Cultural gaps between scientists and school educators have hampered the direct transfer of groundbreaking research to schools, teachers, and students. Teachers are a potential bridge to close this gap, but all too often, they are intimidated by rapid advances in science and technology. Scientists and clinicians need help in translating their work into messages that can be understood and appreciated by all. These cultural gaps between scientists and teachers lead to a number of damaging consequences, including lost opportunities to educate and inspire young people, some of whom are themselves potential scientists, and public misconceptions about animal research, genetic engineering and stem cell studies. These consequences threaten scientific research in the short- and long-term. Thus, closing the cultural gaps between scientists and teachers is an important step both in recruiting future scientists and in creating a positive climate for groundbreaking research. To address these needs, we propose a combined Phase I/II proposal that will improve the ability of our biomedical researchers to communicate the importance of their work to the general public by forging a unique partnership with middle school teachers. This mutually beneficial partnership will allow scientists to engage teachers in the rich research environments of two NCRR-funded centers on our campus, the General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) and Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC). In turn, the teachers will engage the scientists in translating the complex and sometimes controversial aspects of their research into a form appropriate for their classroom and the public. The strength of this partnership will come from building a mutual respect for and understanding of unique skills of the respective partners. During dissemination, the curricula will be adapted to a variety of cultural backgrounds and published on the web.
