Developing Civic-Mindedness in Middle- and High-School Students Using Service-Learning

Education is not only about teaching students in academic domains, but also teaching them about the application of those domains in society as civic-minded, engaged citizens. Service learning projects can be effective at fostering a sense of civic-mindedness in students, at least in college (e.g., Weber & Weber, 2010). During the 2017-2018 school year, we conducted a case study with 73 middle school students from two rural schools in the Arkansas Delta to examine, in part, the impact of one service-learning initiative (EAST). Participating students researched authentic problems in their communities and developed projects aimed at addressing those problems. Based on data from the case study, students appeared to become more aware of problems in their communities and believed they could help to solve those problems. Using the EAST model, this proposed session will examine how service-learning projects can help secondary educators develop civic-mindedness in students

Behavioral phenotypes of Disc1 missense mutations in mice

SummaryTo support the role of DISC1 in human psychiatric disorders, we identified and analyzed two independently derived ENU-induced mutations in Exon 2 of mouse Disc1. Mice with mutation Q31L showed depressive-like behavior with deficits in the forced swim test and other measures that were reversed by the antidepressant bupropion, but not by rolipram, a phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4) inhibitor. In contrast, L100P mutant mice exhibited schizophrenic-like behavior, with profound deficits in prepulse inhibition and latent inhibition that were reversed by antipsychotic treatment. Both mutant DISC1 proteins exhibited reduced binding to the known DISC1 binding partner PDE4B. Q31L mutants had lower PDE4B activity, consistent with their resistance to rolipram, suggesting decreased PDE4 activity as a contributory factor in depression. This study demonstrates that Disc1 missense mutations in mice give rise to phenotypes related to depression and schizophrenia, thus supporting the role of DISC1 in major mental illness