Me, My Brain, and I: A Framework for Neuroscience Curriculum Fostering Research-Practice Partnership Between Scientists and Educators

Students' school requirements and learning activities engage many different cognitive processes, including language processing, memory, learning, attention, reasoning, decision-making, and social interaction. However, students rarely learn about these cognitive processes, or the brain mechanisms underlying them and therefore lack the critical understanding of how they operate. Here, we describe a novel neuroscience curriculum, developed through a research-practice partnership (RPP) between neuroscientists and educators, aimed at providing students with the opportunity to learn about their own brain and cognitive abilities and engage in authentic neuroscientific inquiry. The curriculum is organized around three pillars: Learn Neuroscience-Experience Neuroscience-Contribute to Neuroscience. These are designed to optimize relevance, student engagement, and interactive hands-on experience. In particular, by incorporating genuine neuroscientific research as part of the program, students are offered a front-row seat to the scientific process using cutting-edge neurotechnology and gain firsthand experience with the challenges and excitements of scientific inquiry.