Introducing Neuroscience and Neurocomputation Concepts to High School Students using Brain-based Neurorobots

项目总结 理解大脑是一项深刻而迷人的挑战，吸引着科学界和 公众都一样。缺乏对大多数大脑疾病的有效治疗使培训成为下一代 神经科学家、工程师和医生是一个关键的担忧。然而，许多神经科学被认为也是如此。 很难在学校里学到。为了让学生和老师都能接触到神经科学并吸引他们， 后院大脑正在开发蜘蛛机器人：有趣而实惠的机器人，看起来像大脑，由 生物大脑的计算机模拟。SpikerBots和相关软件和课程不需要 神经科学或编程背景，并允许学生调查有意义的问题 思想、大脑和行为通过设计人造大脑，使机器人的行为栩栩如生，由感官引导 而且目标明确。这些大脑设计练习让学生参与主动的、基于项目的学习，这有 已被证明改善了STEM的结果，特别是在处境不利的学生中。在第一阶段，我们展示了 带有摄像头、麦克风耳朵、扬声器、两轮驱动和WiFi的蜘蛛机器人，由钉子控制 在笔记本电脑上模拟的神经网络，让295名高中生参加了为期一周的研讨会 学习神经科学的概念，解决大脑设计的挑战，并培养对神经科学的自信。在……里面 第二阶段，我们将(1)开发可用于生产的SpikerBot硬件，以降低成本并提高耐用性， (2)在低成本笔记本电脑上设计跨平台功能的基于云的应用程序；(3)开发 课程和一套教师入职材料，包括定期举行的教师研讨会，在3理科举行 博物馆，关于使用蜘蛛机器人进行有效教学的探究性学习。教育研究人员 在普渡大学将继续对学生和教师的经验和学习进行评估 收获。我们打算将我们的神经机器人直接销售给客户，并通过我们的教育渠道合作伙伴在 每台机器人150美元的价格。而SpikerBot是为中学、小学和高等教育而设计的 教育部门以及个人和家庭也可以从这项技术中受益。我们的长期目标是 鼓励教育政策制定者采用更多神经科学标准 有效的神经科学课程围绕生物学和计算概念组织，包含 下一代科学标准的哲学。通过结合神经科学，一个多学科领域， 涵盖生物学、医学、心理学、数学和工程学，以及机器人技术和基于项目的活动 学习，我们的SpikerBot和课程将改善STEM教育并激励下一代 科学家、工程师和医生。

PROJECT SUMMARY Understanding the brain is a profound and fascinating challenge, captivating the scientific community and the public alike. The lack of effective treatment for most brain disorders makes training the next generation of neuroscientists, engineers and physicians a key concern. However, much neuroscience is perceived to be too difficult to be taught in school. To make neuroscience accessible and engaging to students and teachers, Backyard Brains is developing SpikerBots: fun and affordable robots that look like brains and are controlled by computer simulations of biological brains. The SpikerBots and associated software and curriculum require no background in neuroscience or programming, and allow students to investigate meaningful questions about mind, brain and behavior by designing artificial brains that make the robots’ behavior life-like, sensory-guided and goal-directed. These brain design exercises engage students in active, project-based learning, which has been shown to improve STEM outcomes, especially among disadvantaged students. In Phase I, we showed that SpikerBots with camera-eyes, microphone-ears, speakers, 2-wheel drive and WiFi, controlled by spiking neural networks simulated on laptops, enabled 295 high school students participating in a 1-week workshop to learn neuroscience concepts, solve brain design challenges, and develop self-confidence in neuroscience. In Phase II, we will (1) develop production-ready SpikerBot hardware that reduces costs and improves durability, (2) design a cloud-based application for cross-platform functionality on low-cost laptops, and (3) develop a curriculum and set of teacher onboarding materials, including recurring teacher workshops, held at 3 science museums, on employing inquiry-based learning to teach effectively using the SpikerBot. Education researchers at Purdue University will continue to conduct evaluation of students’ and teachers’ experiences and learning gains. We intend to sell our neurorobots directly to customers, and through our education channel partners at a price of $150 per robot. While the SpikerBot is designed for secondary education, primary and higher education sectors as well as individuals and families can also benefit from the technology. Our long-term aim is to encourage education policy makers to adopt more neuroscience science standards by demonstrating an effective neuroscience curriculum organized around biological and computational concepts that embrace the philosophy of the Next Generation Science Standards. By combining neuroscience, a multidisciplinary field that spans biology, medicine, psychology, mathematics, and engineering, with robotics and active, project-based learning, our SpikerBot and curriculum will improve STEM-education and inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers and physicians.