The Learning Brain - Interactive Inquiry for Teachers and Students

描述（由申请人提供）：我们对大脑功能的认识正在迅速进步；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。然而，今天的学生没有能力运用这些新知识来改善自己、同龄人或家人的生活。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，重点关注符合 NIH 神经科学研究蓝图的神经科学新兴领域。该项目将针对 K-5 年级，因为 1) 很少有适合这些年级的最新神经科学教材，2) 早期年级对于健康行为和技能的发展至关重要，以帮助未来从事科学职业。我们以美国国立卫生研究院资助的成功课程项目为基础，包括专注于神经科学的中学计划以及整合环境、健康和阅读的基本模型。该项目将在少数族裔和经济弱势学生入学率较高的学校进行评估。具体目标是 1) 招募和支持国家级教师领导团队，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，旨在在学校或非正式学习环境中提供 3-6 周的探究式教学，并与阅读/语言艺术相关； 2）与项目合作伙伴合作，采用匹配的对照组研究设计，依次对每个课程模块和辅助材料进行现场测试； 3）根据现场测试结果修改模块和支持材料；开发基于网络的工具，例如论坛、流媒体视频课程演示和可下载的教材，以创建动态的、基于网络的课程和教师专业发展资源； 4) 通过已建立的高流量网站、BioEd Online (www.bioedonline.org) 和 K8 Science (www.k8science.org) 以及其他更传统的途径传播课程和相关资源（课程演示、教师专业发展课程以及学生活动和材料），向全国受众提供高质量、低成本的科学教学资源。该项目有可能覆盖 170 万教师和超过 1900 万 K-5 年级学生。项目的各个方面都将受到形成性和总结性评估，以衡量项目组件交付和实施的质量和有效性，以及为教师和学生提供的体验的总体价值。

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.