| Outcome/accomplishment:
University of Washington (UW) researcher Eric Chudler has developed a website,
called "Neuroscience for Kids," that has beeen awarded the Science Prize
for Online Resources in Education (SPORE). The website was initially
developed as the result of a collaboration between middle-school teachers
and research neuroscientists at the NSF-sponsored University of Washington
Engineered Biomaterials (UWEB) Engineering Research Center (ERC).
Impact/benefits:
Winners of the SPORE competition are chosen as innovators in science education
who have most potential to benefit science students and teachers.
To date, 150 million different files are downloaded from the Neuroscience
for Kids site each year. Hopefully, this will motivate pre-college
students to learn more about science and STEM fields.
Explanation/ background:
The Neuroscience for Kids website engages 'kids' of all ages and all levels
of science education. Content found on the site includes articles,
lesson plans, and experiments developed, reviewed, and approved through
a collaborative effort of scientists and teachers. What sets this
site apart from others is how it has always been focused on updated and
vetted content, rather than on the latest browser enhancements, proving
that you don't need a million-dollar website to educate the public. The
site reaches out to students in a wide variety of ways. One section
dispels some popular myths about neuroscience, such as the claim that we
only use ten percent of our brains. Another presents optical illusions
so that students can test their own perceptions. A section called "Neuroscientist
Network" allows students and teachers to email neuroscientists in order
to ask them questions about neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, educational
requirements to become a neuroscientist, and careers in neuroscience.
The Science Prize for Online
Resources in Education (SPORE) was designed to promote exceptional online
materials that are available free of charge to science educators.
The acronym SPORE refers to a reproductive element adapted to develop,
often in less than ideal conditions, into something new. The winning
projects are intended to be the seed of progress in education, even in
the face of formidable challenges to educational innovation. Science
publishes an article about each winning project by the project's developer.
The publication of an article in Science on each winning site will help
guide everyone to important online resources, thereby promoting science
literacy.
As a researcher, Chudler
studies cerebral cortex and basal ganglia mechanisms of nociception (neural
processing of potentially damaging stimuli) and pain, and how the cerebral
cortex and basal ganglia process information from multiple sensory systems.
His work in educational outreach stems from a strong conviction that scientists
need to help support and foster the next generations of scientists and,
more generally, to educate the public—especially considering the growing
challenges associated with such age-related neurological disorders as Alzheimer's
Disease. He hopes the SPORE award and the essays about winning websites
in Science will attract other scientists and expand science education outreach.
Chudler is continuing to improve his toolbox for improving education outreach.
For example, he suspects that the personal emails with neuroscientists
are as impactful at stoking students' interest in neuroscience as in-person
interactions, but he wants to continue testing his hunch. Chudler
does credit the teachers with the plain-language accessibility of the site,
and the neuroscientists have worked to ensure the site's accuracy. The
benefit of this successful collaboration between teachers and scientists
is providing inspiration to the rest of the UWEB ERC’s Education and Outreach
Program.
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