PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Ido Davidesco AU - Steven Azeka AU - Steven Carter AU - Emma Laurent AU - Henry Valk AU - Jimmy Naipaul AU - Suzanne Dikker AU - Wendy A Suzuki TI - Making BrainWaves: Portable Brain Technology in Biology Education AID - 10.1101/2021.07.02.450935 DP - 2021 Jan 01 TA - bioRxiv PG - 2021.07.02.450935 4099 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/07/04/2021.07.02.450935.short 4100 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/07/04/2021.07.02.450935.full AB - Neuroscience is one of the fastest growing STEM fields, yet its presence in K-12 science education is very limited, partially due to the lack of accessible teaching materials and tools. Here, we describe a new high school neuroscience curriculum (“BrainWaves”), where students utilize recent advances in low-cost, portable Electroencephalography (EEG) technology to investigate their own brain activity. This semester-long curriculum is supported by science mentors and an educational application that guides students through the process of recording and analyzing their own brain activity. Evaluation data collected in 5 public New York City schools in 2018/19 indicate significant positive shifts in content knowledge and self-efficacy among students who participated in BrainWaves compared to students in other courses of the same teacher. The quantitative findings are supported by interviews, where students reported increased appreciation for neuroscience and college readiness and discussed the benefits of collaborating with scientists and using portable brain technology in classrooms.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.