Cheerleaders for Science
Measuring the tensile strength of a triangle, illustrating the physiology of the five senses, or using sugar cubes under layers of dirt to explain how sink holes form were all science projects on display at the Frederick County Public Schools’ Elementary Science and Engineering Fair at Tuscarora High School on April 1.
One hundred and thirty Pre-K through fifth grade students participated. As cheerleaders for science education at the elementary level, the enthusiasm shown by these young scientists as they described their projects to friends, family and the thirty-five volunteer honors society students who helped with the fair was amazing.
(Above, Paul Barrett, Fifth Grader at Tuscarora Elementary School, stands beside his project on display at the Elementary Science and Engineering Fair at Tuscarora High School on April 1; photo by Gillian Grozier)
Paul Barrett, a fifth grade student at Tuscarora Elementary School had researched the Tunguska Event for his science project. Paul eagerly explains how this gigantic explosion leveled 800 square miles of trees in remote Siberia in 1908. What is now believed to be an asteroid exploded at 28,000 feet above the earth’s surface. The explosion released shock waves many times greater than the blast of an atomic bomb to fell trees in concentric circles but left no trace of an impact crater. Contemporaries who survived the event thought it was the work of ghosts.
Today, objects from space traveling close to Earth can be tracked through the Near Earth Network. Paul’s research project has shown how science and history can be integrated to arrive at a better understanding of such events. Paul has a sheet listing his citations which include articles authored by NASA.
“Our goal is to develop problem solvers,” says Chris Horne Ph. D, Curriculum Specialist for Elementary Science at FCPS. When speaking of teaching science at the elementary level, he says, “We need to prepare our students as they move up through the grades. We want them to be middle school ready, and capable.”
FCPS has a long commitment to teaching science at the elementary level, Horne said. Horne believes a key ingredient has been that elementary school teachers have access to resources and professional support through the Earth and Space Science Laboratory(ESSL), housed in a building at 210 Madison Avenue in Frederick along with the Ausherman Planetarium. Since 1962, the facility has added a Geology Lab plus Oceanography and Meteorology Labs, so that all four of the earth sciences are well represented.
With a doctorate in elementary science education and focus on curriculum from the University of Maryland, Horne has been a part of FCPS for the past 27 years. Today, he specializes in content knowledge and develops units and lesson plans for teachers with, as he puts it, “mind expanding activities for thinking and asking.” The framework for these kits comes from the Next Generation for Science Standards (NGSS). According to the NGSS website, “each K – 12 NGSS standard has three prongs: content, scientific and engineering practices with cross-cutting concepts for integration …. and application to show how science is practiced in the real world.”
Another development in linking the scientific method to problem solving comes from computational thinking, as reported recently in the New York Times. While there is no broad agreement as to how computers develop practical modes of thinking, most of us use them to problem solve, as with auto repair diagnostics. Computer science can teach such skills as testing to locate system errors, problem simplification, pattern recognition, and algorithm creation. As stated by the New York Times: “Just as children are drilled on the scientific method – turn observations into hypothesis, design a control group, do an experiment to test your theory -- the basics of working with computers is being cast as a teachable blueprint.”
In 2016, then President Obama launched a “Computer Science for All” initiative to nudge more states to include computer science in high school graduation requirements.
All the evidence suggests that elementary school students are not only capable of grasping sophisticated scientific concepts at a young age, but they can enjoy learning about them as well. Horne says elementary school science is a half year program where, typically, students have a 45 - 50-minute science lesson three times per week. The experience aims to make science engaging. As the 2017 Science Fair Guide suggests: “Consider what you like to do … the important thing is getting into the spirit of science and having fun while learning. “The kids who participated in this year’s Elementary Science and Engineering Fair show that they do.
