Franklin Institute

This grant supports The Franklin Institute’s (TFI) work to develop, pilot, and disseminate a professional training course that equips high school educators with the knowledge, skills, and resources to teach neuroscience using TFI’s Neuroscience & Society High School Curriculum. The curriculum, developed by TFI in 2017 with funding from the National Institutes of Health and updated in 2023 with Dana Foundation support, teaches neuroscience through the lens of societal issues relevant to teenagers using interactive activities, inquiry-driven projects, case studies, and connections to neuroscience in popular culture. 

The project has four implemented phases. During phase one, TFI conducts a landscape assessment of existing neuroscience education programs, including Dana Education-supported projects, that offer teacher professional learning and curriculum dissemination resources. Findings from this phase are synthesized into a report on the high school neuroscience education landscape and inform phase two, which focuses on curriculum enhancements and the development of a digital, interactive teacher training course. The course builds on TFI’s existing online learning tools and includes resources to strengthen teachers’ neuroscience content knowledge, pedagogical guidance for curriculum use, and administrative supports for implementation. 

In phase three, The Franklin Institute pilots the training modules and curriculum implementation with a geographically and socioeconomically diverse cohort of five urban and rural schools to assess efficacy and establish proof of concept for a future dissemination model. Participating schools are supported through a Community of Practice, connecting educators with one another and with neuroscientists conducting curriculum-related research. In phase four, the project team develops a Strategic Action Plan for broader dissemination, including a communications strategy to increase awareness of the training and curriculum within national STEM education communities and a plan to scale the guided model and Community of Practice through targeted school networks.    

The project’s deliverables, including the landscape report and links to the e-learning platform for teacher professional development and the Community of Practice, are housed on the existing Neuroscience & Society curriculum website, ensuring that these resources remain freely accessible to any educator interested in neuroscience education. 

This grant supports the Dana Education objective to engage K-12 students in learning about neuroscience and its relevance to society through structured education opportunities (formal and non-formal) that integrate relevant, real-world topics and issues to capture their interest and inspire continued study.   

This grant also supports the Dana Foundation objective to facilitate greater understanding and informed decision-making among professionals by supporting new education approaches on neuroscience topics related to their practice.