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I've seen enough! I want to nominate my child now.

A Program For Developing Talent in Science
by J. Christine Gould, Valerie Weeks, and Sarah Evans

At the age of 4, Jacob announced to his teacher, "When I grow up, I going to be a oceanographer or ... a squid ... 'cause they're scary and
they squirt black ink at everyone! Then I can squirt black ink at you, but you can't squirt black ink at me!"

Although becoming either an oceanographer or a squid seemed noble goals, his Early Childhood Accelerated Program (ECAP*R) teacher,
Mrs. Valerie Weeks, began to wonder what would happen if science was presented to young, potentially gifted children in a developmentally
appropriate way. The ECAP*R program (Gould, Thorpe, & Weeks, 2001), located in Wichita, KS, is affiliated with Rainbows United, Inc., a not-
for-profit agency serving children from to 5 years with a wide range of abilities and needs. The ECAP*R program serves potentially gifted
children who are 3 to 5 years old and has provided an important niche for children whose parents are unable to find challenging, but
developmentally appropriate preschool programs for them. Jacob was one of those students. He had been asked to leave two different
preschool settings due to behavioral problems such as bickering, fighting, and shoving other children.

At the same time, Jacob showed several indicators of early giftedness (Davis & Rimm, 1998; Piirto, 1999). For example, he knew many varied
facts about the ocean and the creatures that live in it. He could complete fairly complex math problems in his head. He read at the fourth-
grade level. Jacob's last teacher suggested to his mother that he might have Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Soon after, he
was evaluated and accepted into the ECAP*R program, where he was introduced to a curriculum that was sensitive to his level of
development and his need for mental stimulation. Jacob's behavioral problems didn't disappear; he still had difficulty with interpersonal
relationships. However, his behavioral problems moderated, and it became clear that he was simply an active little boy who needed the right
kind of mental stimulation. Without the types of experiences that a program like ECAP*R provides to meet Jacob's developmental and
intellectual needs, he could possibly remain "at risk" for school and social failure. He is not alone.

Jacob's future career aspirations became the impetus for "Science Starts Early," which was developed by Valerie Weeks, ECAP*R program
coordinator, teacher, and co-founder, in collaboration with Sarah Evans, assistant professor of biology at Friends University in Wichita, KS.
The intent was to expose young, potentially gifted children to basic scientific principles that would allow them to explore the world around
them. Active learning and experimentation became two foundational elements of the program. Developmentally appropriate critical thinking
that leads to incisive questioning became the third.

Attitudes Toward Science

In her work at Friends University, Dr. Evans teaches two groups of adult learners. The first group of students is composed of non science
majors. At the beginning of each semester, Dr. Evans informally interviews each member of the class. She asks two questions: “What kind of
science background do you have?” and “What are your future goals?” Over the last several years, a consistent majority of the students have
indicated that they had negative experiences in science classes as far back as elementary school. These same students usually added that
they wee taking science now because it was a requirement and they found science difficult and boring. As for their future plans, they wished
to become accountants, managers, Web designers, or members of another profession not related to science. Of more concern is the
frequently verbalized idea that they couldn't pursue a profession because it might require a science background. They saw themselves as
incapable.

The second group of students is composed of biology and chemistry majors. Dr. Evans also conducts and informal interview with each of
these students at the beginning of the semester and asks the same questions, but receives far different responses. These students
consistently answer that they have had positive experiences with science that got them interested in becoming researchers, physicians,
environmental scientists, naturalists and even zoo keepers. The prevailing negative feeling toward science does not seem to be present with
this group of students.

What is the cause of the attitudinal differences these two groups have toward the study of science? Over the past decade, research related
to this area has focused on adolescent girls and, to a lesser extent, all students and two school subjects many students avoid: science and
mathematics. Relevant literature was distilled in the 1992 report conducted by the American Association of the University Women entitled How
Schools Shortchange Girls: A Study of Major Findings on Girls and Education. This report found that there may be a complex interaction of
social reasons that explain why some students don't pursue the study of science; these include lack of confidence, relevance of science,
differences in play experiences, stereotypes about who takes science, and lack of support for persisting in the study of scientific areas. The
report concluded,

In general, students' interest in and enthusiasm for math and science decline the longer they are in school... most students who dislike
science say science is “not interesting.” Adolescent girls are more likely than adolescent boys to find science uninteresting. Adolescent boys
are more likely than girls to discount the importance of science itself. (p. 30)

However, other reasons may also be factors. The way science has traditionally been taught in schools, especially in secondary schools, may
be unappealing to some students. A competitive classroom atmosphere involving informational lectures followed by paper-pencil tests may
not create personal investment in the subject. A lack of personal investment may then lead some students, especially girls, t find science
boring (Baker & Leary, 1995; Joyce & Farenga, 2000; Rop, 1997; Schweigardt, Worrell, & Hale, 2001).

The ramifications of not pursuing any science at early ages may alter a student's career path in unexpected ways. A student who opts out of
science in middle school may later find that there isn't time in his or her schedule to take all the science needed for admission to selective
college programs. The lack of an appropriate science background may result in not being admitted to a medical major or the loss of the
opportunity to become an anthropologist or paleontologist.

The children admitted to the ECAP*R program have advanced abilities and may be representative of those who will impact the scientific future
of this country. Because of their potential, another goal of Science Starts Early is to plant a seed of inquiry among very young children-
especially girls-that will hopefully continue throughout their lifetimes.

The Science Starts Early Curriculum

Science curricula for children in the early learning stages, although rare, are available. Lucia French of the University of Rochester
developed a program specifically for preschool children entitled ScienceStart! (Jacobson, 2002). It is based on the assumption that children
are instinctively curious and interested in how things work. Wanting to understand the ways things work and curiosity about the surrounding
world are important qualities for participating in th process of scientific inquiry.

Science Starts Early took advantage of this natural curiosity, which may be more pronounced in potentially gifted children. To create the
Science Starts Early curriculum, Mrs. Weeks and Dr. Evans decided on the curriculum together by selecting scientific concepts to be studied.
Science textbooks designed for older elementary children thought the fifth grade served as important references in the selection process.
The other concepts selected for study came from questions verbalized by the children. For example, one day, a girl named Lauren
demanded, “Mrs. Weeks, tell us about the black holes in space.” That interchange led to a multi-week unit studying the planets and the
universe.

In this school/university partnership, Mrs. Weeks laid the foundation and Dr. Evans provided hands-on science experiences. Two to three
times each week, Mrs. Weeks prepared the children by teaching the vocabulary needed to discuss a scientific concept. After teaching the
appropriate vocabulary, she then began to expose the children to a scientific concept by asking questions about the world around them.

Hypothesize and Experiment

Approximately once every 2 weeks, Dr. Evans visited the classroom and involved the children in an experiment. At one point, they studied
“Things That Sink and Things That Float.” After a demonstration, children found an object in the room from the many the play with during the
day (although the classroom gerbil was placed off-limits). Once the objects were selected, the children came together in a circle to
hypothesize about their items and conduct the experiment (see Figure 1.1).

Dr. Evans asked the children to hypothesize whether the item would sink or float. With Jacob's intense interest in oceanography, he was
particularly good at this, so he helped the other children-whether they wanted him to or not. During each session, the experimental process
continued with other topics. To date, the children have studied chemical reactions, solubility, microbes, invertebrates, density, paper
chromatography, and volcanoes. Still to come are magnetism, friction, and properties of light.

For the study of invertebrates, Dr. Evans brought in a microscope with a monitor so everyone could look at a sample of pond water at the
same time. Maggie, age 5, found this particularly interesting. She insisted that she be allowed to come up to the front of the room and point
out all the creatures moving around so that no one else would miss seeing them. She particularly liked it when an organism was eating or
digesting its food, and she wanted to give the organism part of her lunch. Steven, 3 years old, was fascinated by the process of viewing the
invertebrates, but became upset when he realized that what he was viewing through the microscope wasn't a video because he had wanted to
take the video home to show his whole family.

Introduction
Discuss the concept to be the subject of today's experiment.
Discuss why and object might sink or float.

Demonstration 1
Show the students a round piece of modeling clay.
Ask the students to hypothesize what will happen when it is placed in a beaker of water.
Place a round piece of modeling clay into a beaker of water.
Observe as the clay sinks to the bottom of the beaker.
Discuss why the clay sank.

Demonstration 2
Take same piece of modeling clay and shape into a saucer.
Ask the students to hypothesize whether it will sink or float.
Place the clay in the water.
Observe as the clay floats on the water.
Discuss the difference in shape between the ball and the saucer.
Discuss the concept of an air pocket and creation of hollow space.
Discuss weight, shape, and other characteristics of the clay that caused it to float.

Demonstration 3
Using the same clay shape as in Demonstration #2, ask the students to hypothesize what will happen when the clay saucer, now floating, is
filled with water.
Fill the clay saucer with water.
Observe as the clay sinks to the bottom of the beaker.
Discuss why this happened.
Discuss the characteristics of the clay that caused it to sink and the differences between the saucer being filled with air or filled with water.
Discuss why the clay sank and the characteristics of the clay that caused it to sink.

Experiment
Have the students choose an object from the classroom.
Student shows the class the chosen object.
Discuss the characteristics of the object that might determine if it sinks or floats (shape, weight, material that it is made of).
Hypothesize whether the object will float or sink in water.
Student placed object in water.
Class makes observations.
Discuss the observations, whether the hypothesis was correct, and why.
Each student has a chance to show their chosen object to the class and put it in water to see if their hypothesis was correct.
Have the students complete the experiment with the items they have chosen.
Figure 1.1 Sample experiment:
Things that sink and things that Float

Invention Convention

Each year, the young scientists shared their new knowledge with other children and guests at an Invention Convention. Each young scientist
created an invention and prepared it for an exhibit. Once the young scientist developed an idea, the parents helped him or her prepare the
invention and took pictures of each step during the process. The pictures were then attached to a poster board forming an exhibit. The
parent helped the child write an explanation of each step of the invention's creation, which was also attached to the poster board. Children
from the surrounding area were invited to view the Invention Convention, where the young scientists explained their inventions to anyone who
stopped at their poster exhibit. Professors and student from a nearby university judged the exhibits.

Each year, the young scientists invented clever, useful things. One young boy created a cane for his grandmother that had a double use.
After having her hip replaced, his grandmother needed support to walk. The young inventor simplified her convalescence by attaching a
pillbox to the bottom of her cane, which meant that his grandmother no longer had to carry around extra bottles of pills and, more importantly,
she wouldn't be able to forget them. One young girl added a bell to her family's entry door for the family cat to ring. Thus, the cat no longer
needed to claw at the door, but could announce its presence by ringing th bell with its par-a very dignified solution to a common problem.
Another young boy created something guaranteed to make his father's life much easier: He invented a Plexiglas cover to protect the pages of
a book from water so his father could read while in the shower.

At the end of the convention, all the young scientists received prizes awarded by the judges. They all got to explain their inventions to the
judges and received positive feedback that encouraged them to keep inventing.

Final Thoughts

Through Science Starts Early, Mrs. Weeks found that the children understood and related to science concepts much better than she had
anticipated when the program first started. She was surprised at how much information they retained and how well they seemed to
understand science concepts in depth. Their level of understanding was made clear to her during the study of black holes brought about by
Lauren's question. The children learned that some scientists think the sun is expected to burn out in approximately 5,000 years. Mrs. Weeks
didn't think the children had any concept of a 5,000-year time frame. However, when one child appeared worried about the possibility that the
sun might burn our and what would happen to him and his pet frog, several other children replied that 5,000 years was “a long, long time
away, so don't worry about it.” The problem was solved.

Science Starts Early proved to be a winning program at ECAP*R, and it generated a great deal of interest among the children. After
spending several months hypothesizing and experimenting, Jacob was more certain than ever that he wanted to be a form of sea life, most
likely a squid-just as long as he was the scariest. Maggie still wanted to see microbes eating their lunch. Steven hoped all the science
projects were made into a video. Mrs. Weeks and Dr. Evans hoped they had helped the children form a lasting interest in science. The
children in the ECAP*R program were all in agreement: Science that starts early is fun.

References

American Association of University Women. (1992). How schools shortchange girls: A study of major findings on girls and education.
Washington, DC: American association of University Women Educational Foundation.

Baker, D., & Leary, R. (1995). Letting girls speak out about science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 32(1), 3-27.

Davis, G. A., & Rimm, S.B. (1998). Education of the gifted and talented (4th ed.). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Gould, J.C., Thorpe, P., & Weeks, V. (2001). An early childhood accelerated program. Educational Leadership, 59(3), 47-50.

Jacobson, L. (2002). The little scientists. Education Week on the Web. Retrieved September 28, 2004, from http://www.edweek.
org/ew/newstory.cfm?slug=33preschool.h21

Joyce, B.A., & Farenga, S.J. (2000). Young girls in science: Academic ability, perceptions, and future participation in science. Roeper
Review, 22, 261-262.

Piirto, J. (1999). Talented children and adults: Their development and education (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Rop, C. (1997). Breaking the gender barrier in the physical sciences. Educational Leader, 55(4), 58-60.

Schweigardt, W.J., Worrell, F. C., & Hale, R. J. (2001). Gender differences in the motivation for and selection of courses in a summer program
for academically talented students. Gifted child Quarterly, 45,283-292.

At the Paige Academy-ECAP, young gifted children learn about science in fun and exciting ways. They take regular trips to
Exploration Place in Wichita, KS; they participate in an annual Invention Convention and they experience the entertaining and
educational demonstrations from their friends, The Mad Scientists. This article, co-written by ECAP Academy's founder Val
Weeks, explains the profound and long-lasting benefits of a strong science program at the preschool level.

Science does not know its debt to imagination. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Children are the most imaginative and curious creatures. The world is
exciting and wonderful to them. ECAP Academy helps to encourage gifted
preschoolers to use their imagination and curiosity to learn about the world
in fun and exciting ways. In the picture to the right, the Mad Scientists
are using a haidryer to float a ping pong ball to the cheers and laughter of
excited ECAP kids.

I've seen enough! I want to nominate my child now.

pdf version of Science Starts Early

Paige Academy -