Module 1

1. Module 1

1.61. Module Summary/Assessment

Module Summary and Assessment

Module 1—The Nervous System

Module Summary

In this module you were asked the following inquiry question:

How does the nervous system communicate with the body and maintain homeostasis?

You investigated how various sensory cells and organs help you to see a person, hear their laughter from across the room, and detect his or her scent. You explored how these sensations were transmitted electrochemically between neurons to specific areas of the brain so that they could be interpreted. You discovered how your brain was able to send nerve impulses to your leg muscles so that you could walk in the direction of the person on the other side of the room. These communications were conscious. Other parts of the brain, such as the medulla oblongata, sent out unconscious messages via the sympathetic nervous system. These messages altered your heart rate and caused your hands to become clammy. After that initial “hello,” your parasympathetic nervous system slowed the heart down and returned your body to homeostasis. All of these different parts of the nervous system communicate with the body and work towards sustaining homeostasis. Some of the parts are related to other systems, while others parts function independently.

Module 1 provided an opportunity to investigate how several disorders, such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease, disrupt communication in the nervous system, cause a loss of homeostasis, and require corrective technologies to attempt to bring the system back to homeostasis.

To review and summarize the concepts of Module 1, you may wish to complete the Module 1 Concept Organizer. You may have already saved a copy of this document when you first encountered it in the Big Picture section, or you may download it now. It is an outline of the lessons that contains the focusing questions for Module 1. Use the focusing questions to fill in this concept organizer with the ideas that you mastered in each lesson. You can use keywords, point form, or any amount of detail that meets your needs. You may choose to work from the file on your computer, print the document and work from the paper copy, or copy the outline onto a large sheet of poster paper. This is a great tool to review and use for study purposes.

For this module a completed version of the concept organizer is provided for review purposes. As you work through the course, you will be provided with an outline Concept Organizer. Use this outline to complete your own version to meet your study needs.

Module Assessment

Before you begin the Module Assessment, you may choose to complete the review questions on pages 402 and 403 and pages 432 and 433 of your textbook. Your teacher will help you with any questions that you might have and give you feedback on your responses.

For this Module Assessment, you may choose to create a pamphlet, slideshow presentation, website, TV or podcast infomercial recording or transcripts, annotated collage, or other approved form of media to provide information about Alzheimer’s disease. With each lesson you completed in Module 1, you acquired new knowledge and information about the nervous system as it relates to Alzheimer’s disease. You will need to refer to the information you saved in your course folder as preparation work for this project.

You should explore the following questions in your Module Assessment project:

What is Alzheimer’s disease?
Who is susceptible to the disease?
What are the symptoms?
What parts of the nervous system are affected?
What happens to the neurons?
Is impulse transmission affected?
Is synaptic transmission compromised?
What are some technologies that are used to investigate Alzheimer’s disease?
How is Alzheimer’s disease treated?
Are there any new lines of research?

You will post your work on the discussion board and discuss it with other students. What did they like about your project? What areas need improvement? What did you leave out?

Your work will be submitted to your teacher for marking.

Rubric

5	means you have completed every part of the question with detailed, well-thought-out answers
4	means that you have completed every part of the question, but your answers are brief and lack the detail necessary for a well-thought-out answer
3	means that you have omitted some parts of the question
2	means very little information has been presented and what has is either incorrect or missing important detail

As you prepare your response, you may wish to indicate your progress by checking the box in front of each bullet. This will help you evaluate and reflect on your work before submitting your response to your teacher.

Score	Scoring Criteria – The student …
5 Excellent	describes Alzheimer’s disease addresses who is susceptible to the disease, including gender/age describes symptoms explains and illustrates Alzheimer's neuron in brain describes beta amyloid plaques and toxic chemical excesses of Al3+ and Hg describes inadequate amounts of acetylcholine in synapses includes scans of normal and Alzheimer’s brains outlines drug therapies discusses diagnostic tools outlines new research uses correct scientific content presents the information in a pleasing and succinct manner
4 Proficient	describes Alzheimer’s disease addresses who is susceptible the disease, including only gender OR age describes only two symptoms explains only two changes in nervous system outlines drugs used outlines only some diagnostic tools describes only one new line of research includes scans of normal and Alzheimer’s brains explains and illustrates an Alzheimer's-affected neuron in the brain mostly correct scientific content presents the information in a pleasing and succinct manner
3 Satisfactory	describes Alzheimer’s disease addresses who is susceptible to the disease, including only gender OR age describes only one symptom explains only one change in nervous system outlines only some drugs used outlines only one diagnostic tool describes only one new line of research includes scans of normal and Alzheimer’s brains explains and illustrates Alzheimer's neuron in brain includes scientific content containing some errors demonstrates a satisfactory, but not spectacular, presentation of the information
2 Limited	describes Alzheimer’s disease describes only one symptom explains only one change in nervous system outlines only one drug therapy outlines only one diagnostic tool includes only one illustration presents minimal scientific content presents information that looks like it was done in a hurry
1 Poor	describes Alzheimer’s disease very generally states only one symptom describes only one change in nervous system describes one drug used no illustrations presents minimal scientific content that contains errors presents information poorly

Note: A mark of “Insufficient” may be assigned to projects that do not contain a discernable attempt to address the assignment or are too brief to assess.