Title: SFNs Educational Initiative: Undergraduate Neuroscience is the the K 12 Bridge
1SFNs Educational Initiative Undergraduate
Neuroscience is the the K 12 Bridge
- Alan Gittis, PhD
- Neuroscience Program
- Psychology Department
- Westminster College
- New Wilmington, PA
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3P.U.I.s
4Alternative Career
5Undergraduate Neuroscience
6The Liberal Arts Public
Undergraduate Neuroscience
7The Liberal Arts Public
Undergraduate Neuroscience
K- 12 Programs
8The Liberal Arts Public
Students
Graduate Programs
Undergraduate Neuroscience
K- 12 Programs
9The Liberal Arts Public
Students
Graduate Programs
Undergraduate Neuroscience
K- 12 Programs
Placement
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14Some PKAL Workshops
- An Introduction to Neurochemistry
Acetylcholinesterase Assay and Enzyme Kinetics.
Paul- Wellesley - Purinergic Synaptic Transmission Effects of
Adenosine Evoked Field and ATP on Potentials in
the Hippocampal Slice. Smith-Oberlin - Effects of Lesion on Spatial and Nonspatial
Learning. Dunbar- Central Michigan University - Human Psychophysiology- Porterfield-Oberlin
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28K-12 Contributors
- Jean Hardwick Ithaca
- Barbara Lom Davidson
- Bob Jacobs Colorado College
- James Stellar Northeastern
- Jan Thornton Oberlin
- Bart Hoebel - Princeton
29Cynthia Gibson- Creighton
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34Undergraduate Neuroscience as a Career Path
The fact that university professors arent
actually trained/encouraged/hired to teach is
something that bothered me for a long time. In
fact the whole academic culture, ironically,
seems to frown upon anyone who expresses that
kind of tendency. I hear theres a small cohort
of people at various universities/colleges who
are trying to draw some attention to the issue
with the ultimate goal, I think, of creating
something like teaching professorships
-e-mail from grad student
35Undergraduate Neuroscience as a Career Path
The ANDP Survey-
- Fragmented community
- Little clout with administrators
- Limited professional development opportunities
- Neuroscientists not actually teaching neuroscience
36Undergraduate Neuroscience as a Career Path
The Institutional Setting
- Institution size 1500-2500 but some much larger
- No. of Faculty Involved 3
- Includes support faculty
- Structure
- Interdisciplinary (biology and psychology)
- Minor/concentration with bio and psych
- Conclusion- Undergraduate neuroscience is a
microcosm of the graduate field
37Undergraduate Neuroscience as a Career Path
What Education Should Provide-
- Broad Training
- Broad Teaching Competencies
38Undergraduate Neuroscience as a Career Path
- FUN membership graduate degrees
- 50 behavioral
- 25 neuroscience or neurobiology
- 25 traditional natural sciences
39Undergraduate Neuroscience as a Career Path
- Broad Training
- Broad Teaching Competencies
- Pioneering
40Undergraduate Neuroscience as a Training Pipeline
I recently got a call from a friend who is on the
admissions committee at a VERY prestigious
neuroscience program.. . Committee was willing
to consider students from liberal arts colleges
when primarily undergraduate institutions but
they dont demonstrate any time doing real
research at a real research environment
-FUN colleague
41Undergraduate Neuroscience as a Training Pipeline
Boitano and Seyal, 2001
42Undergraduate Neuroscience as a Training Pipeline
Boitano and Seyal, 2001
43Undergraduate Neuroscience as a Training Pipeline
An Example- Baldwin-Wallaces Program
- Funded through ILIs and R15s
- 5-6 different research projects per semester
- Diverse training experiences
- 2 to 3 years of sustained work
- Students selected competitively
- Senior associates selected
- Supervision
- Project Planning
44Neuroscience in Liberal Arts Education
45Neuroscience in Liberal Arts Education
46Neuroscience in Liberal Arts Education
Publications Grady, Charleston, Maris, Witgen,
Lifshitz. Neuronal and Glial Cell Number in the
Hippocampus After Experimental Traumatic Brain
Injury Analysis by Stereological Estimation.
Journal of Neurotrauma (In Press) Witgen,
Lifshitz, Grady, Cohen. Regional Alterations in
Limbic Excitability Underlie Hippocampal
Cognitive Deficits Following Experimental
Traumatic Brain Injury. Journal of Neuroscience
(Submitted) Invited Speaker Federation of
American Societies for Experimental Biology,
2003 Quantification of Hippocampal Neurons in
the Mouse Following Brain Injury
47Neuroscience in Liberal Arts Education
48Neuroscience in Liberal Arts Education
Chudik - Russian Orthodox Seminary
49Neuroscience in Liberal Arts Education
50Neuroscience in Liberal Arts Education
Tomnay- Med student Peterson lab work???
51Neuroscience in Liberal Arts Education
Neural Networks Cluster Course
52Neuroscience in Liberal Arts Education
53Neuroscience in Liberal Arts Education
According to Savage, the emergent interactionism
theory explains very well how consciousness
depends on brain activity, however does not
explain how consciousness directs or regulates
neuronal activity. In the solidity of water
example, the solidity itself does not regulate
the water molecules. So it turns into a question
of control.(Globus, p130
All sensory information from both the body and
the brain start in the thalamus and are carried
in oscillating loops to the corresponding regions
in the cortex, which are combined into more
global waves of activity. These activity waves
sweep from the front to the back of the cortex
every 12.5 milliseconds and equals one quantum
of conscious experience.
2nd year psych students integration of
Neuropsychology of Mind and Philosophy of Mind
54Undergraduate-Graduate Cooperative Ventures
- More summer programs- less competition from home
team- employment opportunities - Give undergrads more responsibility
- Sponsor regional research symposia
- Send grad students and post-doc to interact
- Have grad students mentor research projects
- List of faculty who would be willing to give an
address- (for free?)
55Undergraduate-Graduate Cooperative Ventures
56Undergraduate-Graduate Cooperative Ventures
Proposed Residency Program
- Goals
- Extend teaching competencies
- Development of undergrad teaching venues
- Increase impact of neuroscience in undergrad
curricula - Duration 2 3 years
- Location- Competitively selected PUIs
57Undergraduate-Graduate Cooperative Ventures
Proposed Residency Program
- Equipment budget
- Workshops- training? / outcomes?
- ANDP / FUN review panel
58Undergraduate-Graduate Cooperative Ventures
59Undergraduate-Graduate Cooperative Ventures
- Development of FUN-ANDP educational programs
- Support for Residency Programs
- Graduate/Post-doc Information Gathering
Opportunities - Visit at the Annual SFN Meeting