Leigh says, "As a former (and now disillusioned) chairman of the
Greater Vancouver Regional Science Fair I will conject that the folks
who run science fairs nationally in Canada have little real contact
with academic science. Is it that way in the USA?"
In a word... YES.
At the local level, science fair is run by teachers in the local public
schools (or private schools). Some schools don't have science fair at
all. Some have it as an option for each grade from about 7th grade
through 12th grade. Some have it as a requirement at some grade
levels.
Most high school teachers have never been in a laboratory (other than
their own high school lab) since they graduated from college. That
means most of them NEVER did any real scientific research.
Of course a few teachers did some undergraduate research. A few others
got a masters degree for which they actually did science. But most
teachers did not do any lab work other than assigned labs in college,
and if they do have a masters degree it is typically in education.
I don't want to be too hard on junior high and high school teachers
because there are many wonderful dedicated teachers out there. They
work hard, have heavy loads, and do it for low salary. But the truth
is, their science knowledge is mostly "book knowledge" and very little,
if any, real research.
That would certainly be the case for me had I gone from college into
high school teaching. Let's face it, the Ph.D. is the research degree,
and it is in pursuit of the Ph.D. where most of us learn what real
research is all about (i.e. how real scientists work). There are a few
M.S. students who actually do a thesis, and these people learn real
research also, but with a coursework masters as an option, that's what
most people seem to choose.
I guess the thing that burns me the most is that the local teachers
won't listen to me. Where my kids go to school, science fair is not
supported by the teachers in grades 9 through 12; i.e. there is no
science fair for the high school kids. However, it is a requirement
for all students in 8th grade (because the 8th grade science teachers
make it so). But they absolutely require the
hypothesis/experiment/result format... END OF DISCUSSION.
If students do well, and want to, they can go on to a district science
fair... then to a state science fair. These higher-level science fairs
are typically run by college/university professors and do not typically
require the hypothesis/experiment/result format. I say "typically"
because they might follow that if the people in charge are biologists.
I have found that biologists are much more likely to have "blinders
on" about this issue than chemists or physicists. The biologists on my
staff tell me they think this is a result of biology at one time trying
to make itself as prestigious as the physical sciences. At one time
there seemed to be a stigma with biology (versus physical science) that
the physical scientists did the real science, and the biologists just
gathered flowers. As they tried to grow out of that stigma, they
forced each other to become "more scientific." Of course they adopted
a fairly strange and rigid view of what "more scientific" meant.
Well, anyway, that's the theory of a few biologists here at Bluffton
College. But I am chagrined that this year the school my daughter
attends has its 8th grade science fair being run jointly by a physicist
and biologist, and the physicist is also dictating the
hypothesis/experiment/result model. I argued with him for a few
minutes, then decided it was worthless.
I think one of the reason science fair is not supported in the high
school (and also why few students go on to district) is because
students did not have an enjoyable experience in 8th grade. However,
it is difficult for me to decide if that's because they were forced to
do it a certain way, or because they were forced to do it in any way.
I do have contact with the students, because I am a judge each year.
I see some good projects, but it is clear many students really
struggled to come up with a hypothesis, then test it. And of course,
unless someone does some "re-educating," these students have a mixed up
view of what scientists do.
Well, off to home, and to have a talk with my daughter. Her hypothesis
is due this Friday, and we don't have one yet.
Michael D. Edmiston, Ph.D. Phone/voice-mail: 419-358-3270
Professor of Chemistry & Physics FAX: 419-358-3323
Chairman, Science Department E-Mail edmiston@bluffton.edu
Bluffton College
280 West College Avenue
Bluffton, OH 45817