My high school physics class was one of the most memorable and exciting classes I have had. These experiments and demonstrations of the principles of physics have stayed with me ever since and I still refer to the lessons learned when I am doing electrophysiology. Yes - because these experiences were so real and memorable to me, the principles of the lessons have remained with me to this day. My goal is to make learning neuroscience in the laboratory as memorable as these experiences - not only do I want my students to remember the experiences but also to remember the principles behind these experiences. I hope that they can recall sitting in the neuroscience laboratory as vividly as I remember my physics laboratory experiences.
Scientists approach a problem by asking questions.
The more I learn about Biology in general and the complexity of the workings of an organism, the more that I am in awe that evolutionary events resulted in organisms that work. There are so many ways for biology to fail that it is amazing that any living thing makes it to birth - never mind living a long healthy life. This awe is even more intense when studying the brain - because there are so many additional variables that have to function correctly to keep this 3 lbs of fat controlling the body. It is this awe that I would like to share with my students. Lectures can explain information, books can describe how experiments are done and the enlightenment they bring but it is not until a student is actually setting up an experiment, collecting data and then trying to explain what is going on that real learning occurs.