Structured Discussion Lesson Plan: Visual Discovery. Why the world isnt fair.

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Muller-Lyer illusion:

Background High School Intro Psychology Unit: Sensation and Perception. o In between learning about vision (how it works through rods and cones and going to the brain) before transitioning into hearing which can also use perception which can also be influenced by experience and culture. Lesson Walk Through First students will be asked to write down what they see. I will ask one person to share. Then I will ask what they think someone from East Africa would say. I would then ask why they think that. I would then go into sharing what specifically the experiment found. Then I will show the line picture. I will ask what they perceive about the lines. Then ask why the arrow looks smaller when we know they are both the same length. The illusion is due to misperception of depth perception cues. Then I would ask them to predict what the perceptions of a city dweller vs non city dweller would be and how it could be similar or different based on what was discussed previously. After this I would then tell them that it was actually found that city dwellers see more of a difference in the line sizes. I would ask what our conclusions are about the relationship between the environment/culture on an individual (or group) perspective. From this I would have them answer the ticket out the door question on a piece of paper. Consult with partner. Then turn it in.

Objectives The student should be able to 1. Explain the influence of the environment on visual perception. 2. Explain/Predict what city dwellers perception might be different than non-city dwellers when looking at this picture. (After discussing first picture, based on knowledge gained from discussion) 3. Relate the influence of the environment on perception using the other senses- not visual. 4. (After this exercise) Create their own example of the influence that the environment/culture has on a persons perception. Questions for Discussion 1. (Image 1)What do you see? What factors do you think influenced this? What do you think a nonwestern person might perceive? What makes you think that? Why are perceptions so different? 2. (Image 2) Why does one line look smaller than the other? Why is it perceived that way (visually)? Imagine two people get introduced to the line picture. One of them is from a big city while the other lives in a small town in the middle of nowhere. What could you guess might be difference or similarities in how they perceive the lines? 3. Does the environment or culture affect other senses as well? What are other examples that explain this? Is there a larger picture? Assessment Ticket out the door: Create their own example of the influence that the environment/culture has on a persons perception. (Not necessarily visually based). Turn in notecard or paper. This would not be graded but would gauge the students understanding and allow me to move on or spend more time making things clearer. o Accommodation: After completion of writing students are going to partner up and share their example and can revise as necessary. Differentiation: If difficulty is too overwhelming then students can explain one of the examples shown and discussed in class. Extension: Get a head start on a different unit that will be taught in futureLearning and Intelligence. Use what we have learned from the interaction of culture and perception with the educational system. Look at the use of standardized testing- in what situations or circumstances would perception and culture come into play. First write down your ideas. Then do some research. Write a page explaining why you thought the way you did and how your perception and culture aided into it OR write a page explaining what you found and elaborate by using examples you can pull from your life or by talking to someone about it.