title: "C.R.E.A.T.E."-ing Unique Primary-Source Research Paper Assignments for a Pleasure and Pain Course Teaching Neuroscientific Principles in a Large General Education Undergraduate Course.
abstract: A large (250 registrants) General Education lecture course, Pleasure and Pain, presented basic neuroscience principles as they related to animal and human models of pleasure and pain by weaving basic findings related to food and drug addiction and analgesic states with human studies examining empathy, social neuroscience and neuroeconomics. In its first four years, the course grade was based on weighted scores from two multiple-choice exams and a five-page review of three unique peer-reviewed research articles. Although well-registered and well-received, 18% of the students received Incomplete grades, primarily due to failing to submit the paper that went largely unresolved and eventually resulted in a failing grade. To rectify this issue, a modified version of the C.R.E.A.T.E. (Consider, Read, Elucidate hypotheses, Analyze and interpret data, Think of the next Experiment) method replaced the paper with eight structured assignments focusing on an initial general-topic article, the introduction-methods, and results-discussion of each of three related peer-review neuroscience-related articles, and a final summary. Compliance in completing these assignments was very high, resulting in only 11 INC grades out of 228 students. Thus, use of the C.R.E.A.T.E. method reduced the percentage of problematic INC grades from 18% to 4.8%, a 73% decline, without changing the overall grade distribution. Other analyses suggested the students achieved a deeper understanding of the scientific process using the C.R.E.A.T.E. method relative to the original term paper assignment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY 11367.
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Bodnar
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY 11367.
authors.forename: Francis M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Rotella
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY 11367.
authors.forename: Ilyssa
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Loiacono
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY 11367.
authors.forename: Tricia
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Coke
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY 11367.
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Olsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY 11367.
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barrientos
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY 11367.
authors.forename: Lauren
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Blachorsky
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY 11367.
authors.forename: Deena
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Warshaw
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY 11367.
authors.forename: Agata
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Buras
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY 11367.
authors.forename: Ciara M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Sanchez
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY 11367.
authors.forename: Raihana
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Azad
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY 11367.
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Stellar
keywords: CREATE; Reward; addiction; behavioral economics; craving; empathy; fMRI; food intake; liking-wanting-needing; relapse