TY - JOUR
T1 - Neuroscience workshops for fifth-grade school children by undergraduate students
T2 - A university-school partnership
AU - Foy, Judith G.
AU - Feldman, Marissa
AU - Lin, Edward
AU - Mahoney, Margaret
AU - Sjoblom, Chelsea
PY - 2006
Y1 - 2006
N2 - The National Science Education Standards recommend that science be taught using inquiry-based approaches. Inspired by the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, we examined whether undergraduate students could learn how to conduct field research by teaching elementary school children basic neuroscience concepts in interactive workshops. In an inquiry-based learning experience of their own, undergraduate psychology students working under the close supervision of their instructor designed and provided free, interactive, hour-long workshops focusing on brain structure and function, brain damage and disorders, perception and illusions, and drugs and hormones to fifth-graders from diverse backgrounds, and we assessed the effectiveness of the workshops using a pretest-post-test design. The results suggest that the workshops enhanced the children's knowledge of neuroscience concepts as measured using pre- and post-open-ended assessments. The undergraduates also found their learning experience engaging and productive. The article includes detailed descriptions of the workshop activities, procedures, the course in which the undergraduates implemented the workshops, and guidance for future university-school collaborations aimed at enhancing science literacy.
AB - The National Science Education Standards recommend that science be taught using inquiry-based approaches. Inspired by the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, we examined whether undergraduate students could learn how to conduct field research by teaching elementary school children basic neuroscience concepts in interactive workshops. In an inquiry-based learning experience of their own, undergraduate psychology students working under the close supervision of their instructor designed and provided free, interactive, hour-long workshops focusing on brain structure and function, brain damage and disorders, perception and illusions, and drugs and hormones to fifth-graders from diverse backgrounds, and we assessed the effectiveness of the workshops using a pretest-post-test design. The results suggest that the workshops enhanced the children's knowledge of neuroscience concepts as measured using pre- and post-open-ended assessments. The undergraduates also found their learning experience engaging and productive. The article includes detailed descriptions of the workshop activities, procedures, the course in which the undergraduates implemented the workshops, and guidance for future university-school collaborations aimed at enhancing science literacy.
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U2 - 10.1187/cbe.05-08-0107
DO - 10.1187/cbe.05-08-0107
M3 - Article
C2 - 17012203
AN - SCOPUS:33746749977
SN - 1931-7913
VL - 5
SP - 128
EP - 136
JO - CBE life sciences education
JF - CBE life sciences education
IS - 2
ER -