Just finished grading this quarter’s Neuro ID exam for my 90 + Biopsych students, and I’m delighted with how well they did! This is not everybody’s favorite activity–it’s rote memorization–but it makes no more sense for students to talk about neuroscience without knowing where the cingulate cortex is than to talk about geography without knowing the location of the Rocky Mountains. What we do is present a number of the anatomical illustrations without labels, and the students need to provide the labels.
Neuro ID is Everybody's Favorite Test!
Judging from student feedback, a lot went for the Study Guide this quarter and found it helpful. A lot of adopters told us that they liked the existing neuroanatomy coloring books on the market, but that they were geared towards medical students and had way too much detail for biopsych. So we made our own! Seems to be working, and who doesn’t like coloring?
Who Doesn't Like Coloring?
11 Comments
bhines · October 16, 2009 at 10:44 am
I understand there are a lot of technical terms to memorize, but I don’t know why people dread this test so much. The information is obviously necessary, and most of it is basic biology that we’ve learned in our primary education. I am glad we had this test because it was a simple way to receive some points for the class.
I wasn’t able to invest in the study guide, so I decided to draw my own images and then color them. I think this worked very well because not only was I familiar with the different parts of the brain by coloring an image, I actually had to re-produce that image, further enhancing my memory.
LanieAnton · October 18, 2009 at 12:14 pm
I completely agree with bhines. This test forced everyone to get to know the structures with more detail. Now in class when Professor Freberg explains where something is in the brain I am not completely lost, I actually know what she is talking about.
I also did not do the study guide but I did copy the images onto flashcards and cover the terms. This worked out very well because the test was structured the exact same way.
Laura Freberg · October 18, 2009 at 12:59 pm
It’s encouraging to know that at least two of you don’t this is too abusive 🙂 I was very pleased with the performance on this test by the class. Wow.
khoffert · October 20, 2009 at 3:38 pm
I thought the NeuroID test was way easier than the midterm because it really was JUST memorizing. Memorizing I can do; the midterm killed me because while I studied details, I feel that I studied the wrong ones.
Thank you for giving us the NeuroID test, it helped me remember structures and where they were instead of being arbitrary phrases I read from the book.
aseastrunk · October 22, 2009 at 11:03 am
I agree. The NeuroID test was not that bad. The midterm killed me as well. I felt as though my brain was going to explode from packing in so much information. In fact, I had a panic attack the night before the test, something that has never happened to me in my life. Not to say that this is Dr. Freberg’s fault, I just have a lot of trouble managing stress. A lot of the questions were about pieces of information I had just read, but I could not recall the exact details. All in all, it was very frustrating. I am definitely going to start studying way in advance for the next midterm. Keep sending the extra credit our way! 🙂
vdowell · October 24, 2009 at 2:00 pm
I was really scared of the neuro ID test when I first heard about it, but as soon as I began studying for it I realized that it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. And when the exam came around I was really happy that we had had the neuro ID test… I could actually visualize where things were in the brain and it helped me associate different structures with different function. And when I had to remember the role of the locus coeruleus… it wasn’t just a random name I needed to remember, I could visualize where it was and it really helped me improve my memory.
ylabiaga · November 1, 2009 at 10:49 pm
I’m so glad the Neuro ID test wasn’t that bad! I’ll have to agree with everyone that it seemed VERY intimidating on the first day of class when Dr. Freberg said there would be 75 questions without matching. But now I see why it was important to memorize all the parts of the brain. It’s helpful now because when a part of the brain is mentioned, we have a general idea of how it relates to what we’re learning. It’s kind of like taking a map quiz–you can’t really talk about geography unless you actually know where it is. Plus I love coloring!
adugandzic · November 5, 2009 at 12:45 pm
I really didn’t the neroID was that bad! I would rather memorize for tests like that then have to read a bunch, which is kind of an issue being an English major, but it works itself out! I bought the study guide and made a bunch of copies of each of the figures so I could practice over and over again. The only problem was that there was one figure from the book that wasn’t in the study guide, but was on the test, and I missed the 4 points from that figure. I think it was figure 2.10(a). My fault, obviously, but I was disappointed to miss points that I could have easily gotten. 🙁
MakeyvaD · November 5, 2009 at 7:26 pm
I enjoyed studying for the Neuro ID test, because i love to memorize things. It’s easier for me to look at pictures and memorize objects than to read about where an object is. I was kind of scarred at first, because there were so many terms to memorize and the brain is filled with so much, but it was easy because some of the terms where in more than one picture. I studyed more for the neuro ID test than I did for the first Midterm so that’s probably why i didnt do so great. Midterm 2 should be better, because there is no Neuro ID test part 2 to worry about (lol).
NikkiNoroian · November 5, 2009 at 8:16 pm
I was really nervous about the NeruoID quiz because it required the memorization of scary sounding words like locus coeruleus! Now that I have successfully taken the quiz, I have noticed the lecture material for this class and my anatomy class makes a lot more sense. Another bonus about the NeuroID quiz was that I able to color and call it studying… I just love the study guide! ☺
Leslie Ryan · February 6, 2010 at 2:29 pm
I found your coloring book pages to be very helpful in memorizing the “foreign language” of Neuroanatomy. The whole time I was coloring a structure, I was saying the name of the structure, what it connects to, what system it’s in, is it in the mesocephalon, etc. Now, in lecture, I see these structures in my mind when you say the names. I love that! Esspecially since my brain is 50 years old.
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