Annals of Neurosciences, Vol 17, No 1 (2010)
Annals of Neurosciences, Volume 17, Number 1, January 2010
neuroscience education: the imperative for outreach
Science education today is more important than ever. We live in an age of rapidly expanding scientific knowledge about the world and about ourselves: education is essential for us to understand the dramatic increases in our knowledge and interpret their impacts on our lives. Scientific issues have social and political implications: education is critical to provide legislators with the information that will enable wise policy decisions. Scientific advances drive economic growth and education is important to inspire young minds to take up scientific careers. Science education also satisfies fundamental human curiosity.
Neuroscience came of age in the 20th century, with the combination of physiology, anatomy, biochemistry, molecular biology and behavior, and has become a major scientific field in the 21st century. The breadth of inquiry of the field of neuroscience is impressive, ranging from investigations of the structure and function of single ion channel proteins to complex cognitive processes such as decision-making and on to neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. Neuroethics and neuro-economics are only a few of the many arenas into which neuroscience has branched. The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is now one of the largest scientific societies, with 40,000 members celebrating its 40th year. Neuroscientist members have a responsibility to promote neuroscience education. Gone are the days when we could work in isolation in our laboratories, in ivory towers, ignoring the public. The new imperative is to reach out to the multiple sectors of society, to inform them about the new knowledge and excitement of this field. Other arguments set aside, we ignore this responsibility at our peril: a public and a government that doesn’t understand science and its benefits will be reluctant to provide the financial support for further research.
SfN has taken up the challenge of neuroscience education. The Public Education and Communication Committee (PECC) has the charge of developing ways to reach out to kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) students, the public and legislators. For the last three years as chairman of PECC, it has been stimulating and rewarding to work with my colleagues - 20 neuroscientists and 10 staff-to pursue this important agenda.
What have we done? Many of the committee’s activities have involved direct person-to-person interactions, aimed at stimulating awareness and understanding of neuroscience. SfN and the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives have partnered for more than a decade to promote the Brain Awareness Week (BAW) each year in March. PECC organized a BAW campaign event at the annual meeting of the Society, providing a forum for participants to showcase their innovative activities during the year. We also advanced the concept of year-around Brain Awareness, encouraging neuroscientists to reach out with educational activities throughout the year and not restrict their efforts to a single week.
PECC members attended the National Science Teachers Association Convention-an annual gathering of 15,000 science teachers - to promote interest in neuroscience and distribute teaching materials. We stimulated the Neuroscientist-Teacher Partner Program, which has grown to more than 600 neuroscience students and faculty who have volunteered to serve as partners for K-12 teachers, coming to classrooms to share the content and excitement of neuroscience. PECC worked to achieve the introduction of neuroscience to the Science Olympiad, a 25-year old national “academic track meet” that stimulates students to study science. Involvement in the International Brain Bee, another academic competition modeled on spelling bees, was an additional focus; SfN now sponsors summer lab internships for the students who win the U.S., Canada and International Brain Bees. These activities were highly successful and stimulated positive feedback from the teachers and students.
To reach wider audiences and increase the impact of its efforts, PECC also developed a set of educational resources that are accessible on the internet. The Neuroscience Core Concepts offer fundamental principles that one should know about the brain and nervous system (http://www.sfn.org/index.aspx?pagename=core_concepts). They are a practical resource about how the brain works and how it is formed, how it guides us through the changes in life, and why it is important to increase understanding of the brain. These Core Concepts have broad application for K-12 teachers and the general public, offering the most important insights gained through decades of brain research. They also spotlight promising research paths ahead.
PECC created NERVE, the Neuroscience Education Resources Virtual Encyloportal, to advance neuroscience teaching and educational efforts. http://www.ndgo.net/sfn/nerve/ NERVE provides access to information and tools for teaching about the nervous system and related health issues, targeted for grades K-12. It provides a gateway to credible information from government, nonprofit and other respected sources. The materials have been reviewed by SfN scientists and educators for appropriateness.
PECC launched the Wikipedia Initiative, based on an idea of SfN past-president Eve Marder. http://www.sfn.org/index.aspx?pagename=wikipedia_main Wikipedia is a global collaborative effort to create an online encyclopedia covering all knowledge areas in all languages and serves as a major source of information for the public. Since its creation in January 2001, Wikipedia is now one of the largest reference web sites in the world. The goals of the Wiki Initiative are to improve the accuracy, breadth and accessibility of neuroscience content available to the public through a publicly accessible site and to help more SfN members contribute to Society goals by engaging them in the initiative. To support the Neuroscience Wikipedia Initiative, SfN is asking members to serve as contributors and content facilitators. This initiative is ongoing, allowing members to contribute as time allows.
To complement its public education efforts, PECC also made a major effort to enhance public communication resources. http://www.sfn.org/index.aspx?pagename=publications Brain Facts is a 74-page primer on the brain and nervous system, published by SfN. Designed for a lay audience, as an introduction to neuroscience. Brain Facts is also a valuable educational resource used by high school teachers and students who participate in Brain Awareness Week. The 2008 edition updates all sections and includes new information on brain development, learning and memory, language, neurological and psychiatric illnesses, potential therapies and more. http://www.sfn.org/index.aspx?pagename=brainFacts Brain Briefings are two-page newsletters explaining for a lay audience how basic neuroscience discoveries lead to clinical applications. http://www.sfn.org/index.aspx?pagename=brainBriefings_main Research and Discoveries chronicle examples of curiosity-driven research advances creating promise for the treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders. These materials provide up-to-date information to interested parties around the globe.
In addition, PECC organizes the press conferences for SfN’s annual meeting, attended by more than 30,000 of its members. PECC selects the findings of greatest interest, with the assistance of the Program Committee, generates the press releases and organizes the presentations for the press. Throughout the year, PECC selects newsworthy articles published in the Society’s journal. The Journal of Neuroscience, and generates press releases that are picked up by reporters and news agencies around the world. These activities ensure that the most recent discoveries of neuroscience research reach the public in a timely manner.
It has been tremendously satisfying to work with such a creative and dedicated group to pursue the objective of neuroscience education. As a scientist I have devoted most of my career to satisfying my curiosity about the mechanisms by which the brain develops, focusing on a scientific legacy. However I believe that a greater and more important legacy is likely to be the modest extent to which I have contributed to the education of people about neuroscience. I encourage you to join this effort.
doi: 10.5214/ans.0972.7531.2010.170103
Nicholas C. Spitzer
Neurobiology Section and
Center for Molecular Genetics,
Kavli Institute for Brain and Mind,
UCSD, La Jolla CA
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