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Neuroscience for Everyone!

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A Fun and Productive Teacher Training Workshop: These Teachers are Neuro-Nerds!

Following the previous success of our 3-day Teacher Training workshop at the end of the 2019 Calendar Year – we decided to kick-off 2020 with a free workshop for educators, open to all!

So we set a date… Jan 31st, shot out some emails, and hoped we wouldn’t be eating bagels and cream cheese alone in the office on the morning of the workshop! Far from alone, we had 10 passionate educators join us, from classroom teachers to curriculum designers and even graduate students involved in neuroscience outreach! Some came from local, Ann Arbor schools, and some drove much further, or even flew(!) to attend the event!

The day was booked well ahead of time. Our goal was to cover both intro and intermediate materials to enable these educators to improve how they teach both invertebrate and human physiology in their science outreach and in their STEM, Biology, and Neuroscience classes

Starting with some Invertebrate Physiology, the educators covered strategies for teaching science with Model Organisms, performed live neuron recordings from the cockroach leg prep, and practiced both introductory and advanced analytics approaches to better understand how the nervous system works and how we, as scientists, can begin quantifying electrical phenomena from within the nervous system.

Then we dove into some human physiology experiments, covering muscle activity, reflexes, and reaction times! These labs are quick and quantifiable, and the educators experience first-hand how they can be used to unpack a lot of big ideas in a short amount of time! For example, reactions and reflexes are different… but why? And a much broader question, how does “information” get from a to b? What is the speed(s) of information?

And of course, the day wouldn’t be complete without some hands-on time with the Human-Human Interface! This inspired shock, laughter, and intrigue from all the attendees. It really is an experience that needs to be felt to be believed.

Everyone agreed – it was a productive day! The educators responded that the material we covered would not only help them teach NEUROSCIENCE better, but it gave them strategies to teach SCIENCE better!

Our next opportunity for a shorter-form introductory training session is a February Webinar. Click this link or the image below to register, and keep an eye out on our blog for future opportunities!

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Teacher Spotlight: Successful DonorsChoose campaign electrifies Mrs. Kielma’s classroom

Last year, we were introduced to a number of teachers who wanted to fund their classroom through DonorsChoose–check out our previous blog post about it! Mrs. Kielma is a biology and biotechnical engineering teacher at an urban school, and her DonorsChoose campaign was for a Human-Human Interface to explore biomedical engineering and neuroprosthetics. In her words, “One of the most fascinating things we’re researching is neuroscience and motor function – how an amputee can have a device attached to a limb that will respond to commands using only their THOUGHTS!”

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Rio Schools Students Love their SpikerBoxes and Claws!

A Middle School Teacher Testimonial!

We met Deborah Antrim, a medical pathway and 8th-grade teacher in Rio school district, at CSTA this past year, and she told us all about the successes she had had with Backyard Brains gear in her classes and summer camps!

We asked her to share some pictures and details about how she had engaged her students with DIY neuroscience, and she had this to say:

We love our SpikerBoxes and Claw! We have a Science Summer camp- with my love of anatomy and physiology, I taught action potentials and explained the sodium/potassium pump and neural conductivity.

Setting up The Claw!

“When researching activities, I found the Spiker box- PERFECT! Very easy to use, STEM all the way! Our superintendent was enamored with the thought something like this even existed- ha!”

This is a great example of how DIY Neuroscience is not just a fantastic opportunity for your students, but it is also your chance to be the “rockstar science teacher!” When the superintendent is looking for chances to brag about your district and school, you’ll be the classroom that they use as an example of how they’re bringing cutting-edge STEM to the students and community!

Students prepare a cricket leg for Action Potential Recordings

In closing, Deb proclaimed, “I am the biggest BYB fan!”

Well, let that be an example and a challenge! Are you a bigger BYB fan? Test your mettle and share examples of your classroom or projects! Email us at hello@backyardbrains.com to share your story!

Bring these same experiments to life in your classroom!

The Claw – $189.99/kit

The Claw allows you to experiment with Neuroprosthetics, easy!

Buy one for your classroom!

Neuron SpikerBox – $129.99/kit

Record real Action Potentials from invertebrate preps, like cockroaches and grasshoppers!

Upgrade Your Lab Stations with Neuron SpikerBoxes!