Project CRESST Curriculum
Project CRESST – Enhancing Clinical Research Education for Secondary Students and Teachers – was designed to support secondary teachers’ classroom instruction in areas related to designing, conducting, and interpreting research using a childhood health and wellness content framework.
A variety of individuals worked to make Project CRESST happen. The project included faculty, staff and graduate research assistants from the Schools of Education, Pharmacy, and Medicine; The College of Humanities and Sciences, the VCU Center for Clinical and Translational Research, and experienced classroom educators.
In addition to offering five years of intensive teacher professional development, the CRESST team developed instructional lessons and student activities to assist teachers in their use of inquiry-based instructional approaches to deliver research and health-related content. This curriculum was organized into four main content areas that mirror steps in the research process:
- The Basics of Research
- Information Gathering and Synthesis
- Ethical Issues in Clinical Research
- Collecting and Analyzing Data
Two short videos were developed to accompany the lessons. Clinical Research: Why Does It Matter to Me? introduces students to the concept of clinical research and what it means to be a research participant. CRESST Kids and Health: From Classroom to Community – How Research Can Improve Our Health explores how clinical research can be used to address health issues prevalent in the local community. A video guide for classroom suggestions and accompanying CRESST lessons supports the videos.
Download Microsoft Word versions of the Student Handouts (included in the PDF files):
CRESST Videos:
This project was supported by the Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health, under award number R25 OD010984. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.