? The goal of this project is to expand, evaluate, and disseminate a health science curriculum, """"""""HEADS-UP,"""""""" for 5th through 8th grades developed through collaborations between a Health Science Center and their clinical research center, a school district, a health and medical science museum, a school reform project, and a Hispanic health center. HEADS UP (Health Education and Discovering Science while Unlocking Potential) consists of multimedia modules containing CD-ROM's, VHS tapes, lesson plans, and classroom activities, designed to meet state and national science standards and bring biomedical science and scientists into the classroom.
We aim to develop and test 5th through 8th grade science curriculum modules, a teacher development component and a parent education component, and disseminate HEADS UP, along with the parent and teacher components, in elementary and middle schools in Houston and the lower Rio Grande Valley. The 5th grade module on scientific methods, processes and technology incorporates data collection and analysis. Middle school (6th through 8th grade) modules cover genetics, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, physical activity, nutrition and will be expanded to include the immune system, and advanced genetics including stem cell research, and transgenic animals. Professional development sessions for teachers include the clinical research process emphasizing science, technology and translational research. The clinical research process will also educate parents about diabetes as a disease. We hypothesize that (1) Students who participate in HEADS UP will have increased self-efficacy for science, increased academic aspirations, increased interest in science careers, and better grades in science than students not participating in HEADS-UP; (2) Teachers participating in HEADS-UP will have increased confidence in teaching topics related to health science and biomedical research than teachers not participating in HEADS-UP.; (3) Families participating in HEADS-UP will have increased academic aspirations and enhanced knowledge about biomedical sciences and disease than those not participating in HEADS-UP. At the end of this five-year project a set of 5th through 8th grade science curriculum modules developed by teachers will emphasize contemporary and applied biomedical science, be demonstrated to be effective in a rigorous trial, be disseminated in districts in the Rio Grande Valley, and be available for national distribution. ? ?
| Murray, Nancy G; Opuni, Kwame A; Reininger, Belinda et al. (2009) A multimedia educational program that increases science achievement among inner-city non-Asian minority middle-school students. Acad Med 84:803-11 |
