June/July 2014 5The enthusiasm for science displayed by students in early elementary grades is unparalleled.. Javits Giftparticipat-ed and Talentparticipat-ed Students Education program
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By Debbie Dailey
What’s In Your Refrigerator?
Easy Ways to
Spark a Love
for Science
at Home
ExpErimEnt 3:
raining meteorites
ExpErimEnt 1:
Hydrophobic pepper
ExpErimEnt 2:
musical rulers
ExpErimEnt 4:
Let it rain!
ExpErimEnt
Problem Hypothesis Materials Procedure Conclusion
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The enthusiasm for science displayed by
students in early elementary grades is
unparalleled They’re eager to learn,
engage, and investigate They’re
moti-vated by their insatiable curiosity
And the earlier children are engaged in
science, the better Studies have shown
that early interest in science needs to be
ignited before middle school and is
instru-mental in motivating students to pursue
a career in science If not nurtured in
ele-mentary school, the spark for learning
sci-ence diminishes (Maltese and Tai, 2010)
Unfortunately, the amount of time
spent on science in Grades 1–4 has
steadi-ly declined since the passage of the No
Child Left Behind Act of 2001 Teachers
are spending an average of 2.3 hours per
week on science, compared with weekly
es-timates of 11.7 hours on English language arts and 5.6 hours on mathematics (Blank, 2012) However, the effects of quality sci-ence instruction in the elementary grades can be far reaching In 2012, the National Research Council cautioned that omit-ting science at any grade level potentially impacts student conceptual learning and places additional demands on teachers in higher grades
To address these concerns, I
participat-ed in a Jacob K Javits Giftparticipat-ed and Talentparticipat-ed Students Education program project (Uni-versity of Arkansas at Little Rock: STEM Starters) STEM Starters was developed
to target science learning in elementary grades (Cotabish, Dailey, Robinson, &
Hughes, 2013; Robinson, Dailey, Hughes,
& Cotabish, accepted)
Over a two-year period, STEM Starters provided 30 teachers with 120 hours of pro-fessional development focused on science content and inquiry-based instructional practices Additionally, STEM Starters used
a peer coach to assist teachers with imple-menting problem-based science curricula
in both regular and gifted classrooms After participation in STEM Starters, both teach-ers and students demonstrated improved science learning (Robinson, Dailey, Co-tabish, Hughes, & Hall, accepted)
As a member of the STEM Starters program, I served as a peer coach to 30 elementary teachers During this time
I often visited classrooms and provided instructional assistance to the teachers Students eagerly awaited my arrival and would clap and cheer when I entered the
“Think Like Scientists”
Gifted kids thrive when solving problems that are relevant to their own lives (Rogers, 2002) When kids are encouraged to “think like scientists” and engage in the practices of real science, they make some amazing connections
For example, during my work with STEM Starters, I helped 2nd grade students investigate weather
Students set up an authentic weather station where they monitored the daily weather and made predictions about future weather conditions As part of a culminating activity, students pretended to be weather
forecasters and delivered the forecast to their peers
A short time later, I received a follow-up text from one of the teachers She said that students from her
class approached her during recess and alerted her to the fact that the weather was changing They
explained that the air was very heavy so the humidity must be high They predicted that a low front was
approaching The most exciting thing about this scenario was the fact that students were relating their
science learning to real-life situations They were able to take their knowledge out of the context of the
classroom and put it in the real world
As parents and caregivers of gifted children, it’s important to always be on the lookout for ways to provide authentic, real-life, real-world learning experiences to ignite the young gifted mind
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room Once, I overheard a child say, “Yay!
Our scientist is here!” They were excited
about the opportunities to actually “do”
science We conducted experiments and
even set up a working weather station (see
sidebar “Think Like Scientists” on page 5)
However, programs such as STEM
Start-ers are not options for most schools and
many students don’t often have
opportu-nities to cultivate their interest in science
during their school day (Banilower, Smith,
Pasley, & Weiss, 2006) Parents, too, can
help foster a love for science by encouraging
children to question, explore, and
investi-gate They can promote students’ curiosity
and provide multiple learning opportunities
by volunteering to lead simple experiments
as a classroom guest speaker; enriching their
child’s science learning through after school programs or summer camps; or simply using household supplies to conduct experiments
at home
Science also doesn’t have to be expensive
or be in the context of a costly kit
Heilbronner (2013) encourages parents
to provide opportunities for children to conduct scientific investigations and to explore through “science safaris,” where students investigate things in their own surroundings, whether it be at local museums or the nearby woods
STEM Starters also created a take-home activity booklet to assist parents in provid-ing science investigative opportunities for their children The booklet contains famil-iar, easy-to-do activities that uses
inexpen-sive materials found in most households
By doing these activities, I hope students are encouraged to question more and seek investigations beyond the prescribed activ-ity to spark their love of science
Author’s Note Debbie Dailey, Ed.D., is an Assistant
Professor of Teaching and Learning at the University of Central Arkansas Formerly, Debbie was the Associate Director for the Jodie Mahony Center for Gifted Educa-tion and Advanced Placement at the Uni-versity of Arkansas at Little Rock Debbie also served as the Curriculum Coordinator and Peer Coach of a federally funded pro-gram, STEM Starters, which focused on improving science instruction in the
ele-Experiment 2
Title: Musical Rulers Problem: What causes sound to change?
Hypothesis: Increasing or decreasing the length of a ruler that
hangs off a table affects the sound made.
Materials: plastic ruler Procedure:
1 Place the ruler on the edge of a table so that half of it hangs off of the table.
2 Hold the end of the ruler flat against the table with one hand With the other hand, lightly snap the end of the ruler that hangs off the table Listen to the sound.
3 Push the ruler back, so that less of the ruler hangs off the table Repeat step two and listen to the sound.
4 Push the ruler so that most of it hangs off the table Repeat step 2 and listen to the sound.
Results:
Shorter
Longer
Conclusion: What caused the sound to change when the length of
the ruler was altered?
Experiment 1
Title: Hydrophobic Pepper Problem: How does soap act in the
presence of pepper and water?
Hypothesis: Adding soap to a container
of water and pepper causes the pepper
to react.
Materials: cup, water, pepper, liquid
soap, eyedropper
Procedure:
1 Fill a cup half full of water.
2 Sprinkle pepper on the water’s surface and observe what the pepper does.
3 Add a drop of soap to the middle of the water and observe.
Conclusion: What happened to the
pepper? Draw a picture of what the pepper looks like Why do you think this happened?
Source: http://www.education.com/science-fair/article/pepper-and-soap-experiment/
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mentary grades Prior to moving to higher
education, Debbie was a high school
sci-ence teacher and gifted education teacher
for 20 years 0
References
Banilower, E R., Smith, P S., Pasley, J
D., & Weiss, I R (2006) The status
of K–12 science teaching in the United
States: Results from a national
observa-tion survey In D Sunal & E Wright
(Eds.), The impact of state and national
standards on K–12 teaching (pp
83-122) Greenwich, CT: Information Age
Publishing
Blank, R K (2012) What is the impact
of decline in science instructional time
in elementary school? Time for
elemen-tary instruction has declined, and less time for science is correlated with lower scores on NAEP Paper prepared for the Noyce Foundation Retrieved from www.csss-science.org/downloads/NAE-PElemScienceData.pdf
Cotabish, A., Dailey, D., Robinson, A.,
& Hughes, A (2013) The effects of
a STEM intervention on elementary students’ science knowledge and skills
School Science and Mathematics, 113(5),
215–226
Heilbronner, N H (2013) Raising future scientists: Identifying and devel-oping a child’s science talent, a guide
for parents and teachers Gifted Child
Today, 36(2), 114–123.
Maltese, A V & Tai, R H (2010)
Eyeballs in the fridge: Sources of early
interest in science International Journal
of Science Education, 32, 669–685
National Research Council (2012) A framework for K-12 science education: Practices, crosscutting concepts, and core ideas Committee on a Concep-tual Framework for New K–12 Science Education Standards Board on Science Education, Division of Behavioral and Social Science and Education Wash-ington, DC: The National Academies Press
Robinson, A., Dailey, D., Cotabish, A., Hughes, G., & Hall, T (accepted) STEM Starters: An effective model for elementary teachers and students
In Robert E Yager (Ed.), Exemplary
Experiment 4
Title: Let it Rain! (Wicker, 2014) Problem: What are the processes of the
water cycle?
Hypothesis: We can create the same water
cycle found in nature using household items.
Materials: small disposable cup, quart or
gallon sized plastic bag, tape, water
Procedure:
1 Fill the paper cup half full.
2 Put the cup in the bag (careful not to spill) and seal shut.
3 Tape the bag with the cup of water inside
to a window facing the sun or use place it near a sun lamp.
Conclusion: Describe what formed inside
the bag Explain how evaporation, conden-sation, and precipitation were demonstrated
by your experiment.
Source: http://www.weatherwizkids.com/
experiments-water-cycle.htm
Experiment 3
Title: Raining Meteorites
Problem: Where can we find meteorites?
Hypothesis: Meteorites can be found in our own backyards.
Materials: paper cup, pencil, string, magnet
Procedure:
1 Poke three holes into the cup just below the rim.
2 Thread the string through each hole, leaving the string
long enough to reach from a child’s hand to the floor.
3 Tie knots to hold the strings in the cup, then pull the
strings above the cup and tie.
4 Place a magnet in the cup.
5 Take the meteorite finder outside and walk on the
side-walk holding the meteorite finder just above the ground.
6 Listen for small clinks.
7 Pieces of rock that the magnet attracts might be meteorites.
These rocks contain iron and nickel just like meteorites.
Conclusion: Describe what you found How do meteorites
get in our yard?
Source: http://io9.com/5984951/how-to-collect-meteorites-in-
your-backyard
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What is a Javits Grant?
The Jacob Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Act (Javits) was originally passed by Congress in 1988 as part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to support the development
of talent in U.S schools The Jacob K Javits Gifted and Talented Education program is the only federal program that specifically addresses the needs of gifted and talented children, by offering competitive and discretionary grant funds for those expanding research, strategies, and activities for gifted and talented children The Javits Act does not fund local gifted education programs The purpose of the program is to orchestrate a coordinated program of scientifically based research, demonstration projects, innovative strategies, and similar activities that build and enhance the ability
of elementary and secondary schools to meet the special educational needs of gifted and talented students, especially those who are traditionally underrepresented in gifted programs Javits grants are managed through the U.S Department of Education
From 2011 to 2013, the Javits Act was not funded In 2013, however, the Javits Act received
$5 million for fiscal year 2014 Parents and educators should communicate with their senators and
representatives to encourage continued Javits funding Go to www.n agc.org for more information.
Science Program Series, 10th ed
[Mono-graph: National Science Teachers
Asso-ciation] Arlington, VA: NSTA Press
Robinson, A., Dailey, D., Hughes, G., &
Cotabish, A (accepted) The effects of a
STEM intervention on gifted
elemen-tary students’ science knowledge and
skills [STEM Special issue] Journal of
Advanced Academics.
Rogers, K (2002) Re-forming gifted
edu-cation Scottsdale, AZ: Great
Potential Press
Science Fun for Everyone: STEM
Starters Retrieved from http://ualr.edu/
gifted/files/2011/11/Science_Fun_for_
Everyone1.pdf
Skrabanek, D W Science Projects, Grades
3–4 Orlando, Fl: Steck-Vaughn
Wicker, C (2014) Water cycle Weather
Wiz Kids Retrieved from http://www.
weatherwizkids.com/index.htm
More Experiments All Charged Up: Static Electricity
http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/
static.html
Balloon Blow Up: What Happens When a Chemical Reaction Occurs Between Two Substances
http://www.education.com/science- fair/article/baking-soda-and-vinegar-balloon/
Marker Chromatography: What Color Pigments are Present in Your Markers?
https://www.exploratorium.edu/sci-ence_explorer/black_magic.html
Moving and Grooving: How to Tell the Earth is Moving
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/editions/
earth-sun/6565
Polymer Putty: Can We Make Silly Putty with Household Ingredients?
http://chemistry.about.com/od/
everydaychemistry/a/sillyputty.htm http://people.howstuffworks.com/silly-putty4.htm
Sock-full of Seeds: What Can Grow Out of a Sock?
http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/sci/
sockseeds.html
SCATS
Summer Camp for Academically Talented Middle School Students
June 8–20, 2014
A two-week residential/
nonresidential camp for rising seventh through ninth graders
VAMPY
Summer Program for Verbally and Mathematically Precocious Youth
June 22 – July 12, 2014
A three-week residential summer camp for rising eighth through eleventh graders
AdVAnCed PlACeMenT SuMMer InSTITuTe June 23–27, 2014
Summer Institute for Beginning and Advanced AP Teachers
to hone their craft of teaching advanced students
TrAVel
Fall Break in Spain
October 3–12, 2014
Travel opportunities with The Center are for eighth grade and high school honors students
as well as interested adults.
The Center for Gifted Studies
1906 College Heights Blvd #71031 Bowling Green, KY 42101-1031
Phone: 270-745-6323
email: gifted@wku.edu
Web: www.wku.edu/gifted
Providing Summer Programming for Advanced Students for More Than 30 Years