Keep Science and Math Alive in Middle School

Our future rests with how we educate and inspire our students to become the next generation of innovators solving society's Grand Challenges in technology, healthcare, transportation, energy and sustainability. Innovation is driven by proficiency in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Today's children are wholly unprepared. What's more -- they don't understand how STEM subjects play a role in their world or in their future careers.

By the time they reach middle school, many kids have mastered the basics of the old 3R's (reading, writing and 'rithmatic) -- and they are gaining awareness of their own independence. They start to adopt a perception -- accurate or inaccurate -- of their personal strengths and weaknesses in certain subjects. Middle school is often the tipping point when such perceptions and misconceptions lead children to lose interest in math and science for good. Yet kids can get excited about math and science if they are exposed to real world applications of these subjects.

Middle school also is a time when kids look to adults other than their parents for inspiration. The impression made by an adult teacher, mentor, friend or acquaintance can be indelible and also drive academic choices going forward. A recent survey by Microsoft found that 57 percent of STEM college students were inspired to study STEM subjects because of a teacher or class. That was particularly true for female students.

Middle school is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, it produces a defining moment, a great awakening. If a student has a positive experience with a teacher in a science class for example, the student may conclude that he or she is "good" at science. Suddenly, there's a new opportunity out there, a new road to travel and explore. In fact, one in five STEM college students said they decided to pursue a STEM career in middle school or earlier (Microsoft 2011 survey).

Conversely, if a child loses interest in math and science in middle school, the chance of regaining interest and momentum may be slim. For example, a 2009 American Society for Quality poll of young people ages 8-17 found that 24 percent of boys but only 5 percent of girls were interested in an engineering career.

What children and their parents don't understand at the middle school level is that without mastering the fundamentals of math and science, a child will not have the necessary knowledge essential to expand college choices that can lead to rewarding STEM careers. By prematurely concluding that math and science are too hard, simply not interesting, or not important to their future, kids lose out on exciting professional choices that bring with them meaningful economic opportunity.

Interestingly, gender stereotyping plays a role in persuading girls to study the perceived "harder" STEM subjects. A study by the American Association of University Women (AAUW), found that "negative stereotypes about girls' abilities in math can indeed measurably lower girls' test performance." Yet, the AAUW report also found that when test administrators told students that girls and boys are equally capable in math the difference in performance essentially disappeared.

Kids can get excited about math and science if they are exposed to the real world applications of these subjects. Say a student is an avid texter. Let him or her know that that functions on the mobile phone that they're so enamored with wouldn't be possible without applied math and engineering. Let them open the phone up and explore its parts -- hands-on learning at its best. Teachers can better ignite interest in STEM subjects if they are given opportunities to learn how STEM subjects are applied to create exciting products and scientific breakthroughs, possibly in companies in their communities.

No matter what direction kids chose to go with their career, whether working in a bank, building houses, designing microchips or creating cartoons at Disney, they need math and science. The simple truth is that math and science aren't any harder than social studies or history. They take practice and discipline like any other subject. It's a matter of once again making these subjects relevant to children -- especially middle-schoolers.

 

Comments

[umbrarchist]

12:25 AM on 10/06/2011

So why not make science interesting in ways that do not involve direct teaching and testing? How many scientists and engineers got interested in science from reading science fiction? I really don't understand why this is not almost standard procedure in schools after all of these years. But then there are many readers who say they like science fiction but don't want SCIENCY science fiction. But now cheap some stuff is free.

HTC Flyer Full Review
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A Short History of the World by H. G. Wells
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History from a science fiction writer? LOL

All Day September by Roger Kuykendall
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Eight Keys to Eden by Mark Clifton
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The Fourth R by George O. Smith
http://www.onread.com/book/The-Fourth-R-17950/

There Will Be School Tomorrow, by V. E. Thiessen
www.feedbooks.com/userbook/11643.pdf

THE YEAR WHEN STARDUST FELL by Raymond F. Jones
http://www.amazon.com/Year-When-Stardust-Fell/dp/1935774409
http://www.readcentral.com/book/Raymond-F-Jones/Read-The-Year-When-Stardust-Fell-Online

Black Man's Burden by Mack Reynolds
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[sinocensio]

05:51 AM on 10/05/2011

As a sixth grade teacher, I taught the pre-middle schoolers who were quite mature at that age, and could be as independent as a middle school student. They are the top of the school hierarchy, the big boys and girls in an elementary school, with lots of varied interests. All through the year, we teach reading skills with a publisher's basal that has mostly fiction or pieces of literature and a teaching script. All have up to four practice workbooks...BOOORRING and ineffective teaching practices. Yet all school districts mandated that we teach in that manner. What better way to increase comprehension than a hands on activity in science or math application. Along the way introducing the careers of both subjects through surprise guest from the community, videos, field trips and career day. I believe the elementary schools would improve the quality of readers our students would be if language arts was taught in the upper elementary grades through an embedded program of science and math. Envision a portfolio including an essay describing through the five senses what the student liked or did not like, about the experiment, data collecting, analysis then a summary and lots of activity

[J R M]

07:37 PM on 10/04/2011

My son very much enjoys science. He is in 6th grade and is starting middle school.

In our fear of kids hurting one another or themselves, we have made middle school science much less interesting. When I was a bit older than he is, I was making rocket fuel, gunpowder, and high temperature furnaces. I know well the smell of scorched hair. I also played with induction coils, built catapults, ground telescope mirrors, and played some with electronics. By the time I graduated from high school I had taught myself qualitative analytic chemistry, mineralogy, and astronomy - all at the college level.

I had a few scars, but I had learned a lot. I didn't burn down the house, even though when I made a furnace for iron and making steel I figured out how to make large mushroom clouds. Quite impressive, but mom didn't like seeing mushroom clouds rising from the back yard above the house. I actually won the first prize for 9th grade chemistry for a large city while doing the steel project.