Development of an Introductory Neuroscience Teaching Experience for Undergraduates with a Low-Cost Neuroscience Summer Academy.

Undergraduate students studying neuroscience have limited opportunities to develop and apply teaching skills before joining a graduate program. Once in a graduate program, students in neuroscience programs are often hired as teaching assistants, adjuncts, or instructors of record. We propose that a low-cost, mentored, short-term summer neuroscience brain academy with high school student participants provides undergraduate students with critical introductory neuroscience teaching experience. Additionally, the experience serves as a service-learning opportunity for faculty and student personnel in a neuroscience laboratory. In this specific program, undergraduate students generate and deliver neuroscience lessons to high school students under the mentorship of a faculty member. This article contains an overview of the purpose of the summer academy, budgetary considerations, materials required, and the roles of faculty and students, with the goal that this model can be replicated at other universities. We propose that this experience addresses a critical gap in early neuroscience professional training.

Making Primary Literature Come Alive in the Classroom.

By the time young scholars graduate college, they are expected to be prepared for their career. The knowledge that they have gained during their undergraduate education is assumed to prepare them for their future occupation. Understanding primary academic literature is absolutely imperative for scientists who are expected to be able to read, understand, explain, and incorporate literature into their work. Unfortunately, many new graduates are only exposed to traditional learning methods such as textbook readings, lectures, or slide shows about primary literature. It is important that while in college, students learn about the rich content of the literature that serves as the foundation for their respective fields. We review methods for integrating primary literature into the classroom and separate them into three components including (1) introduction to the literature, (2) enhancement of literacy and comprehension, (3) and humanizing the literature. These methods of teaching and learning are far more captivating than simply memorizing facts for a test. The brilliance of these methods is that they can be completed within one class time or throughout a semester. The goal is to help students become comfortable with literature, which does not have to be restricted by any time frame. It is our hope that this review of existing tools and ideas provided will help set students up for success in their field. They allow students to practice knowing and using primary literature while requiring students to be active participants in scientific discovery related to their future occupation.