NORTHERN CALIFORNIA PARTNERS IN NEUROSCIENCE EDUCATION WIN AWARD TO 37TH SOCIETY FOR NEUROSCIENCE MEETING IN SAN DIEGO
For immediate release.
NR-27-07 (10/31/07) For more information, please call DeeDee Clendenning at (202) 962-4000 or dclendenning@sfn.org
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA PARTNERS IN NEUROSCIENCE EDUCATION
WIN AWARD TO 37TH SOCIETY FOR NEUROSCIENCE MEETING IN SAN DIEGO
Rebecca M. Fulop, a teacher at Mission High School in San Francisco, Calif., and Kimberly D. Tanner, PhD, of San Francisco State University (SFSU), have received a Neuroscientist-Teacher partner Travel Award to attend the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) annual meeting in San Diego, Calif., November 3-7.
This partnership program in neuroscience of one neuroscientist and one teacher, sponsored by SfN, recognizes 13 pairs for their commitment and innovative approach to bringing neuroscience into the classroom.
Over the past two years Fulop and Tanner have worked together to increase the use of inquiry-based teaching methods in the classroom. Fulop, who is a science teacher for grades 9 and 10, is collaborating with Tanner's laboratory at SFSU, SEPAL: The Science Education Partnership and Assessment Laboratory, to research the influence of scientist-teacher partnerships on participating teachers and novices conceptions of neuroscience, both students and teachers.
In the fall of 2007, Fulop will be collecting written assessment data and video interview data from a sample of high school students to investigate their conceptions of the biological basis of learning and memory. Her research will also include interviewing neuroscientists to compare conceptions of novices (students) and experts (neuroscientists).
"There are only three published research studies that I'm aware of that attempt to investigate how lay people conceptualize how the brain mediates learning," explains Tanner. "Fulop is doing pioneering work in science education research that could significantly inform how neuroscientists communicate with the public about their work and how they conduct their outreach activities to teachers and schools."
In addition to receiving unlimited access to the meeting's thousands of sessions and forums, the awardees have been invited to attend a number of special events. Fulop, Tanner, and the other educators will also be honored at a meeting of SfN's Public Education and Communication Committee.
The goal of the award is to further partnerships between research and educational communities. "The travel award program is an example of the Society's commitment to explaining basic scientific processes -- how research leads to discovery and how discovery leads to treatments, cures, and healthy choices at all stages in life," says Society for Neuroscience Public Education Director, Colleen McNerney. "This program provides encouragement and visibility to the Society's members to embrace and contribute to this work, demonstrating the value of scientists and teachers working in partnership."
Roughly 30,000 scientists from around the world will attend SfN's annual meeting to present and discuss the latest advances in neuroscience research. The meeting will feature more than 16,400 presentations covering topics ranging from stem cell research to basic human behavior.
The Society for Neuroscience, with more than 38,000 members, is the largest organization of researchers and clinicians studying the brain and nervous system.
