This project restructures two core courses in a Biological Psychology Concentration offered to biology and psychology undergraduate majors. A large number of courses in the concentration have a significant laboratory component. However, as a result of insufficient instrumentation, Introduction to Neuroscience and Neurochemistry and Behavior courses had been offered in a lecture format. The Introduction to Neuroscience is a gateway course into the concentration. Students completing this course can make a more informed decision concerning their choice to continue study in this area and be better prepared for future courses. Similarly, concepts in neurochemistry and psychopharmacology taught in the Neurochemistry and Behavior course are most effectively conveyed by active student participation. It is for these reasons that systemic reform for these courses is sought. This project reforms the structure of these courses by providing experiments that will serve as the centerpiece of the student's learning experience. Thus, important concepts in neuroscience are first discovered in the laboratory. Discussion of experimental results that follow leads to unveiling of general principles. Only then is the student asked to integrate reading assignments from the textbook and primary literature on the topic with the specific experience gained in the laboratory. Students can gain proficiency in a number of important techniques currently used in neuroscience, and more importantly, they are actively involved in the process of learning, thereby reducing the difficulty in comprehension of technical jargon that characterizes scientific information transmitted either verbally or in writing.
