Vanderbilt University

This grant supports Vanderbilt University’s Students are Scientists, an experiential learning program for high school students on the neuroscience of attention, learning, and memory and how these cognitive processes may be impacted by smartphone use.  

Freshman and sophomore students at the School for Math and Science at Vanderbilt (SSMV) participate in an inquiry-based curriculum that empowers them to contribute to neuroscience and education policy by designing, implementing, and analyzing a cognitive neuroscience experiment examining smartphone use in the classroom and presenting their findings to school district leaders. The curriculum includes lectures by policy specialists and lessons and activities about civic engagement and how neuroscience impacts society. Students receive instruction on different forms of science communication and practice these communication skills at a Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools board meeting, to the broader Vanderbilt community at the SSMV Summer Research Symposium, and to public audiences during Brain Awareness Week. Students experience that they can be scientists and that their work in science is needed by contributing to society’s understanding of a real-world issue that directly affects their lives. 

The curriculum and student-generated experimental methods are freely available on a project website for replication by other teachers, students, and scientists. The website provides lesson plans, slides, recordings of guest presentations, and student artifacts of posters/presentations as a demonstration of learning outcomes. These deliverables amplify the project’s impact by sharing practical guidance for educators and resources for delivering the curriculum virtually to maximize its accessibility and flexibility.   

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.