EDUC 380 Blog Post Samples Module 1: The Brain Below are some student examples that are excellent blog posts for the first two prompts in Module 1 (The Brain). The goal for the discussion posts is to engage in the module materials directly and explore some of the questions and issues in each module more deeply. The posts are very important for your learning. Below you will find comments to help you understand how these students met the rubric requirements. The rubric for blog posts is posted in the end of this document and is in the course syllabus. Blog Post # 1: ● Describe a time when you engaged in something adults might consider risky and/or thoughtless: ● How old were you? ● Why did you do it? ● What were you thinking at the time? Think back to the article on risk-taking you read and to the video you watched on the teen brain. What connections can you make between the lecture, the article, and/or the video? Growing up, my family would take annual trips to the river in Laughlin, Nevada. We would go with our family friends who had kids with a wide range of ages. I was 13 years old at the time within the middle age range. A big activity at the river is jumping off of rocks. My parents did not want my sisters and me to engage in this activity. During one of the annual trips, I joined the older teenagers on a boat ride to the “jumping rock.” Depending on how much risk they wanted to take, there are different levels for people to jump off of. All of the older teens were jumping off of the highest level. I decided to join the older teens and jump from the tallest rock. At the time, I wanted to do it because all of the older teenagers were doing it. I wanted to be like them. This was not an impulsive decision. I had thought about doing this activity the whole trip and decided to go on the boat ride, knowing they were going to jump off the tallest rock. The article, “Beautiful Brains,” explains, “Seeking sensation isn’t necessarily impulsive. You might plan a sensation-seeking experience- a skydive or a fast car…” (Dobbs, 2011, p. 49). By jumping off the rock with them, I thought this would change their view of me as an older and more mature teenager. When they changed their opinion about me, it would allow me to hang out with them all the time. I was taking more risks because I would get a higher reward. This relates to the article, “Beautiful Brains,” which states, “Teens take more risks not because they don’t understand the dangers but because they weigh risk versus reward differently. In situations where risk can get them something they want, they value the reward more heavily than adults do” (Dobbs, 2011, p. 54). By jumping off the tallest rock, it gave me the reward of spending more time with the older teenagers. If I had jumped off the shorter rock, I could have not been accepted into the group because they did not view me as mature as themselves. Therefore, I would have been penalized for not.

1. EDUC 380 Blog Post Samples
Module 1: The Brain
Below are some student examples that are excellent blog posts
for the first two prompts in Module 1
(The Brain). The goal for the discussion posts is to engage in
the module materials directly and explore
some of the questions and issues in each module more deeply.
The posts are very important for your
learning. Below you will find comments to help you understand
how these students met the rubric
requirements. The rubric for blog posts is posted in the end of
this document and is in the course
syllabus.
Blog Post # 1:
● Describe a time when you engaged in something adults might
consider risky and/or thoughtless:
● How old were you?
● Why did you do it?
● What were you thinking at the time?
Think back to the article on risk-taking you read and to the
video you watched on the teen brain. What
connections can you make between the lecture, the article,
and/or the video?
Growing up, my family would take annual trips to the river in
Laughlin, Nevada. We
would go with our family friends who had kids with a wide

2. range of ages. I was 13 years
old at the time within the middle age range. A big activity at the
river is jumping off of
rocks. My parents did not want my sisters and me to engage in
this activity. During one
of the annual trips, I joined the older teenagers on a boat ride to
the “jumping rock.”
Depending on how much risk they wanted to take, there are
different levels for people
to jump off of. All of the older teens were jumping off of the
highest level. I decided to
join the older teens and jump from the tallest rock. At the time,
I wanted to do it
because all of the older teenagers were doing it. I wanted to be
like them. This was not
an impulsive decision. I had thought about doing this activity
the whole trip and decided
to go on the boat ride, knowing they were going to jump off the
tallest rock. The article,
“Beautiful Brains,” explains, “Seeking sensation isn’t
necessarily impulsive. You might
plan a sensation-seeking experience- a skydive or a fast car…”
(Dobbs, 2011, p. 49).
By jumping off the rock with them, I thought this would change
their view of me as an
older and more mature teenager. When they changed their
opinion about me, it would
allow me to hang out with them all the time. I was taking more
risks because I would get
a higher reward. This relates to the article, “Beautiful Brains,”
which states, “Teens take
more risks not because they don’t understand the dangers but
because they weigh risk
versus reward differently. In situations where risk can get them
something they want,

3. they value the reward more heavily than adults do” (Dobbs,
2011, p. 54). By jumping off
the tallest rock, it gave me the reward of spending more time
with the older teenagers.
If I had jumped off the shorter rock, I could have not been
accepted into the group
because they did not view me as mature as themselves.
Therefore, I would have been
penalized for not taking the risk.
Additionally, this connects to the video, “The Teenage Brain,”
when it talks about our
pleasure and reward zone called the Nucleus Accumbens. The
video explains, “When
teens are presented with a big reward their brains light way
more than adult brains.
When the reward was small, the teen brains barely fired at all”
(SciShow, 2014). Since I
The student brings
in an article from
the module (in
yellow) to support
her observation and
reflection on the
story she tells.
The student brings
in the article again,
explaining directly
how the article
helps her
understand her
experience.
The student brings

4. in a second source
from the module: a
video. You can use
articles, videos or
anything else from
the module.
Word Count: 494.
had a big reward, it motivated me to engage in the risk. If I had
a small reward, I may
not have engaged in the risk. In other words, if the older
teenagers said I would not be
able to hang out with them even if I jumped off the rock, I most
likely would not jump
from the tallest point.
References:
Dobbs, D. (2011, October). Beautiful brains. National
geographic, pp.42-43, 48-49, 54-
55.
SciShow. (2014, March 12). The teenage brain explained
[Video]. YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=hiduiTq1e
i8&feature=emb_logo
Blog Post #2:

5. How can neuroscience help us take an asset-oriented view of
adolescent brains? Use the information in
the article, lecture and videos to support your thinking.
Sample 1:
“Neuroscience can help us understand that even though we
believe teenagers
to be risk takers; we should understand that these risky
decisions may also be an asset
to their growth. The article “Beautiful Brains,” explains how
taking risks can cause
people to expand their circle of friends, “which generally makes
us “healthier, happier,
safer, and more successful.” In my opinion, having a wider
circle of friends does lead us
to having a happier existence. The article went on to explain
“the teen brain is similarly
attuned to oxytocin, another neural hormone, which (among
other things) makes social
connections in particular more rewarding.” This helps us
understand that teenagers
find social connections rewarding; therefore, the risk of making
new friends and keeping
friends is worth it. I believe that since teenagers view these
friendships as vital, they are
willing to put themselves in possible risky situations to do
things to be liked or accepted
by their peers. The article sums this up best by stating, “peer
relations (are) not a
sideshow but the main show.” Ultimately, even though the
teenage brain is still
developing and learning the appropriate risks to take, the asset
of the teenage brain is
to form new friendships.

6. I think in today’s world of social media, peer relations being
the main show is
an interesting concept to explore further. Social media in
combination with the teens
developing brain could be the cause of more anxiety and
depression reported in
teenagers. Forging into new friendships may be one of the
biggest assets of an
adolescent brains but being able to learn to handle the emotions
of these friendships is
a delicate balance for teens.
Dobbs, D. (2011, October). The Beautiful Brains. National
Geographic. 42-43, 48-49, 54-
55, last page.
The student brings
in direct quotes (in
yellow) from one of
the readings, which
supports her
observations about
teenagers’
friendships and the
how those peer
relationships
influence behavior.
The student provides
a citation to the
article and sources
she uses. You don’t

7. need to use APA style
necessarily, but you
should list the
resources you used at
the end of your post
so your readers know
what you’re referring
to.
Sample 2:
Neuroscience has helped us understand the developing brains of
teens. It has
identified the causes and/or reasons as to why adolescents
choose to do things. The
article, “Beautiful Brains,” explains the brain is so adaptive
during this period because of
the slow back-to-front brain development and the forebrain’s
myelination (Dobbs, 2011,
last page). The more we understand the adolescent brain, the
more parents can advise
and help them during this adaptive time of their life.
The article highlighted the pros to the highly functional
adolescent brains. It
states, teens “fully recognize they’re mortal. And like adults,
says Steinberg, ‘teens
actually overestimate risk’” (Dobbs, 2011, p. 54). The article
continues saying teens
think as well as adults, but give more attention to their Nucleus
Accumbens (risk vs.
reward zone.) This information demonstrates that adolescents
are thinking more clearly

8. than we thought. Most of the time adolescents get a bad
representation as not making
thoughtful decisions. However, this article demonstrates they
deserve more credit than
what we give them. The adolescents know what they are doing
and why they are doing
it.
Even though they make thoughtful decisions about engaging in
risk-taking,
parents and caretakers still have a role in helping teenagers
develop into adulthood. The
article states, “Studies show that when parents engage and guide
their teens with a light
but steady hand, staying connected by allowing independence,
their kids generally do
much better in life” (Dobbs, 2011, last page). Here, the article
is saying that adolescents
still need some guidance, but without being a helicopter parent.
I believe that teens feel
more respected by their parents when some independence is
given and will consider
their parent’s advice more often. In the end, this may help teens
not take too big of
risks.
References:
Dobbs, D. (2011, October). Beautiful brains. National
geographic, pp.42-43, 48-49, 54-
55, last page.
Here is another
example of using the

9. text or course
materials to support
your thinking.
Word Count: 292.
You don’t need to
go all the way to
500 words,
especially if you are
grounding your
discussion in the
class materials.
DISCUSSION POSTS RUBRIC
Discussion
Board
Criteria
Every module includes a forum with at least 1 discussion
question. An initial response to each
thread prompt should be posted as early as possible, but by Day
4 of the week (Wednesday) at
the latest. This gives everyone plenty of time to respond.
Participants are also expected to
actively engage in ongoing conversation with classmates in the
discussion threads by posting at
least two additional substantive contributions to each discussion
thread by the end of the
module (Saturday).
Criteria Achievement

10. Meets or Exceeds Expectations Approaching Expectations
Below Expectations
Initial
Response
6/10 pts
Initial post fully addresses the
prompt and contributes in a
constructive way to the discussion.
Initial response demonstrates
critical thinking skills and provides
examples or details relevant
experience to substantiate
response. The post refers directly to
course materials (lecture, readings,
videos, etc.).
Initial post somewhat
addresses the prompt. Initial
response may lack detail or
explanation. Examples or
questions raised may require
further exploration. The post
does not directly refer to
course materials (lecture,
readings, videos, etc.).
Initial response does
not address the prompt
or may require
significantly more
depth. Initial response

11. may be inappropriate
for professional
context.
Non-performance
Follow-up
Responses
(2)
4/10 pts
Responses to classmates clearly and
constructively build on the existing
conversation. Responses elicit
robust replies from peers and are
supported by examples, relevant
experience, and further
questioning.
Responses to classmates add
ideas, but may not connect to
existing conversation or may
be inapplicable for professional
context. Examples or
arguments may require further
exploration or detail to
appropriately support
dialogue.
Response posts are
minimal or do not elicit
a robust response from
peers. Responses may
be flat or rhetorical.

12. No responses to peers.