The main roles of the temporal lobes in brain functioning - hearing, language, memory, recognition and comprehension
Its basic structure including the left and right temporal lobes, the auditory cortex, Wernicke’s area
The roles of significant substructures
Damage to the lobes can result in recognition and memory difficulties
The temporal lobes operate in coordination with other areas of the brain to carry out different functions
And apply knowledge to other contexts in a meaningful manner
Content.
Introduction The temporal lobe is responsible for hearing, understanding, recognition, emotional responses, language and memory. The lobe is separated from the cortex by a lateral fissure (a groove in the brain).
Sections of the temporal lobe There are three distinct areas within the temporal lobe, controlling different actions.
The top section of the temporal lobe has an auditory cortex, responsible for our sense of hearing and interpreting sounds.
Wernicke’s area is referred to as the language area, it overlaps the temporal and parietal lobes. Damage to this section will cause difficulties in understanding speech, and at times, patients do not realise that they do not make sense when they are speaking. This is called Wernicke’s aphasia.
The bottom section of the temporal lobe is responsible for autobiographical memory. This form of memory includes episodic and semantic memory. Episodic memory is the collection of personal events that have occurred at throughout one’s life. Semantic memory is the collection of meanings, understanding and concept-based knowledge (or factual information), allowing us to have a general understanding of the world.
Activity 1.
Activity 1. Language exercise
Instructions: For each of the pair of words mentioned above, think of ONE word that is related to each pair of words (Hint: your word will have double meanings).
This language-based activity can be used to stimulate student learning in many areas, including the promotion of personal and social capability and literacy skills. Since we are incorporating simple language used in our daily lives into a learning task, it makes it easier for students to observe the connection between language and the language processing function of the temporal lobes. This task engages students by providing a challenge that can be enjoyable at the same time.
Teachers are encouraged to modify the task to cater to the level of student learning. Some examples are:
Students may have the opportunity to work in pairs, groups or as a class, to encourage peer-based learning and social interaction. The students are at the centre of the learning while teachers serve as facilitators of learning, which is characteristic of inquiry-based learning.
There is a possibility for teachers to use less complex words for younger students, students with learning difficulties or poor performance
Educators can become more flexible and create their own worded pairs. In addition, teachers can ask their students to create their own worded pairs.
The activity can be shortened and conducted through a whole-class approach, for a class discussion to be generated.
The teacher may incorporate psychology-based terms as part of the activity for revision
Educators can pose additional prompting questions to clarify students’ understanding such as:
Did the activity help shed light on the duty of the temporal lobes?
What are the other major functions of the temporal lobes?
How are the functions of the temporal lobes related to our everyday tasks?
The Youtube clip is designed to appeal to visual and auditory learners in the classroom. The bright colours and relatively informal language help ease students to wrap their minds around the key messages raised. The chosen video has the potential to captivate the attention of learners who appear uninterested and disengaged, rather than direct instruction. Many students today would be ‘digital natives’ and accordingly, it is likely they would welcome the use of digital media in their learning. Students are also able to watch the video again in their own time if they feel the need.
The video highlights the role of the brain in the memory process, which is another area of study in psychology. Demonstrating links between different topics illustrates to students the importance of each area of study individually and as part of a whole. It also presents information in a new light, adding further meaning to consolidate knowledge of both students and teachers. Educators can relate topics discussed in the video to real life. When ideas are framed in a perspective that is relevant to students’ own lives, they are more likely to retrieve from their long-term memory the information in the future.
Teachers also have the opportunity to ask students questions during or after the delivery of the content of the video, to evaluate and gage students’ current level of learning.
The teacher may set the task of challenging students to create their own video in relation to the case of H.M and add their own personalised spin to it. This could include focusing on and exploring one particular part of the temporal lobes in greater detail such as the hippocampus, amygdala or Wernicke’s area. Providing students opportunities to be active participants in their own learning is highly invaluable as teachers are demonstrating trust in and respect for students, giving students a sense of empowerment and independence. It gives them a sense of empowerment. This is in accordance with inquiry instruction which calls for students to make their own decisions in conducting investigations. Furthermore, constructing customised videos endorses the General Capability of ICT capability, an imperative requirement for learners of the 21st century, and extends student creativity. Creativity is a must if we wish to cultivate thriving lifelong learners, as supported by a large body of previous research and curriculum documents such as the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians and the Australian Curriculum. To foster collaboration and social learning, teachers may remodel this task as a group assignment.
Resource: View the video below!
Activity 3.
Activity 3. Example of an Assignment
Instructions: Create a poster about an application of the temporal lobes of your choice.
Possible applications to be chosen by students~ Temporal lobe epilepsy, Wernicke’s aphasia, visual agnosia, Amnesia, Korsakoff syndrome, Klüver–Bucy syndrome, dyslexia, amnesia, apathy, deafness, the role of the amygdala in fear conditioning.
Teachers can add or leave out certain applications if they wish and may allow students the choice to study a different application not in the list. When students are given choices in the classroom, the task is more meaningful to them and thus there is more motivation for student learning.
The poster may have criteria set by the teacher. For example:
The part of the temporal lobe affected
Normal functioning vs. affected functioning
Pros and cons of condition
A labelled diagram of the part in question
A real life case study
Implications of case study
How can we solve this?
Correct referencing conventions
To reinforce their understanding, if time permits, teachers can proceed further and ask students to present their posters to the class. Students will be able to build on their communication and public speaking skills and improve confidence. Alternatively, instead of students choosing their poster topics, teachers may assign the same temporal lobe applications to groups of students. Teachers can instruct students designated the same application to present their posters to each other. In doing so, students will be able to provide relevant and valuable feedback and help each other given they themselves examined the particular application. This feedback can cover both group discussion and handwritten feedback. Not only that, public speaking in small groups may better suit introverted students and be a less confronting task. In small groups, there is more possibilities for students to take on active roles and contributing such as by peer communication. Students can reflect on their own presentations as well through self-evaluations.
Once again, this assignment can be an individual task or a group task. There are advantages and disadvantages to either mode. Group assignments extend social interaction and students learn to work cooperatively in a team. Working individually increases autonomy and teaches students accountability. The medium of posters is directed at those who prefer visual and kinesthetic learning styles and invites students to comprehensively examine an area.
The ‘how can we solve this criteria?’ represents a small portion of the process of inquiry-based learning. The aim of this criterion is to get students thinking about conducting investigations and essentially the steps of the scientific method. Inquiry instruction involves the steps of
Ask questions
Probe into various situations
Conduct analyses and provide descriptions
Communicate findings, verbally or in writing
Think about the information and knowledge obtained