A SELF-STUDY E-COURSE IN
SYSTEMS AND COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE
HB&M Workgroup for Education conducted a questionnaire survey at UH and Aalto in 2020, in order to identify needs and common interests in neuroscience teaching within the capital area. The survey revealed among other things that courses in systems and cognitive neuroscience are arranged by several degree programs, and many other programs would benefit from such a course if available. Many degree programs also expressed their interest in having a course in Brain imaging methods that they, however, cannot arrange with their own teaching personnel. Based on the results, concrete measures were outlined, including building a self-study e-course in Systems and Cognitive Neuroscience (SCNS) as well as another self-study e-course in Brain Imaging Methods. Both courses will be suitable for master’s level students, worth 5 credits, and in English.
The SCNS course was chosen to be made first. Building the course turned out to be a successful example of nationwide collaboration where scientists produce course material while teaching technology and e-pedagogy specialists provide support and take care of incorporating materials on the e-platform. Soon after the project was launched as a collaborative project between UH and Aalto, it expanded to include many other Finnish universities and the Psykonet network (the Finnish University Network of Psychology). The work is not fully completed yet, but the course is currently under a test run at UH to collect students’ feedback. The aim is to have the course in its final form and available for use in all collaborating Universities and Psykonet later this year.
Modern self-study e-courses support learning in many ways. Learning is based on reading text, illustrations, very brief video-lectures, quizzes, self-evaluation tasks, etc. Self-study e-courses offer flexibility in timing of studies, and frees teachers’ time from traditional teaching to interactive sessions with their students.
For more information
Juha Voipio, Professor
juha.voipio@helsinki.fi
Molecular and Integrative Biosciences Research Programme
Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences