Sowing the Seeds of Neuroscience

描述（由申请人提供）：我们社会中神经和精神疾病的高发病率使得孩子们很可能会遇到他们认识的患有大脑疾病或紊乱的人。神经和精神疾病造成的巨大经济和情感成本使得我们都必须了解这些疾病的影响，并帮助人们学习如何避免这些疾病并做出更好的健康决策。拟议的项目将为中学生开发、评估和传播一种新的神经科学教育资源，重点关注植物和草药的神经活性特性。该资源的创建将具有文化相关性并响应国家和州科学标准指南。研究神经科学家和课堂教师将在整个项目中合作，以确保材料的科学准确性和教育效益。教师将参加夏季专业发展研讨会，学习如何使用新资源。然后，这些老师将借用工具包与学生一起使用。除了工具包外，该计划还将为中学生开发一个夏令营和一个可以下载材料和共享数据的网站。外部评估员将进行形成性和总结性评估，以评估新资源每个组成部分的有效性。 “播下神经科学的种子”的成功实施应该提高学生对神经科学的了解，为教师提供在课堂上使用的新材料，并鼓励学生追求科学事业。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The high incidence of neurological and mental illnesses in our society makes it likely that children will encounter someone they know who has been affected by a disease or disorder of the brain. The significant economic and emotional costs of neurological and mental illnesses make it imperative that we all understand the implications of these disorders and help people learn how to avoid the disorders and make better health decisions. The proposed project will develop, evaluate and disseminate a new neuroscience education resource for middle school students that focuses on the neuroactive properties of plants and herbs. The resource will be created to be culturally relevant and responsive to national and state guidelines for science standards. Research neuroscientists and classroom teachers will work collaboratively throughout the project to ensure the scientific accuracy and educational benefits of the materials. Teachers will attend a summer professional development workshop where they will learn to use the new resource. These teachers will then borrow kits to use with their students. In addition to the kits, the program will develop a summer camp for middle school students and a web site where materials can be downloaded and data can be shared. Formative and summative evaluation will be performed by an external evaluator to assess the effectiveness of each component of the new resource. Successful implementation of "Sowing the Seeds of Neuroscience" should improve student knowledge about neuroscience, provide teachers with new materials to use in the classroom, and encourage students to pursue career in science.