Frontiers for Young Minds is a non-profit, scientific journal written by scientists and reviewed by a board of kids. Frontiers for Young Minds enables young audiences to actively engage with the scientific process, connecting them with leaders of the scientific community and challenging them to ask questions about ideas still at the cutting edge of science. The site involves young minds in the process of scientific review, helping them develop their ability to think critically about science and communicate the latest research to their peers. All articles are written by the researchers themselves and are written in a form that can be understood and used by the broadest of audiences. This provides young minds, educators, and the general public with a reliable source about the latest scientific advances.
Type of Material:
Collection
Recommended Uses:
The material would be useful at the K-12 level for both educators and students. Educators could use the materials to supplement classroom activities, to begin units of study, or as extracurricular science club materials. Individual students, or a whole class of students can review a scientific article with Frontiers for Young Minds. The collection provides a wealth of information for further classroom investigation and independent study.
Technical Requirements:
Internet access.
Identify Major Learning Goals:
The major learning goal is to provide cutting edge scientific materials, written by experts in the field to students in a format that they can read and understand.
Target Student Population:
Elementary, Middle School, High School students; College and university students, professors, and science practitioners
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
None needed. Interest in science and new discoveries is helpful.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
The articles are first written by research scientists in the fields of astronomy and space science, biodiversity, earth and its resources, health, mathematics, and neurosciences. The manuscript then goes to a mentor/young mind pair who produce a review report. The original researcher then responds to that report and a finalized article is published online.
Concerns:
None
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
Scientific articles written in language that children can understand are valuable for educators. Classrooms can go beyond the textbook to current topics with these materials. The site also provides opportunities for students to get involved in the reading/editing of these materials by signing up to be a "young mind."
Each article includes visuals, a list of references, and a link to the original scientific article, valuable for educators. The articles are free to access (both text and images), download, and reproduce as long as there is a clear citation included that references the Frontiers for Young Minds publication as the original source.
Concerns:
None.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
The materials are attractively presented; the young mind who reviewed the article is pictured and named. The topics are labeled "core concept" or "new discovery."
Frontiers for Young Minds is and will remain in an open-access format. This means that no one will have to pay for a subscription to access the journal content. Articles are free to anyone with an internet connection. All of the articles that are published on the site are published using a Creative Commons CC-BY license. The Frontiers Blog found at https://blog.frontiersin.org/category/young-minds/ provides additional information that connects to this worthwhile project.
Concerns:
None.
Creative Commons:
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