“Scientists have become the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for knowledge.” – Stephen Hawkingi
Discovery!
By definition, discovery is the act of obtaining sight or knowledge of something for the first time.ii Obviously, our lives are filled with the availability of products, services and information that were brought to us by way of some form of discovery. The efforts that delivered these facets were carried out by scientists, entrepreneurs, explorers and pioneers. These individuals have led the way for some of the greatest scientific discoveries of all time, including electricity, smartphones, penicillin, genome editing, DNA structure, and CRISPR iii.
Herein, we explore what similarities exist in the type of educational foundation they had that brought them to these critical discoveries. To start, most of the individuals involved all had a profound upbringing in critical thinking skills woven into STEM education, including the process to logically arrive at outcomes and the ability to communicate their work and promote collaboration. For example, penicillin was discovered in 1928 by Scottish researcher, Sir Alexander Fleming.iv Fleming found out about this whilst studying viruses. His educational background and experience inspired him to investigate further and the revealed that the mold culture he found could prevent the growth of bacteria, even when diluted 800 times! Penicillin is the most widely used antibiotic in the world today.
So in order to reach the precipice of great discoveries and even basic types of achievements, what are the best methods to develop the proficiencies in our young generation? Obviously, the necessary fundamentals are required, along with the practice of executing them. One proven venture with exemplary benefits is the participation in STEM competitions. One example is science fairs. The first science fair was called “The Children’s Fair” and took place in New York City in 1928 at the American Institutev. The competition was based on research in nature and later grew into additional areas of science and engineering. In 1942, Science Service started the “Science Talent Search”, which delved into the scientific research processvi. Following that, they created the International Science& Engineering Fair (ISEF), which was was launched in 1950 with the focus on research methodology and communication. From this beginning, many STEM competitions were initiated and now several are offered in the global landscape, including the all the subject Olympiads, ITEX, First Lego Robotics, and VEX Robotics.
These competitions are great for students of all grades and all intellectual capacities, in particular on the school and local level. The main overall benefits of these endeavors for pre-college level participants are;
- Enhancing the educational experience through hands-on project-based learning –
- Students need to be taught the standards in education for STEM and in all subjects. However, studies have shown that by doing, they learn more and retain more of these foundational aspects.
- Practicing science process skills –
- In competitions, students can practice the basic skills required in most fields of STEM. These include observation, inference, prediction, classification, measurement and communication.
- Sharing and networking with others in age group and interest area –
- Peer interaction is so critical for pre-college students, as it provides them with feedback and the potential to build self-esteem.
- Evaluating educational progress compared to peers around the world –
- As individuals and as a country, the global competition allows for a barometer on the current level of student education in various learning areas. It provides a scale of comparison for the development of skills in project-based learning capacities.
- Communicating with others and with evaluators –
- As one of the main process skills, communication is probably the most important for the student to be able to attain a high efficiency in. All the accumulated knowledge and applied work will be useless unless it can be effectively communicated, both in written and oral formats.
As for gifted students, along with the above advantages, the higher-level charge relates to how they can hone their skills with these competitions and benefit to the peak degree possible. This list that follows portrays some of the key points on how gifted students can use competitions for their growth in the educational environment.
- Investigate topics to develop interest – For gifted students in middle and high school, competitions can be the time to get involved in many different subject areas and disciplines. This will give them to chance to start making a list on what really “sparks” them and intellectually ignites them for further learning opportunities. It begins the journey to discovery!
- Practice methodology that is implemented in the real-world – Though competitions, the gifted can take journeys and learn the same methods and techniques utilized by researchers and inventors in academia and industry.
- Improve on soft skills – Most competitions allow for students to practice improving the soft skills that are part of the 21st century skills that will be necessary in careers now and in the future. These include leadership skills, teamwork, communication skills, problem solving skills, work ethic, flexibility/adaptability and interpersonal skills.vii
- College applications and preparation – Competitions are excellent sources of supplemental curriculum to add to college applications. In addition, mentorships are usually available in the preparation for these events and can easily allow for letters of recommendation that are positive reinforcements for university admissions to review.
- Start key networking groups – Any researcher or innovator will tell you that no great achievements were every accomplished alone. Teams or affiliated groups are always part of the equation for success. For gifted students that travel nationally and internationally, both in competitions and in camps, it offers an entry into their networking with individuals and institutions that could very well be future collaborators.
To conclude, many of the great pioneers in history were part of the gifted and talented ranks. They participated in their fundamental curriculum, but wanted something more outside the classroom. They asked questions and wanted to find out the answers. This led to exploration, experimentation and to the journey of discovery. Our gifted children should be provided the same type of opportunity as their predecessors and determine their area of interest to delve into problems that need to be solved for the benefit of their community and possibly humanity. It all derives from the inquisitive mind and these minds must be nurtured and tuned. Therefore, it is of great benefit for a country to develop their gifted and creative children through the implementation of STEM competitions. It encourages the young ones and provides them with resources to become successful contributors to the future academic and economic environment of the nation. It all starts with the spark of discovery and the motivation to ask questions to try and solve problems.
“There are two possible outcomes: if the result confirms the hypothesis, then you've made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you've made a discovery.
-Erico Fermiviii
