Science Education Partnership Award: Curriculum

Our overall goal is to develop a curriculum for elementary grades 3-6 emphasizing hands-on activities and extensions to teach children about typical and atypical brain and behavior. Our concentration is on five topics about neuroscience: geography of the brain, functional systems of the brain, brain development and genetics, behavior, and robotics. Our lesson plans are developed by teachers and scientists teaming together to outline concepts, review known activities, and brainstorm new activities and extensions. Two levels of complexity are sought: introductory and intermediate. Scientists, teachers or both partners have presented pilot lesson plans in select grades and classrooms in local Waltham and Arlington school districts. Feedback has been gathered from a variety of sources including measures of student comprehension, evaluations by classroom teachers, and critiques of videotapes. Specific subject areas concentrated on thus far include human and animal brain divisions and structure, neuron communication, stages of brain development, structure of neurons and glial cells, learning and memory, robotics, chromosomes and genes, and visual perception. Examples will be presented of these activities, particularly contrasting typical and atypical conditions.

Supported by NIH (NCRR R25 RR13433).

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