This project is designed to increase scientific and technical knowledge about biological and psychological sciences among precollege youth. The project focuses on youth in the city of Camden, New Jersey, which is an impoverished, urban region with a predominantly minority population. It is also a center for many institutions with health-related missions. A primary goal of the project is to encourage students in middle school and high school to consider careers in health-related sciences. To accomplish this goal, the project will pursue a 3-pronged attack, consisting of 1) conducting a summer training institute on the brain and psychological sciences for high school students, 2) providing research laboratory experiences for teams of students and teachers, especially those from the Camden Medical Arts High School, and 3) developing curriculum materials on the brain and behavior that can be used to supplement instruction in science classes throughout the city. The summer training institute will combine lectures with """"""""hands-on"""""""" experience in using computers and doing cognitive and live animal research; the training will also conduct field trips to local health-related institutions. To provide direct experience in laboratory research, teams consisting of one teacher and 2-3 students will do a summer research project in the lab of a Rutgers faculty member; these research projects will be followed up during the year and presented at a state conference. To develop. curricular materials, teachers from the SPARC program will work with project staff to bring information about the brain and psychological sciences into the precollege curriculum.
