TED Talks are a great way to quickly explore various topics of interest. Fortunately, they are also engaging ways to extend your students’ thinking beyond the textbook. I frequently assign TED Talks to my psychology students by embedding various videos into Google Forms and including discussion questions. Students choose one of the videos on the form and complete the assignment. Many students report watching several TED Talks because the one they chose was so interesting they wanted to learn more. Here are four of my favorite talks:
Mark Changizi: "Why Do We See Illusions?" (7:22)
"Why Do We See Illusions?"opens in new window is presented by Changizi, a theoretical neurobiologist who uses motion illusions to explain how slow our brain is when it comes to perceiving the world. He says that our brains are slow and that our perception is quite behind the sensation. The brain has to predict the next moment in order to build the perception, which is why we get tricked. The brain is consistently working hard to compensate for its slowness. There is also a TEDEd lesson associated with this talk. Further biographical information can be found on Changizi's websiteopens in new window.
Neil Harbisson: "I Listen to Color" (9:35)
"I Listen to Color"opens in new window by Harbisson is unique in that he is not a psychologist, but an artist who is has achromatopsia, meaning he is entirely colorblind and can only see greyscale. He also has an antenna implanted in his occipital lobe and is the first person to be officially recognized as a cyborg by the U.S. government. His antenna and the connected camera allow him to hear the color spectrum by using the camera to assign frequency to different colors. He had to memorize the different notes associated with the words that we have assigned to colors. His perception of the world has changed to a collection of sound portraits. An interesting article for students to read is "World's first cyborg wants to hack your bodyopens in new window."
Tesia Marshik: "Learning Styles and Critical Self-reflection" (18:14)
In "Learning Styles and Critical Self-reflection" Marshik does an excellent job debunking the myth while explaining why people have such a difficult time letting go of the idea of learning styles. On the first day of my on level psychology class, I have them take a common sense psychology quiz which basically debunks common myths people have about psychology. Even the students most adept at critical thinking trip up on the question about learning styles. They are floored when I tell them that there’s no evidence to support that learning styles exist. They attempt to provide anecdotal evidence to support the learning style theory, as do many who continue to believe this myth.
Kelly McGonigal: "How to Make Stress Your Friend" (14:28)
In "How to Make Stress Your Friend"opens in new window McGonigal provides a different perspective on harnessing the power of stress. Often times, our students have a difficult time coping with stress and see the negative aspects of stress. McGonigal suggests changing your mindset about stress to tap into the benefits of stress. She sites research conducted at Harvard University that indicates that thinking of stress as helpful and as a way to prepare you for action can actually cause you to seek support from others. In seeking support from others, your brain releases oxytocin, which allows you to feel better. She proposes that stress can actually motivate people to create and cultivate human connections thus forming a better support system.
About the author
Jen Schlicht has been teaching AP psychology, introduction to psychology and a variety of other things for the last 18 years, most recently at Olathe South High School in Olathe, Kan. She currently serves as an APA Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools member at large and is the assistant chair for the National Council for the Social Studies Psychology Community. Jen serves as an AP reader and is starting a regional network for psychology teachers in the Kansas City area. Aside from, teaching, Jen enjoys reading, traveling, seeing as many Broadway shows as humanly possible and hanging out with her husband and Australian Shepherd, Truman.
