Project Kaleidoscope (PKAL) — Advancing what works in STEM education

The 2011 Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience Workshop: Commemorating 20 years of training tomorrow's neuroscientists today

UNDERGRADUATE NEUROSCIENCE EDUCATION:
Resourcing the Curriculum, Improving Pedagogy and Programs, and Expanding our Disciplinary Horizons

July 29-31, 2011
Pomona College
Claremont, CA

Application Deadline: July 11, 2011

Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience has sponsored five previous workshops focused on helping faculty develop and sustain neuroscience programs at undergraduate colleges and universities.  We are happy to announce that a sixth workshop is planned for July 29 – 31, 2011 that will be held at Pomona College, Claremont, California.

The first four FUN workshops benefited greatly from a partnership with Project Kaleidoscope, and since those early days, FUN has continued to have strong ties to PKAL in producing these workshops. At the Davidson College workshop in 1995, participants developed four blueprints to guide faculty in their efforts to enrich the undergraduate science curriculum of their institutions by developing courses and programs in an interdisciplinary and marvelously fertile young science: Neuroscience. Using these blueprints as a foundation, participants at the Oberlin College workshop in 1998 and at the Trinity College workshop in 2001 explored cutting-edge laboratory exercises designed to serve as the basis for the development of investigative, discovery-based laboratory experiences as well as simulations of synaptic transmission and the steps involved in launching regional meetings emphasizing undergraduate neuroscience research. In the 2005 PKAL/FUN workshop at Macalester College, in addition to exploring new laboratory experiences and development of leadership skills, the participants revisited the four original curricular blueprints that served as curricular models in neuroscience since 1995, and, to address the directions that neuroscience is headed in the coming decades, added a fifth curricular blueprint, neuroscience studies. In the 2008 FUN workshop, participants explored new laboratory experiences emphasizing discovery-based learning, the increasing interdisciplinarity of neuroscience education, and new directions that neuroscience is headed in this decade.

In the 2011 FUN workshop, we move to the west coast for the first time.  We convene at Pomona College to explore more laboratory experiences featuring discovery-based learning, and to examine the interdisciplinarity of neuroscience education as well as the new directions neuroscience is headed. At Pomona, we will also devote time to the needs of growing programs and confront the issues that arise as classroom and laboratory technologies undergo rapid changes. The participants will also actively explore approaches to mounting major and non-major courses in the undergraduate neuroscience curriculum and ways to promote productive research environments for ourselves and our students.  Finally, participants will explore issues focusing on the development of leadership skills to ensure the sustainability and resilience of our undergraduate education programs in neuroscience for the future.

Aims and Objectives

• To examine the undergraduate neuroscience curriculum as it continues to evolve, and help guide efforts to create and sustain neuroscience programs at schools as diverse as liberal arts colleges and research universities.
• To aid in preparing neuroscience faculty for leadership roles in departmental, institutional, professional organizations or other settings.
• To introduce faculty to innovative laboratory experiences that serve as the basis for the development of both investigative/discovery-based and integrative interdisciplinary laboratory experiences.
• To prepare faculty to develop competitive grant applications to support their educational and research programs.
• To discuss local and national efforts to build and strengthen neuroscience education at the undergraduate level.
• To prepare workshop participants to initiate and sustain reforms on their home campus.
• To build on or help create regional networks for ongoing collaboration following the Workshop.
  

Issues

• What has neuroscience become in the 20 years that FUN has championed the cause of undergraduate education in neuroscience? What are we trying to accomplish by introducing neuroscience to undergraduates as part of a liberal arts experience?
• Given the range of undergraduate colleges and universities, what types of laboratory experiences “work” in an undergraduate neuroscience setting? How are these changing with the introduction of new technologies? What goals do we have for laboratory experiences in the curriculum?
• What are the philosophical and logistical obstacles in setting up a neuroscience program in a liberal arts college? In a state university?
• What makes for a successful grant proposal? How does one get support for research, programs, or equipment? What kinds of opportunities are available for faculty development?
• How does one formulate a plan for leadership that stems from individual strengths, and is mindful of career stage, institutional culture, and other commitments? What are the costs and benefits of leadership roles?