Neuroscience in Your World: A Partnership for Neuroscience Education Across the K-12 Spectrum. The Franklin Institute Neuroscience in Your World is an innovative collaboration between The Franklin Institute and the Center for Neuroscience & Society at the University of Pennsylvania to engage K-12 students and teachers in learning about the importance of neuroscience in their world. The proposed work will create a tiered set of learning experiences that frame core concepts of neuroscience in the relevant context of students' worldview at different developmental stages. Aligning cognitive goals and social development across the K-12 spectrum, the project will build the framework for a learning progression that, at younger grades, reaches a very broad audience at an introductory level of scientific content and, at higher grades, targets increasingly focused audiences with deeper levels of experience. Program content will focus on topics in brain function, learning, social behavior, and societal impacts of neuroscience, emphasizing personal aspects of health and behavior that influence how we perceive and interact with the world around us. The project will include a combination of field trips to and programs delivered at The Franklin Institute, courses implemented at nearby high schools and a digital toolkit of educational materials and teacher professional development resources that will be distributed online. Summative evaluation will determine the effects of the project components on participating students and teachers from the Philadelphia region. Evaluation methods will include pre-post student surveys, teacher surveys, and on-site observations, using for comparison either a waiting group for field trip evaluation or a simulcast group for on-site course evaluation. The suite of programs developed through this project will create the foundation for a successful and sustainable infrastructure for neuroscience education in Philadelphia and beyond.

Public Health Relevance

Neuroscience in Your World: A Partnership for Neuroscience Education Across the K-12 Spectrum The Franklin Institute. From sensing to moving to thinking to feeling, neuroscience explains how we perceive and interact with the world around us. Through the proposed Neuroscience in Your World educational programs, students and teachers across the K-12 spectrum will explore how the brain works in their own bodies and mediates their interactions with their environment. This understanding will enable them to comprehend and make better choices about their own health, behavior and ultimately, their future.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Type
Education Projects (R25)
Project #
5R25DA033023-05
Application #
8900260
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZDA1)
Program Officer
Sasek, Cathrine
Project Start
2011-09-15
Project End
2017-07-31
Budget Start
2015-08-01
Budget End
2017-07-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2015
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Franklin Institute
Department
Type
DUNS #
001741859
City
Philadelphia
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
19103
Farah, Martha J (2015) An ethics toolbox for neurotechnology. Neuron 86:34-7