Neuroscience Activities for Hands-on Learning

描述（由申请人提供）：该项目的目的是开发、实地测试、传播和评估创新实践活动的使用，这些活动关注神经科学的关键概念，并突出神经科学学会开发的《神经科学核心概念：神经科学基本原则》中确定的四个“大概念”。这些引人入胜的活动将使高中生物教师能够轻松地将神经科学融入现有课程的各个领域。这些活动将由罗彻斯特大学生命科学学习中心的课程开发专家团队与罗彻斯特大学科学家咨询委员会和高中生物教师教师咨询委员会合作创建。在这个为期五年的项目中，我们将：“开发一个关于神经元通信的入门活动和八个扩展活动，将神经科学概念和职业信息整合到高中生物课程的各个主题领域。”通过教师焦点小组和整个纽约州的校内实地测试来评估活动。“实施一项为期三年的传播计划，在该计划中，我们将招聘、培训和支持纽约州和全国“教师演示者”网络，他们将为纽约和美国各地的同龄人领导专业发展研讨会。”开发和使用一个可靠、有效和单维的前/后评估来衡量这些活动对学生对神经科学内容的理解以及对科学和卫生保健职业的认识的影响。这个拟议的项目意义重大，因为它将对高中教师使用动手活动产生全国性影响，使不同的学生群体了解神经科学内容和现实世界的应用，并提高学生对需要神经科学知识的各种职业的认识。这个提议的项目是创新的，因为要开发的活动将允许教师轻松地将神经科学概念整合到生物学课程的各个领域，包括“非传统”的主题领域，如细胞生物学、分子生物学、遗传学、生态学、发育和进化。此外，我们全国传播计划的创新特性将增加教师采用这些新的神经科学教育资源的可能性，这将进一步扩大该项目对学生学习的影响。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant: The purpose of this project is to develop, field test, disseminate and evaluate the use of innovative hands- on activities that focus on key concepts of neuroscience and highlight the four "mega-concepts" identified in the Neuroscience Core Concepts: Essential Principles of Neuroscience developed by the Society for Neuroscience. These engaging activities will enable high school biology teachers to easily integrate neuroscience into various areas of existing curriculums. The activities will be created by a team of curriculum development experts from the University of Rochester's Life Sciences Learning Center, in collaboration with a Scientist Advisory Council of University of Rochester scientists and a Teacher Advisory Council of high school biology teachers. During this five-year project we will: "Develop an introductory activity on neuron communication and eight extension activities that integrate neuroscience concepts and career information into various topic areas of the high school biology curriculum." Evaluate the activities through teacher focus groups and in-school field testing throughout New York State. "Implement a three-year dissemination plan in which we will recruit, train and support a New York State and a national network of "teacher-presenters" who will lead professional development workshops for their peers throughout New York and throughout the US." Develop and use a reliable, valid and unidimensional pre/post assessment to measure the impact that the activities have on students' understanding of neuroscience content, and awareness of science and health care careers. This proposed project is significant because it will have a national impact on high school teachers' use of hands-on activities to engage diverse student populations in understanding neuroscience content and real- world applications as well as increasing student awareness of a wide variety of careers that require knowledge of neuroscience. This proposed project is innovative because the activities to be developed will allow teachers to easily integrate neuroscience concepts into various areas of the biology curriculum, including "nontraditional" topic areas such as cell biology, molecular biology, genetics, ecology, development, and evolution. In addition, the innovative characteristics of our nationwide dissemination plan will increase the likelihood of teacher adoption of these new neuroscience education resources, which will further expand the impact of this project on student learning.