Education
The CBN has built a comprehensive education program consisting of pre-college, undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral initiatives, as well as public education programming. The programs help to satisfy several goals in this arena:
- Improve neuroscience education and literacy, particularly for students and the general public in the state of Georgia;
- Increase awareness of neuroscience concepts and research, as well as career opportunities related to neuroscience;
- Recruit and retain bright individuals in pathways toward neuroscience-related careers; with emphasis on those from minoritized groups, such as women in science, under-represented racial and ethnic groups, those from disadvantaged backgrounds, and differently-abled individuals;
- Collaborate with K-12 teachers to provide and create innovative tools for teaching science;
- Conduct education research studies to help identify best practices for teaching and learning science, and to promote retention and success in science careers.
K-12 Programs
The Neuroscience School at Georgia State University offers summer short course opportunities for high school students. This academic day camp is open to any high school students who enjoy exploring science.
ION is an eight-week summer internship hosted by Georgia State University, Emory University, and the Yerkes National Primate Research Center. The program seeks high school students who excel in science and have a strong interest in research. The program has also hosted middle and high school science teachers who want to gain research experience and translate it into lesson plans for their classrooms.
Atlanta Regional Brain Bee is a national level brain trivia competition for high-school students, which is held annually in January or February. CBN co-sponsors the Atlanta Regional Brain Bee with the Atlanta Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience.
Undergraduate Programs
Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) at Georgia State University is an undergraduate research education and training program grounded in biology, chemistry, neuroscience, and psychology. The goal of this program is to encourage students from underrepresented groups to pursue careers in biomedical research.
MARC – The Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) program is funded by the National Institutes of Health to provide undergraduate research education and training in biology, biomedical sciences, chemistry, neuroscience, psychology, and public health. CBN programming complements the offerings of MARC to help recruit and retain bright students from diverse backgrounds in pathways to productive research careers.
CASA – The Center for the Advancement of Students and Alumni into Graduate and Professional Programs (CASA) at Georgia State University is a hub for faculty, staff, and students helping to make PhD programs, medical school, and law school accessible to Georgia State students and alumni with interest and motivation to pursue these paths. Collaborating with educators in the CBN, the faculty, staff, and students of the CASA ultimately aim to increase diversity among leaders in academic and professional careers around the nation.
Graduate and Post-Doctoral Programs
CBN faculty and staff support graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in the laboratories of CBN researchers by providing opportunities for state-of-the-art research, conference travel, research exchange, mentor training, guest lecturing, teaching, and public communication training and engagements.
Community Programs
Atlanta Science Festival celebrates the world-class learning and STEM career opportunities in metro Atlanta, reaching 60,000 people annually. The Festival is engineered by Science ATL and 50+ community partners, with major support from founders Emory University, Georgia Tech, and the Metro Atlanta Chamber, and from sponsors UPS, International Paper, Georgia Power, Cox Enterprises, and Mercer University. CBN faculty, staff, and students have contributed numerous events for the festival and are pleased to have had several graduate students and post-docs participate as Science ATL Communication Fellows, an off-shoot of the Atlanta Science Festival programming.
For Educators
CBN manages a Lending Library of Learning Resources, housed at the Petit Science Center on the GSU campus. This collection of resources is available for use in K-12, undergraduate, and graduate classrooms, as well as for special events, lectures, or workshops. Educators can “check out” any of these materials as one would check out a library book. Reservation requests must be made at least two weeks in advance. Email jwalcott@gsu.edu to learn more about the process.
The Atlanta Chapter of the Society for Neuroscience (ACSfN) also has a collection of resources available for use and it is housed at Yerkes National Primate Research Center. To learn more, visit the ACSfN website.
Want a neuroscientist to visit your classroom? Click here! Each year, ACSfN coordinates visits from neuroscientists to Atlanta-area elementary, middle, and high schools, reaching thousands of students. Interested educators can request a classroom visit any time of the year.