Call for collaboration: Drafting a concept inventory for assessing neuroscience courses and curriculum

Area of Science:

• Interdisciplinary field integrating biology, chemistry, computer science, philosophy, physics, and psychology.
• Focuses on the study of the nervous system and its complexities.

Background:

• Neuroscience programs are expanding, necessitating accreditation to ensure educational quality.
• Currently, a standardized instrument to measure neuroscience content knowledge for accreditation is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the gap in standardized assessment tools for neuroscience education.
• To develop a Neuroscience Concept Inventory (NCI) based on eight core neuroscience concepts.

Main Methods:

• A 57-multiple-choice question draft of the NCI was created.
• The draft was administered to students in an introductory neuroscience course and declared neuroscience majors.
• Item discrimination and alpha reliability scores were calculated to assess tool quality.

Main Results:

• 48 out of 57 items (84%) showed acceptable item discrimination (>0.20).
• Four core concepts demonstrated acceptable internal consistency (alpha reliability >0.70).
• The NCI draft exemplified learning gains in an introductory course and among neuroscience majors.

Conclusions:

• The developed NCI provides a foundation for a reliable tool to assess neuroscience content knowledge.
• The interdisciplinary nature of neuroscience presents challenges for comprehensive tool development.
• The study calls for community collaboration to iteratively refine the NCI instrument.