Key points:
By eighth grade, almost 50 percent of students have lost interest in science or don’t believe it will be relevant to their education or future plans.
Want to really promote science to kids so they keep that interest?
Give them problems to develop solutions for.
For instance, some people still like to read physical books (I’m one of them). Sometimes, you don’t want to hold the book while reading it. You want to rest it on something. Ask kids to come up with simple ways for a book to be held up hands free. Provide materials, like cardboard paper, popsicle sticks, glue, etc. If, after disclosing their invention idea, they need other equipment, do your best to provide that, too. Have them create their inventions and test them out. If they don’t work, ask to them to figure out why they don’t work so they can make adjustments. Give them a certain amount of time to come up with and create the invention.
Here’s the kicker: if they aren’t able to create a working prototype in the allotted time, don’t see that as a failure. See it as an opportunity to discuss what they’d do differently if they had more time.
In the real world, most innovations take years to come to fruition. The learning after each iteration is as important as the final product. Even after there is a final working prototype, there are often subsequent new editions of the innovation (e.g. all the iPhone iterations).
Using this approach, kids get to learn about developing hypotheses (if I do this, I will get that), testing their hypotheses via building prototypes, and observing whether the prototypes work as expected. They will also learn to manage their emotions, as success doesn’t come right away.
Where did I get the problem of holding up a book hands free from? Generative AI. The prompt I used with ChatGPT was: “List 10 everyday problems that could be solved by a solution that an elementary school student could develop.”
Where does the science come in, though?
The science comes in by discussing why their prototype works. With the example of the book holder, questions to discuss could be:
- What materials work best to keep the book from slipping? This question introduces friction and material properties into the discussion.
- How does the weight of the book affect the effectiveness of the book holder? This question involves the concepts of force, balance, and structural integrity. Heavier books exert more downward force, so students would need to think about how the book holder can withstand that pressure without collapsing.
- How does each material used to create the book holder contribute to the book holder working? This explores mechanical properties, touching on how materials differ in strength, flexibility, and durability.
You can use generative AI to develop the discussion questions, too.
Now they’re not just thinking about the fact that they’re creating something. They’re also thinking about why it works.
Because they had the opportunity to solve problems at an early age, students will be inclined to take on more challenging problems as they get older. They’ll be more likely to do the work to determine why things work because they will see the fruits of their labor. They’ll think about what they can do to improve their creation. They’ll think about what they can create next. They won’t see science as just something you learn; they’ll see it as something that can be applied to produce tangible results and solve real problems.
Make science interesting to kids by applying it to everyday problems, then give them the tools to solve these problems and help them think critically about why their solutions work. Ultimately, these kids will become the innovators of tomorrow.
