Guide Your Students through the NeuroLab Storyline Experience

Professional Development Institutes. The NeuroLab team is now recruiting 11th and 12th-grade science teachers to participate in 9-day professional development (PD) summer institutes hosted at our biosciences lab in Ventura Harbor, CA. Participation and curriculum materials are provided free of charge. Stipend support will be provided to eligible applicants.

Click here to download or share the recruitment flyer.

Application deadline: TBD

PD institutes are immersive and intellectually challenging summer experiences that are designed to help teachers effectively guide their students through the NeuroLab storyline. Teachers selected to participate in summer institutes are expected to:

  • Attend all institute sessions and participate in all session activities, which will require individual or group work during evening breaks
  • Implement the NeuroLab storyline unit in an 11th or 12th grade science course (during the school year following the institute)
  • Attend one or more project webinars during the school year
  • Participate in an online learning community meeting at the conclusion of the school year to share your experience, offer insights,and suggest revisions or additions to curriculum resources
  • Complete and administer all project-related evaluations and assessments

Curriculum resources. Teachers enrolled in PD institutes will receive model lesson plans and a comprehensive suite of curriculum materials to: 1) help students identify concepts, ideas, and data most relevant to their model-building mission; 2) keep students connected to the anchoring phenomenon and the questions they formulate; 3) assist students in recognizing the interrelationships between various forms of data that they encounter and the discoveries they make; and 4) aid students in assimilating new discoveries into their evolving models.

Curriculum resources are currently available to teachers who are selected to participate in summer PD institutes. These materials will be shared with the broader educational community as open-access resources after our team finalizes revisions suggested by PD participants and project partners.

Curriculum flexibility. Our approach to curriculum design supports a variety of instructional strategies and provides the flexibility necessary for teachers to gradually establish a classroom environment that supports 3D learning and community model-building.

Course suitability. The highly interdisciplinary scope of the NeuroLab experience makes it suitable for implementation in a variety of standard, honors, advanced placement, and specialized life science courses. The clinical and medical genetics aspects of the NeuroLab experience also make it appropriate for integration into career technical education courses within health science and medical technology pathways.

Equipment requirements. The NeuroLab storyline places significant emphasis on big data and the hands-on use of authoritative public databases, open-access informatics tools, and free image visualization software applications. Accordingly, implementation of the storyline unit requires reliable Internet access at your school and the availability of laptop or desktop computers for student use in the classroom. No specialized lab equipment or materials are necessary to implement this storyline unit.

Application. The selection of applicants will be based on a variety of criteria, including academic credentials, subject matter competency, a demonstrated ability to modify curricula, and experience with instructional strategies for English language learners. As part of the application process, school principals are required to complete and submit a recommendation form on behalf of project applicants. The primary purpose of the form is to verify the applicant’s ability to implement the NeuroLab storyline unit and confirm that the applicant does not have conflicting professional commitments that may compromise his/her ability to complete the PD experience in its entirety.

Join Our Mailing List

Join Our Mailing List