Project-Based Learning in Introductory Psychology: Modern Adaptations To an Academic Classic

This study used a quasi-experimental design to examine the effectiveness of a project-based learning (PjBL) course design on meaningful learning, student goal orientation, engagement, and perceived classroom motivational climate in an introductory psychology course. Project-based learning was examined in comparison to a traditional, lecture and multiple-choice exam course design in introductory psychology over the course of one semester (N = 247). Generally, there is limited research examining PjBL in large introductory classes, specifically in relation to concrete outcomes such as meaningful learning and perceived classroom climate (Gurung et al., 2016). Therefore, the purpose of the study was to add to the limited research that exists and work to encourage the use of alternative designs like PjBL in large introductory courses. I decided to employ a PjBL design in introductory psychology because it is a course that has remained generally unchanged in the last few decades. It typically involves large class sizes, daily lectures, minimal active learning opportunities, and multiple-choice exams once every four weeks. I believe it has become a “classic” as defined by John Dewey (Dewey, 1933). It has become something that people no longer find true wonder or intrigue in and simply recognize it as existing in one way. As an introductory psychology instructor, I quickly realized the affordances of the course and felt the traditionally accepted format was not maximizing these students’ potential benefits. The research that does exist related to PjBL and introductory courses (i.e., Hard et al., 2018) and research that speaks to the power of introductory psychology in general (i.e., Gurung et al., 2016) encouraged me to pursue alternative methods and examine their potential benefits related to valuable academic outcomes such meaningful learning, goal orientation, engagement, and classroom motivational climate. Findings from the current study yielded no statistically significant differences between the PjBL condition and traditional condition regarding meaningful learning, goal orientation, or engagement (measured through transformative experience), suggesting that other motivational and learning outcomes may want to be examined. However, significant differences were found when examining perceived classroom motivational climate. These differences are in line with existing motivational climate research (i.e., Appleton et al., 2016; Dweck & Leggett, 1988) and speak to the potential value of authentic, autonomy-supportive course designs in improving student climate perceptions

Differential Gene Expression in the EphA4 Knockout Spinal Cord and Analysis of the Inflammatory Response Following Spinal Cord Injury

Mice lacking the axon guidance molecule EphA4 have been shown to exhibit extensive axonal regeneration and functional recovery following spinal cord injury. To assess mechanisms by which EphA4 may modify the response to neural injury a microarray was performed on spinal cord tissue from mice with spinal cord injury and sham injured controls. RNA was purified from spinal cords of adult EphA4 knockout and wild-type mice four days following lumbar spinal cord hemisection or laminectomy only and was hybridised to Affymetrix All-Exon Array 1.0 GeneChips™. While subsequent analyses indicated that several pathways were altered in EphA4 knockout mice, of particular interest was the attenuated expression of a number of inflammatory genes, including Arginase 1, expression of which was lower in injured EphA4 knockout compared to wild-type mice. Immunohistological analyses of different cellular components of the immune response were then performed in injured EphA4 knockout and wildtype spinal cords. While numbers of infiltrating CD3+ T cells were low in the hemisection model, a robust CD11b+ macrophage/microglial response was observed post-injury. There was no difference in the overall number or spread of macrophages/activated microglia in injured EphA4 knockout compared to wild-type spinal cords at 2, 4 or 14 days post-injury, however a lower proportion of Arginase-1 immunoreactive macrophages/activated microglia was observed in EphA4 knockout spinal cords at 4 days post-injury. Subtle alterations in the neuroinflammatory response in injured EphA4 knockout spinal cords may contribute to the regeneration and recovery observed in these mice following injury

Microglial activation and chronic neurodegeneration

Microglia, the resident innate immune cells in the brain, have long been implicated in the pathology of neurode-generative diseases. Accumulating evidence points to activated microglia as a chronic source of multiple neurotoxic factors, including tumor necrosis factor-α, nitric oxide, interleukin-1β, and reactive oxygen species (ROS), driving progressive neuron damage. Microglia can become chronically activated by either a single stimulus (e.g., lipopolysaccharide or neuron damage) or multiple stimuli exposures to result in cumulative neuronal loss with time. Although the mechanisms driving these phenomena are just beginning to be understood, reactive microgliosis (the microglial response to neuron damage) and ROS have been implicated as key mechanisms of chronic and neurotoxic microglial activation, particularly in the case of Parkinson’s disease. We review the mechanisms of neurotoxicity associated with chronic microglial activation and discuss the role of neuronal death and microglial ROS driving the chronic and toxic microglial phenotype