To be successful in college-level science, students need skills in inquiry, observation, and problem solving. These are three things that are difficult to teach in school, particularly when a student’s needs are development diverges from their peers. For my kids, we’ve been focusing our enrichment in these areas, particularly inquiry.
Inquiry: My best students ask lots of questions. They not only ask questions about the content presented that day, but they draw connections between lessons and between courses. I believe this type of thinking can be taught and encouraged. I’m confident in that because I teach two courses where I specifically focus on these skills, and all my students make program. This sort of thinking and questioning, sadly, can also be quickly extinguished.
I spend a lot of time encouraging my kids to observe the world and make connections. When they have a question, they should ask it. Our first rule is that all questions are given respect.
Asking questions. At home, I’m not going to simply answer a question a child asks me. I either walk my child through the process of figuring it out for themselves, or I describe how I know. I ask them to elaborate the observations they’ve made that have led to that question.
For instance, a while ago, my son asked why people have two eyes if they both look in the same direction. I had him cover up an eye and walk around. He mostly noticed that his nose blocked some of his vision, so it didn’t really accomplish what I was hoping he’s observe. I had him then play catch with me, and then play catch with one eye covered. That made the point clear why binocular vision is so useful. We also ended up with a wide-ranging discussion on parallax and other things that happen when you view the world with two eyes.
When I can’t answer the question, we go to google or youtube together to figure it out. I will walk my child through the steps I take to find the answer.
These discussions are some of what I love most about being a parent, particularly when answering what seemed to have been a simple question opens up a series of broader questions for my child.
I also encourage my kids to ask these sorts of questions at school. I don’t ask my kids what they learned at school each day. I’ve discovered that’s a breeding ground for discontent. I ask them instead, “did you ask any questions today?”
Learning more. There’s lots of great stuff out there on TV & youtube. My kids have been watching NOVA, How the Earth Was Made, and MinutePhysics since they were 4 or 5. They have also discovered that our public library has several of the Great Courses DVDs on loan. My Favorite Universe is a favorite. Actually, they'll watch anything with Neil deGrasse Tyson. They find lots on youtube.
The zoo and local children’s museums have a series of great workshops, exhibits, and experts on hand. My daughter once peppered the staff member in the aquarium with questions for 30 minutes. It was a transformative experience not just in that she got her questions answered, but she discovered that someone besides mom can answer her questions.
Read the newspaper together. Oddities like Mars’ jelly donut are good jumping off points. Look at the Earthweek: Diary of the Planet together, or the science page. Many have one day a week with a page or section dedicated to science. The New York Times’ section is on Tuesdays.
If you live near a college or university, see if you can get on their email list for outreach events. Larger universities tend to have these divided out by department – so call the astronomy or biology departments directly, whereas smaller schools will often push this information out through a central office. If you can’t figure out where to call, someone always answers the phone in admissions! Many schools are also putting this information out on facebook and twitter. Poke around. Most anything that is advertised to the public will welcome children. When attending talks, we review how to behave during the talk and I give my kids paper and a pen in case they get bored or lost. I encourage my kids to ask questions at the end. We've found that kids' questions are taken first and prioritized.