The Learning Brain - Interactive Inquiry for Teachers and Students

描述(申请人提供)：我们对大脑功能、基因和环境的相互作用、酒精、尼古丁、其他药物和环境毒素对大脑的影响以及神经发育和衰老的了解正在迅速发展。然而，今天的学生没有能力应用这种新知识来改善自己或同龄人或家庭的生活。贝勒医学院和项目合作伙伴将为小学受众开发、评估和传播新的科学和健康教学资源，重点是与NIH神经科学研究蓝图相一致的神经科学新兴领域。该项目将以K-5年级为目标，因为1)这些年级几乎没有最新的神经科学教材，2)早期年级对于培养健康的行为和技能，使未来能够进入科学职业生涯至关重要。我们建立在NIH资助的成功课程项目的基础上，包括一个专注于神经科学的中学倡议，以及一个整合环境、健康和阅读的初级模式。该项目将在入学人数较少的少数民族学生和经济困难学生人数较多的学校进行评估。具体目标是：1)招募和支持国家教师领导小组，他们将与科学家、临床医生和教育工作者合作，指导开发三个神经科学补充课程模块，旨在学校或非正式学习环境中提供3-6周的探究式教学，与阅读/语言艺术有关；2)与项目合作伙伴合作，使用匹配的比较小组研究设计，连续实地测试每个课程模块和辅助材料；3)根据实地测试结果修订模块和辅助材料；并开发基于网络的工具，如论坛、在线视频演示和可下载的教学材料，以创建一个动态的、基于网络的课程和教师专业发展资源；和4)通过流量大的老牌网站BioEd Online(www.Bioedonline.org)和K8 Science(www.k8Science ence.org)，以及通过其他更传统的途径，向全国受众传播课程和相关资源--课程演示、教师专业发展会议、学生活动和材料。该项目有可能惠及170万名教师和1900多万名K-5年级的学生。将对项目的所有方面进行形式化和总结性的评估，以衡量项目组成部分的交付和实施的质量和效果，以及向教师和学生提供的经验的整体价值。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Our understanding is advancing rapidly of brain function; the interplay of genes and environment; the impacts of alcohol, nicotine, other drugs and environmental toxins on the brain; and neurodevelopment and aging. Yet, today's students are ill equipped to apply this new knowledge to improve their own lives or those of their peers or families. Baylor College of Medicine and project partners will develop, evaluate and disseminate new science and health teaching resources for elementary school audiences, focused on emerging areas in neuroscience aligned with the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research. The project will target grades K-5, because 1) few up-to-date, neuroscience teaching materials are available for these grades, and 2) early grades are critical in the development of healthy behaviors and skills to enable future access to science careers. We build on successful NIH-funded curriculum projects, including a middle school initiative focused on neuroscience and an elementary model for integrating environment, health and reading. The project will be evaluated in schools with high enrollments of underrepresented minority and economically disadvantaged students. Specific aims are to 1) recruit and support a national team of teacher leaders, who will work together and with scientists, clinicians and educators to guide development of three neuroscience supplementary curriculum modules, designed to provide 3-6 weeks of inquiry-based instruction in school or informal learning settings, with connections to reading/language arts; 2) successively field test each curriculum module and supporting materials, in collaboration with project partners, using a well-matched comparison group study design; 3) revise the modules and supporting materials based on field-test outcomes; and develop web-based tools-such as forums, streaming video lesson demonstrations and downloadable teaching materials-to create a dynamic, web-based curricular and teacher professional development resource; and 4) disseminate the curriculum and related resources-lesson demonstrations, teacher professional development sessions, and student activities and materials-via the established, high traffic websites, BioEd Online (www.bioedonline.org) and K8 Science (www.k8science.org), and through other, more traditional pathways to reach national audiences with high quality, low-cost science teaching resources. The project has potential to reach 1.7 million teachers and more than 19 million students in grades K-5. All aspects of the project will be evaluated, both formatively and summatively, to gauge the quality and effectiveness with which project components are delivered and implemented, and the overall value of the experiences provided to teachers and students.