What is the Brain Essay Student Contest?

A real-life experiment to connect high-school students and teachers of biology and psychology with science and psychology bloggers.

What will happen?

Essay Submissions by May 10, 2007: students (or teachers, with each student’s consent) can use the form below to submit 400-800 word essays on the topic: “Based on brain and mind research (within the past 5 years),

• How do we learn?
• How can this new knowledge improve education and the lives of all people?”

Publication by May 20, 2007: from all submissions, the jury —composed of the five bloggers below— will select the ten best essays based on the usefulness of the content and quality of writing. Each blogger will publish two winning essays in their blog on May 20. The jury is composed of leading blogs in their respective fields:

• A Blog Around The Clock
• Neurophilosophy
• Positive Psychology News Daily
• SharpBrains
• The Quick and the Ed

Is there a Prize?

Each winner will receive

1. Recognition in the blogosphere. The essay will not only be published in a top blog, but submitted to a number of science, psychology and education blog carnivals.
2. A free annual subscription to TuitionCoach, a personalized, internet-based program that de-mystifies the college financial aid process for students and their families and helps families find the best options to finance college choices.

Why is this happening?

One of the final recommendations of a recent science conference co-organized by Bora was to increase the flow of communication between bloggers and high-school students and teachers. Separately, Jeff, a high-school psychology teacher, sent us some essays by his students. We were amazed at their level, and in fact published one: “Tis better to give than receive”: oxytocin and dopamine.

Now we want to see if 1 + 1 can equal 10!

This is cool. How can I help?

If you are a student, please submit an essay that makes you proud! Here you have some useful advice from a fellow blogger.
If you are a teacher, please encourage your students to submit a good essay!
Everyone else: please help us spread the word by linking to this page! we will publish links to all collaborating blogs below the form.

This is real-life experiment to connect high-school students and teachers of biology and psychology with science and psychology bloggers.