Journal Club Presentation

Assessment Type ¹: Presentation Indicative Time on Task ²: 20 hours Due: once per session, rostered Weighting: 20%

You will participate in and occasionally present during weekly student-led journal clubs that considers contemporary neuroscience articles.

On successful completion you will be able to:

• Critically evaluate the neuroscience literature and identify current gaps in knowledge or misconceptions relating to a topic of their choice.
• Analyze and interpret real experimental data.
• Demonstrate proficient skills in research communication and self-directed learning by reviewing and appraising the contemporary neuroscience literature and conveying their findings to their peers.

In class test

Assessment Type ¹: Examination Indicative Time on Task ²: 10 hours Weighting: 15%

You will face two ‘open book’ in-class challenges in which they are presented with a number of hypotheses or challenges and are asked to design an experiment to address them or to interpret a piece of data.

On successful completion you will be able to:

• Explain the functional organization of the nervous system as it pertains to the transmission of information between neurons, the conduction of electrical activity ultimately the encoding of information within the various functional systems of the nervous system, and describe the key experimental observations through which those insights were gained.
• Demonstrate proficient knowledge of current research techniques used in neuroscience and design experiments that use them to answer questions relating to structure and function of the brain or the development of novel experimental or analytical techniques.
• Analyze and interpret real experimental data.

Journal Article Review

Assessment Type ¹: Report Indicative Time on Task ²: 15 hours Weighting: 25%

1000-word review that critically appraises a recently published Neuroscience research article.

On successful completion you will be able to:

• Explain the functional organization of the nervous system as it pertains to the transmission of information between neurons, the conduction of electrical activity ultimately the encoding of information within the various functional systems of the nervous system, and describe the key experimental observations through which those insights were gained.
• Demonstrate proficient knowledge of current research techniques used in neuroscience and design experiments that use them to answer questions relating to structure and function of the brain or the development of novel experimental or analytical techniques.
• Critically evaluate the neuroscience literature and identify current gaps in knowledge or misconceptions relating to a topic of their choice.
• Demonstrate proficient skills in research communication and self-directed learning by reviewing and appraising the contemporary neuroscience literature and conveying their findings to their peers.

Final Exam

Assessment Type ¹: Examination Indicative Time on Task ²: 25 hours Weighting: 40%

You will face two ‘open book’ in-class challenges in which they are faced with a number of hypotheses or challenges and are asked to design an experiment to address them or to interpret a piece of data.

On successful completion you will be able to:

• Explain the functional organization of the nervous system as it pertains to the transmission of information between neurons, the conduction of electrical activity ultimately the encoding of information within the various functional systems of the nervous system, and describe the key experimental observations through which those insights were gained.
• Demonstrate proficient knowledge of current research techniques used in neuroscience and design experiments that use them to answer questions relating to structure and function of the brain or the development of novel experimental or analytical techniques.
• Analyze and interpret real experimental data.

¹ If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

• the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
• the Learning Skills Unit for academic skills support.

² Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Teaching Platforms

In 2021 content will be delivered via a combination of synchronous and asynchronous electronic media. Unless otherwise indicated on iLearn, Lectures will be prerecorded and embedded on iLearn; Tutorials and Workshops will be delivered in person or, in some cases, via electronic conferences tools such as Zoom. Some content will be delivered using the Flipped Classroom approach, in which students are provided with a topic and relevant resources and asked to prepare oral or written content on that topic. Instructions will be provided in advance on iLearn. Questions can be directed to teaching staff, other students or the unit convenor via iLearn.

Technology Used

Active participation in the learning activities throughout the unit will generally require students to have access to an internet-connected tablet, laptop or similar device. Students who do not own their own laptop computer may borrow one from the university library.

Required Unit Materials

All students are required to wear closed shoes and a lab coat/gown to attend practical classes and assessments in a laboratory venue.

Recommended Readings

Unit readings for this unit are available via iLearn.

Unit Schedule

Lectures

Each week students will receive two 1-hour lectures by an expert in the field. Lectures will be delivered online in precorded video format or students will prepare their own material on a topic in a Flipped format, using resources provided in advance. Flipped classrooms will use synchronouse video (e.g. Zoom) or asynchronous text (e.g. iLearn Forum) technologies. Students are required to read the learning material associated with each lecture available via iLearn in advance and to participate in discussion.

Journal Club

Journal Club is a commonly used method of developing researchers' critical thinking and presentation skills while familiarising them with the recent scientific literature. The format is an hour-long student-led discussion: each week a different student is rostered to select a recently published research article, which they will distribute in advance to other members of the group. At Journal Club the Presenting Student gives an overview of the Background, Methods and Results of the paper, with visual guides as appropriate, and leads a critique of the paper. Journal Club is an interactive activity - the Presenter is supposed to lead the discussion, but all members of the group are expected to contribute to the conversation. 

The Unit Convenor will explain the format, provide an example presentation, and develop a roster for subsequent presentations.

Workshops/Tutorials

Each week students will participate in a 1-hour workshop related to the learning activities for that week. This will involve computer and wet laboratory visits that may include handling human and animal specimens, prerecorded or synchronous online discussions, or in-person tutorials.