remembering history timelines and language concepts, having flunked both of these university courses. He is retaking the history course. The professor is using videos, group tutoring, and audio podcasts to help him understand the course concepts.
• Indicate the case study you chose. What additional teaching-learning strategies will you use to help Erik, using information from the course to support your plan of action?
• Using your knowledge of working and long-term memory, why did you choose these strategies and what outcomes do you think will occur once they are implemented? Are there any outside sources to which you could refer Erik? Why or why not?
• In reviewing this case study, how will you explain to your colleagues why some students have problems with certain course materials and assessments in their courses? List at least three reasons for them to consider in their teaching.

Option 1: Written Paper Format

The Final Project

• Must be a minimum of seven double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Writing Center(Links to an external site.) and must include a title page and reference page. Please review the Sample Title Page (Links to an external site.) resource and the Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.) Please refer to important APA style reminders.
• Must include a separate title page with the following:
  • Running head and page number
  • Title of paper
  • Student’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted
• Must use at least five scholarly sources in addition to the course text (six total).
  • The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources(Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.
• Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Writing Center.
• Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Writing Center.

Option 2: PowerPoint or Prezi presentation (with separate transcript document submission)

If you choose Case Study #1:

• Introduction (1 slide)
• Explain how the central bottleneck contributes to those breakdowns in driving performance. How does inattentional blindness add to the problem? In your view, why do so many people believe themselves immune from these effects, even though others might be impaired by cell phone use during driving? Use course concepts on decision-making and problem-solving to explain your answer. (5-6 slides)
• Cognitive neuroscience has demonstrated that the adolescent brain is not fully mature, particularly in the prefrontal regions known to be important in decision making. Do you think such evidence should be taken into account in judging the guilt of a 16-year old in a criminal trial? Use the example above to demonstrate your thinking on this topic. How should such evidence be taken into account in formulating a public policy on juveniles accused of crimes? (5-6 slides)
• You are the judge deciding Emily’s fate in court. What sentence would you deliver and what would you say to her during sentencing? Why? Finally, explain your reasoning using three cognitive concepts you have learned in the course. (6 slides)
• Conclusion (1 slide)

If you choose Case Study #2:

• Introduction (1 slide)
• Select an elementary, high school, or post-secondary school case study from the case studies below. Choose one of Erik’s presenting issues. Define working memory and long-term memory applied to Erik’s age and educational setting . How is working memory similar to and different from long-term memory, again, applied to Erik’s age and educational setting? Why is this an important concept for educators to understand? (3-4 slides)
  • An early childhood learner has trouble transferring information presented in kindergarten class to long-term memory. Specifically, he cannot recall the letters of the alphabet even though the teacher has the letters posted on the walls around the classroom and quizzes the class daily, has the class singing the A, B, C’s song, and uses books and videos from ABCmouse.com.
  • A high school student is having difficulty remembering math concepts and formulas to solve math problems in class and on tests. The teacher uses videos, creates rap songs, and pairs an advanced learner with Erik.
  • A nontraditional college sophomore (33 years old) served two tours of duty in Afghanistan and recently left the military with 15 years of service. He stated he always has issues remembering history timelines and language concepts, having flunked both of these university courses. He is retaking the history course. The professor is using videos, group tutoring, and audio podcasts to help him understand the course concepts.
• Indicate the case study you chose. What additional teaching-learning strategies will you use to help Erik, using information from the course to support your plan of action? (7 slides)
• Using your knowledge of working and long-term memory, why did you choose these strategies and what outcomes do you think will occur once they are implemented? Are there any outside sources to which you could refer Erik? Why or why not? (3-4 slides)
• In reviewing this case study, how will you explain to your colleagues why some students have problems with certain course materials and assessments in their courses? List at least three reasons for them to consider in their teaching. (3 slides)
• Conclusion (1 slide)

The Final Project

• Must be at least 18 to 20 slides (not including title and reference slides) with at least 100 words in the presenter’s notes for each appropriate slide. You may want to look at How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation(Links to an external site.) to get started. Pay attention to APA Style (Links to an external site.) and formatting in this “how to” guide. APA guidelines are required in presentations and any scholarly work you create.
• Must include a separate title slide with the following:
  • Title of presentation
  • Student’s name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor’s name
  • Date submitted
• Must utilize academic voice. See the Academic Voice(Links to an external site.) resource for additional guidance.
• Must include introduction and conclusion slides. Your introduction slide needs to end with a clear statement that indicates the purpose of your presentation.
  • For assistance on writing Introductions & Conclusions(Links to an external site.) refer to the Writing Center resources.
• Must use at least five scholarly, peer-reviewed, and credible sources (one of those may be the course text).
  • The Scholarly, Peer Reviewed, or Other Credible Sources(Links to an external site.) table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. The University of Arizona Global Campus Library is a great place to find resources. Watch the Quick n’ Dirty (Links to an external site.) tutorial for research tips. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.
• Must document any information used from sources in APA style as outlined in the Writing Center’s Citing Within Your Paper(Links to an external site.)
• Must include a separate references slide that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Writing Center. See the Formatting Your References List(Links to an external site.) resource in the Writing Center for specifications.
• If you choose to do a presentation, submit a separate Word document with your transcript to Waypoint. This transcript should be 1-2 pages, not including title or reference pages, and includes APA citations. Formatting should include labeling the slide number with the slide’s exact content underneath.
• Review the Writing Center’s Presentation Tips(Links to an external site.) to maximize your results.

It is recommended that PowerPoint Slides contain no more than five bullet points and should not contain more than seven to 10 words each. Do not type paragraphs or long sentences on the slide. The information that explains each bullet point is conveyed via speaker notes or by recording your voice to each slide.

Follow these steps to submit your presentation and speaker’s notes:

• Step 1:
  Submit your full presentation (.ppt, .pptx., .mp4, etc.) file to the Week 5 Final Presentation page using the button below.

Week 5 Final Presentation Submission

• Step 2:
  Save your presentation or speaker notes as a PDF and submit to Waypoint using the Waypoint Assignment submission button at the bottom of this page.

For additional guidance, review the File Submission Quick Start Guide (Links to an external site.).

If you are unable to access the technology for this final project due to a documented accommodation on file with the Office of Student Access and Wellness, inform your instructor as soon as possible.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.) for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.