Projects of Interest to Middle School Teachers and Children
Medicinal Mysteries from History - The Reconstructors Investigate Opioids
Medicinal Mysteries from History - The Reconstructors Investigate Club Drugs
Leslie Miller, Ph.D.
Rice University
lmm@rice.edu
Product Developed: an award winning web site, The Reconstructors
Target Audience: middle school children
Goal: The site provides an entertaining, kid friendly means of educating children about abused drugs. It places children in the year 2252, ten years after the Great Plague that killed millions, caused the collapse of civilization, and resulted in the loss of past knowledge. The children, acting as the Reconstructors, attempt to regain medical knowledge by visiting virtual laboratories, libraries, and other learning stations.
Alignment with Standards: National Science Education Standards; Healthy People 2000 and 2010; Technological Innovation and Learning Theory.
Availability: http://reconstructors.rice.edu
Translation: The site is currently being translated into Spanish.
Awards:
- Digital Dozen by the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse
- Blue Ribbon Web Site by Education Advocate
- Talking Hands Award for web sites appropriate for hearing impaired people
- Web Page of the Month by Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter
Papers:
- Teaching Neuroscience Through Web Adventures: Adolescents Recontruct the History and Science of Opioid. The Neuroscientist 1(8):16-21, 2002.
- Flash Forward to Problem-based Science. Science Scope 25(3):154-157, 2002.
- Middle School Student + Technology - Habits and Preferences. TechEdge, Journal of Texas Association of Computer Educatiors 20(1):125-140, 2001
- Middle School Students' Technology Practices and Preferences: Re-Examining Gender Differences. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 10(2), 125-140, 2001.
Addiction: Hijacking the Brain
Susanna Cunningham, Ph.D.
University of Washington
susannac@u.washington.edu
Product Developed: a) educational opportunities for middle and high school students through Brain Power, a traveling van, b) speakers bureau for classrooms and community groups and c) a "Neuroscience of Addiction" curriculum for teachers, d) lectures for the general public; e) workshops for professionals in drug enforcement
Target Audience: middle and high school students and teachers; general public; professionals in drug enforcement
Goal: This multifaceted project sought to disseminate research based science information to a broad audience. The Brain Power program was delivered to schools in Washington and neighboring states where it reached over 30,000 students and 4,000 adults. The program consisted of 12 lessons and a materials kit which used engaging and fun educational materials and settings, to stimulate lessons on basic neuroscience and the biology of addiction. Additionally a detailed curriculum, "Brain Power: It's all in Your Head," was developed for middle school teachers and students. The curriculum contains engaging lessons on a variety of neuroscience topics, including drug abuse.
This grant also organized 140 volunteer professionals who traveled to schools and community groups to give seminars on a variety of brain and drug abuse research topics. The speakers all included the importance of animals for biomedical research in their talks. Countless numbers of students and adults have been reached through this program. WABR also held Amazing Animal Research Student Contests in which students submitted essays and posters detailing the importance of animal research.
Alignment with Standards: National Science Education Standards
SPARC2000+: Science Fair Drug Abuse Science Literacy
J. Bill Whitlow, Jr., Ph.D.
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
bwhitlow@camden.rutgers.edu
Product to be Developed: Minority middle and high school students and their teachers will receive training in how to conduct science fairs.
Target Audience: minority middle and high school students
Goal: This ongoing project is using science fairs to improve science literacy and minority participation in science. To enable science teachers and adult mentors to get more students at middle and high school levels involved in science fairs, the project is offering training in research methods, technical assistance regarding science fairs, and other resources to science teachers in grades 6-12 in New Jersey. Each summer teachers participate in a 5-week workshop to learn how to use research to study the effects of drugs and the nature of drug abuse and addiction. They also learn how to promote inquiry-based learning in their students and how to engage them in the process of doing science by producing interesting, novel projects for science fairs. Students have the opportunity to present their projects in elementary school, libraries, community centers, science expos, and at research luncheons. An on-line version is being developed.
Alignment with Standards: National Science Education Standards
Presentations:
Long-term Outcome of a Science Enrichment Intervention: Evaluation of SPARC in Camden, NJ, USA. Presented at the Southern African Association for Research on Mathematics and Science Education, January, 2000.
Drug Abuse and Addiction: A Multimedia Approach
Anne Westbrook, Ph.D.
Biological Sciences Curriculum Study
awestbrook@bscs.org
Product to be Developed: inquiry based curriculum materials and video
Target Audience: middle school students and the adults in their lives, including parents or guardians, teachers, school counselors, school health professionals and other school personnel
Goal: This grant is developing inquiry based curriculum materials about the science of drug addiction, including a multimedia component, a web component and print materials specific for each target audience. The combination of web, print and multimedia approaches will provide a coherent program focused on major drug abuse related concepts. Print materials for parents and guardians will be translated into Spanish. It is anticipated that this project will produce outstanding materials similar to the Office of Science Education/NIDA project developed for high school, "The Brain: Understanding Neurobiology Through the Study of Addiction" since Dr. Westbrook also developed those materials.
Alignment with Standards: National Science Education Standards
Girls in Drug Abuse Science
University of Kentucky
Carl Leukefeld, Ph.D.
cleukef@uky.edu
Product Developed: a multiyear program for reaching Appalachian girls and increasing their scientific knowledge and confidence
Target Audience: middle school girls and their teachers and parents
Goal: To counter the under representation of rural girls who chose science and drug abuse research careers and to improve the knowledge of drug abuse research among rural girls, this grant is providing young Appalachian girls with an innovative multiyear program aimed at increasing their scientific knowledge and confidence. Girls in the program participate in Project Summer Institutes, Saturday Sessions, and scientific as well as community mentoring opportunities. The project also targets middle school math and science teachers with professional development courses which focus on engaging girls in drug abuse research and science. In addition, the project includes parental involvement through a series of workshops. This project is also developing and disseminating a model curriculum to enhance teaching of science and drug abuse in rural areas, and a guide "Promoting Gender Equity in the Classroom" to enhance science education in rural areas.
Alignment with Standards: National Science Education Standards
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