Support your students in engaging in authentic human brain and behavior science research
MindHive is an online, open science, citizen science platform to support human brain and behavior science inquiry for learners and educators who seek authentic STEM research experiences. The MindHive platform features a suite of online tools that support learners’ research activities, paired with teaching materials that illustrate and contextualize human brain and behavior research concepts and Open Science principles. The MindHive program emphasizes collaboration: it is co-designed by a team of educational researchers, teachers, cognitive and social scientists, UX researchers, and developers; and supports collaboration between students from schools across the country, professional scientists, and community members. Explore the links and materials below to learn how MindHive may help you in your teaching goals.
Or email us directly at info@mindhive.science
Student-driven citizen science
MindHive carries citizen science to the next level by supporting student-teacher-scientist (STS) partnerships where research projects are not just scientist-initiated, but also student-initiated, or developed in student-scientist partnerships.
The MindHive platform supports students in participating in and learning from studies designed by professional scientists as well as other students, generating their own research questions and hypotheses, designing research studies, giving and receiving peer feedback, collecting and analyzing data, and presenting their results.
The MindHive curriculum guides students through the full process of science inquiry. Students learn about basic principles and methods in human brain and behavior science, engage in questions around research ethics and citizen science, and discuss the processes that drive scientific discovery and rigor.
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MINDHIVE CURRICULUM
MINDHIVE STUDIES
The MindHive program & curriculum materials
MindHive lessons can be flexibly implemented and mix ‘n matched to fit your specific STEM teaching needs. Learning materials are designed to align with NGSS standards and are structured to follow the “5 E’s” (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate) and scaffold students in gaining research experience in a collaborative citizen science environment with students from schools across the country, professional scientists, and community members.
1A. Asking human brain and behavior research questions
LESSON
Students learn about the ingredients of a good research question. What makes a question relevant, generalizable, and testable? Students begin by exploring how they encounter everyday questions in science, and start to develop language to describe the nature of scientific inquiries. Using real world experience, they learn about the ingredients of a good research question.
ACTIVITY
Students browse and explore the public MindHive study bank, comprising studies created by scientists, students, or both.
1B. The scientific process
LESSON
Students learn how scientists communicate with each other and with the public at different stages of the research process. How can the scientific community strike the appropriate balance between rapid discovery and scientific rigor?
2A. Science communication
LESSON
How can science communication be accurate and complete without being too complicated for the public to understand? What does “trust the science” mean and what role can and should scientific discovery play in our everyday lives?
2B. Citizen science
LESSON
Students learn about different models of citizen science and discuss the values and possible limitations of scientist-public partnerships.
ACTIVITY
This lesson is paired with a student/scientist-initiated MindHive study on mental health and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic (the Pandemic Citizen Science Study).
2C. Human subjects
LESSON
Students learn about benefits and pitfalls related to conducting science on human research subjects through examples from the past and present. Students experience and reflect on what it’s like to be a human subject, and engage in class discussions about how science and society should approach data from human subjects.
ACTIVITY
This lesson is paired with student-initiated studies on the MindHive platform.
3A. Brain & behavior research: making science
LESSON
Students learn about basic human neuroscience concepts and the tools used by neuroscience and psychologists to understand how our brains support and explain our behavior.
ACTIVITY
Students explore the public task and survey bank and pick a few favorite tasks and surveys to discuss with their class.
3B. Risk taking and adolescence
LESSON
Students learn about dopamine as it relates to age, risk taking, and mood.
ACTIVITY
Students participate in and reflect on a scientist-initiated MindHive study exploring the relationship between risk-taking and anxiety.
3C. The social brain / environmental neuroscience
LESSON
Students learn about the social brain and how empathy and social influence can explain human behavior.
ACTIVITY
Students participate in and reflect on a scientist-initiated MindHive study that explores the social factors that determine behavior choices as they relate to climate change.
3D. Mindfulness
LESSON
Students learn how different parts of the human brain map onto different brain functions through different types of mindfulness meditation.
ACTIVITY
Students participate in and reflect on a scientist-initiated MindHive study about the relationship between mindfulness and cognitive control.
4A. Coming up with a research question
LESSON
Students revisit Lesson 1A (what makes for a good research question?) and reflect on the MindHive studies they’ve participated in thus far.
ACTIVITY
Students create a template for their own MindHive study and proposal: they generate a research question and explore existing research related to their topic of interest.
4B. Designing a study that addresses your research question
LESSON
Students learn how to translate their research question into testable hypotheses and create an appropriate study design.
ACTIVITY
Students continue to explore the public tasks and survey bank with their research question in mind and combine tasks and surveys (or create their own) to finalize their study.
4C. Communicating your study to peers and participants
LESSON
Students revisit Lesson 2A (science communication) and Lesson 2C (human subjects) and discuss the differences between scientist- and participant-facing communication.
ACTIVITY
Students finalize their study proposal (peer-facing) and study page (participant-facing).
Best practices in peer review
LESSON
Students revisit examples from Lesson 1 and learn about and discuss principles and best practices of peer review. They further discuss how to revise studies based on peer feedback.
5A. Self review and study revision
ACTIVITY
Students review their own study proposal to (a) test the review process (esp. what makes for a good review?), and (b) make any final changes to their study proposal before sharing it with other students.
5B. Peer review and synthesis
ACTIVITY
Individual students first provide peer feedback to studies designed by students from another class and then discuss and synthesize their reviews as small groups.
5C. Final study revisions
ACTIVITY
Students revise their study based on the reviews they received, and collect / review pilot data from their classmates before finalizing their study.
Best practices in data collection, analysis and interpretation
LESSON
Students revisit examples from Lesson 1 to discuss best practices in data collection and analysis, including topics like sample size and the relationship between study results and interpretation.
6A. Data collection
ACTIVITY
Students distribute and advertise their studies on MindHive and among their own communities. They review datasets as they come in.
6B. Data analysis
ACTIVITY
Students use the MindHive Analysis interface and guides to analyze and synthesize their research data.
6C. Synthesize and communicate findings
ACTIVITY
Students work on the Discussion and Conclusion sections of their study proposal and finalize their study report.
CASE STUDY
Grace Church School
MindHive was first launched in March of 2020 as part of a pilot implementation with 17 Environmental Science students in Manhattan. New York City was the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic and the MindHive team and students entered the US lockdown together and shifted to “zoom school”. The curriculum was (re)framed to use COVID-19 to illustrate scientific discovery in an ongoing crisis.