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.

    See how it works

    MINDHIVE CURRICULUM

    Student as Learner

    Students engage in MindHive lessons designed to introduce concepts and skills relating to citizen science, human brain and behavior research, and the process of conducting scientific research

    MINDHIVE STUDIES

    Student as Participant

    Students use the MindHive platform to participate and reflect on studies designed by professional cognitive and social neuroscientists, community organizers, and students across the country

    MINDHIVE TOOLS

    Student as Scientist

    Students design their own studies, review and participate in studies designed by students from a network of schools across the country, collect and analyze research data, and generate research reports

    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.

    1
    Making science
    2-3 class periods

    1A. Asking human brain and behavior research questions

    Lesson

    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.

    Lesson

    ACTIVITY

    Students browse and explore the public MindHive study bank, comprising studies created by scientists, students, or both.

    1B. The scientific process

    Lesson

    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?

    2
    Involving the public
    2-3 class periods

    2A. Science communication

    Lesson

    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

    LESSON

    Students learn about different models of citizen science and discuss the values and possible limitations of scientist-public partnerships.

    Lesson

    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

    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.

    Lesson

    ACTIVITY

    This lesson is paired with student-initiated studies on the MindHive platform.

    3
    Human brain and behavior research: methods, basics, and case studies
    2-5 class periods

    3A. Brain & behavior research: making science

    Lesson

    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.

    Lesson

    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

    LESSON

    Students learn about dopamine as it relates to age, risk taking, and mood.

    Lesson

    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

    LESSON

    Students learn about the social brain and how empathy and social influence can explain human behavior.

    Lesson

    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

    LESSON

    Students learn how different parts of the human brain map onto different brain functions through different types of mindfulness meditation.

    Lesson

    ACTIVITY

    Students participate in and reflect on a scientist-initiated MindHive study about the relationship between mindfulness and cognitive control.

    4
    Designing a human brain and behavior study
    3-6 class periods

    4A. Coming up with a research question

    Lesson

    LESSON

    Students revisit Lesson 1A (what makes for a good research question?) and reflect on the MindHive studies they’ve participated in thus far.

    Lesson

    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

    LESSON

    Students learn how to translate their research question into testable hypotheses and create an appropriate study design.

    Lesson

    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

    LESSON

    Students revisit Lesson 2A (science communication) and Lesson 2C (human subjects) and discuss the differences between scientist- and participant-facing communication.

    Lesson

    ACTIVITY

    Students finalize their study proposal (peer-facing) and study page (participant-facing).

    5
    Peer review & study revision
    2-3 class periods

    Best practices in peer review

    Lesson

    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

    Lesson

    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

    Lesson

    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

    Lesson

    ACTIVITY

    Students revise their study based on the reviews they received, and collect / review pilot data from their classmates before finalizing their study.

    6
    Data collection, analysis, and synthesis
    2-3 class periods

    Best practices in data collection, analysis and interpretation

    Lesson

    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

    Lesson

    ACTIVITY

    Students distribute and advertise their studies on MindHive and among their own communities. They review datasets as they come in.

    6B. Data analysis

    Lesson

    ACTIVITY

    Students use the MindHive Analysis interface and guides to analyze and synthesize their research data.

    6C. Synthesize and communicate findings

    Lesson

    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.

    Interested in bringing MindHive to your classroom?

    Or email us directly to info@mindhive.science

    MINDHIVE

    MINDHIVE is a web-based citizen science platform that supports real-world brain and behavior research.

    MINDHIVE was designed for students & teachers who seek authentic STEM research experience, and for neuroscientists & cognitive/social psychologists who seek to address their research questions outside of the lab.

    © 2020

    info@mindhive.science