INTRODUCTION
America recognizes the dismal fact that it has fallen behind in producing leading scientific and technological minds for the world. It also acknowledges that this situation is universal in both urban and suburban regions.
Minority children, especially in urban America, could be easily identified as being the least likely individuals to contribute to reversing the trend. Yet, this entire population is an untapped resource that may possess many future scientists, mathematicians and technologists who, if not assisted, will probably fail to become the professionals that America so desperately needs.
If the United States is to remain a major competitor in this highly complex and scientific world, minority students are indeed the resource that can no longer be ignored. Therefore, institutions of higher education, the government and industry have initiated collaborative efforts to promote the study of science and to produce scientists from minority communities.
The Incubator Scientists Program is a promising mechanism for turning urban inner city students in the direction of becoming some of America’s future leading scientists. But more importantly, it will provide students with the foundations for achieving their goals and overcoming impending obstacles.
There are not persuasive arguments against science education reform, especially given the high rate of failure among all students, but specifically prevalent among disadvantaged and minority children. These students now comprise one-fourth of the school age population, but by the year 2010 this figure will increase to one-half. Consistent with the Incubator Scientists’ commitment to science and the pursuit of academic excellence, the program strives to insure scientific literacy of all students. The program’s objectives summon educators to take personal and professional responsibility for promoting science education reform and placing educationally disadvantaged students in the science education pool.
The Incubator Scientists Program was conceived and piloted in the St. Louis Public School System in 1988, at William H. Beaumont High School, an inner city non-integrated school in St. Louis, Missouri. In 1990, funding from the National Science Foundation, the St. Louis Regional Science and Technology Career Access Center (RCAC) at the University of Missouri St. Louis financially supported the Incubator Scientists Program as one of its major components. The program was expanded to Sumner High School in 1992 and then later to International Studies High School at Soldan High School in 1993. Currently, the program is operated out of the St. Louis Public School’s Division of Curriculum and Staff Development.
RATIONALE
The need for science education reform in this country is clear, and many strategies have been proposed by professional educators and scientists. This curriculum reform has been attested by the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS), the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), and the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). Science and mathematics instruction and science curriculum should: (1) be developmentally appropriate for the learner, (2) be based on real-world experiences, (3) incorporate open-ended problem-solving activities, and (4) include all students. A science curriculum can be built on these four principles.
In today’s technological society, science educators will be asked to increasingly demonstrate the relevance of their subject. Society can no longer afford to produce a citizenry incapable of understanding and applying science.
Most of the literature related to minorities and mathematics-based careers, and particularly African-American participation, (Surveys of Adams, 1988) points to poor support systems as the main contributing factor for low retention and graduation rates among these students. Other reasons given are:
· Inadequate pre-collegiate preparation in mathematics and science
· Poor understanding of mathematics-based and science-related careers
· Lack of role models
· Ineffective study habits
· Ineffective counseling and advising.
Taken singularly or collectively, factors such as these represent formidable hurdles for minority students, as they attempt to become effective and productive members of the scientific community. None of these factors encompass a more fundamental concept of science education than that of “learning science, by doing science.” Today, science educators often hold to the belief that science and mathematics is made “real” and given added “meaning” when a “hands-on” inquiry approach is used to teach the concepts, principles, and processes of science as it relates to the environment.
Young people are naturally excited when they encounter something new, and are even more excited when they discover its relevance to daily life. It is time to reexamine an old idea, the process of inquiry, in the context of socially relevant science education.
THE PROGRAM
DESCRIPTION
The Incubator Scientists Program is a comprehensive, multi-faceted, pre-collegiate intervention science strategy. The program builds on the idea that high school students will show increased academic success in science-related subjects, if they are provided a structured curriculum in science that builds on investigation, inquiry, and discovery, and is supported by intensive supervision, instruction, and guidance. Key to the success of this strategy is an essential emphasis on a carefully used set of adult behaviors that interact with students.
The Incubator Scientists Program was primarily designed to nurture and motivate the inner-city youth while promoting student advancement toward accelerated coursework as they pursue careers in science, mathematics, and technology. It was also developed to : help students to select, plan, and carry out projects with the help of classroom teachers and volunteers mentors from colleges and universities, industries and businesses in the community; engage students in school district, state, and national competitions; provide intensive assistance to involved students in their college or university selections; assist students with financial plans in pursuit of a college education; and maintain an active involvement in the post-secondary academic lives of the program participants. All of these elements serve to enhance the participants’ preparation for academic and career-related success in mathematics, science and technology.
PHILOSOPHY
The program is based on the philosophy that every student can learn science, if given the opportunity. A guiding principle for increasing high school student’s motivation for pursuing science careers is that of increased academics and hands-on experience. Individualized instruction and nurturing are emphasized throughout to accommodate students needs as he or she moves towards self-actualization. This method empowerment allows students to use this opportunity and take responsibility for creating tangible results. The completion of science research papers and doing science fair projects represent concrete accomplishments and the realization of a goal. This kind of action sets the stage for self-advocacy – treating problems rationally, and using the investigative approach. Thus, experiencing success becomes a necessary precondition for sustaining student interest in doing science activities.
The Incubator Scientists Program is also guided by the belief that science instruction serves as a vehicle for the improvement of cognitive, affective and psychomotor learning. This may be accomplished by helping students improve communication and mathematics skills, during the actual study of science. It is believed that science teaching arouses and motivates vocational interests of students, resulting in the student’s pursuit of courses in science, mathematics, and engineering. High school mathematics and science teachers hold they key to encouraging more students to pursue science careers. When teachers use research as a primary instructional modality, students are expected to develop problem-solving skill, plan and organized work, produce results over time that can be used as additional and alternative sources of evaluation.
An educational emphasis such as this is particularly valid in a world which continues to change radically in response to the rapid growth of scientific knowledge and technological power.
Science, when taught appropriately, allow students to comprehend and appreciate the order of the universe and the importance of using orderly processes in solving problems. When students understand science, they learn to understand themselves and their environment. It is believed that if students learn science the investigative process, that process will be applied in all areas of problem solving.
The charter group of students defined their commitment to the philosophy by developing The Incubator Scientist Pledge, which is cited as follows:
As an Incubator Scientist, I pledge
To be responsible, diligent,
And creative;
To strive for academic
Excellence in every subject;
To promote the love of science
Through research and involvement;
To strive toward a career in science
And technology through higher
Education;
And to foster the spirit of teamwork.
This I pledge to myself, my
organization, And my school.
PURPOSE
The purpose of the Incubator Scientists Program is to encourage urban, inner-city students to pursue college and careers in science, engineering and mathematics; instill in students the idea that science is a process of inquiry and problem solving; provide students with a sufficient working knowledge of science; and be able to deal effectively with the critical technological issues that confront society today. In addition, the program seeks to develop student attitudes of curiosity, of wonderment about and involvement with phenomena in their natural environment. It also strives to develop an appreciation for the contributions of science to daily living, and to develop values and inclinations toward solving problems in a scientific manner.
The primary focus is nurturing, motivating, encouraging and challenging inner-city students to prepare for science and mathematics-based careers. The program was designed to encourage and motivate students through challenging experiences conducted in an intensively caring environment. Placing the student’s human, social and learning needs in the same plan, the program, for some students, provides “the reason” for school persistence and success in academic work. Completion of science fair projects and research presentations provide students with validation and personal power, as well as authority in science and mathematics. The benefits of doing independent science research projects self-confidence, develops critical thinking skills and enhances organizational skills.
These accomplishments for inner students’ likelihood of gaining productive adult lives and students can be shown how being “turned on” to science can pay off. Rewards provided at the school building level help students assign value to “doing science.” Through school-based components that facilitate whole school involvement in science fairs, awards ceremonies and programs, a culture for science can be established even in school where students face resource inadequacies common to inner-city schools.
PROGRAM FOCUS
The pyramid is symbolic of the program’s purpose – historically striving for excellence in science and mathematics. It is believed that the work done to promote excellence in science and mathematics will encourage and challenge students to embrace the connective bond between past, present, and future achievements in mathematics and science.
MOTTO:
If it is to be, it is to be by me.
LOGO: The Bumblebee
According to the law of aerodynamics, the bumblebee’s large body and short wing span should prohibit his ability to fly. However, the bumblebee defies the law of aerodynamics and flies anyway.
Like the bumblebee, in spite of the odds against him, the incubator scientist is successful in the goal to succeed in science and mathematics, just as the bumblebee is successful in his goal to fly.
COLORS: Black & Yellow
The students of the Incubator Scientists Program adopted the colors of yellow and black, symbolic of the bumblebee.
Black represents strength and power in coordination; yellow represents excellence in achievement in science, mathematics and technology.
GOALS OF THE INCUBATOR SCIENTISTS PROGRAM:
*To increase the number of minority students in science and mathematics-based careers;
*To increase the number of students advancing from the Bumblebee segment to the Incubator Scientists components;
*To increase the number of students engaged in scientific investigation and project development;
*To identify, encourage, nurture, motivate and challenge high school students who demonstrate an interest in scientific investigation;
*To increase the number of students who are prepared to major in science and mathematics or technology at the end of the 12th grade;
OBJECTIVES OF THE INCUBATOR SCIENTISTS PROGRAM:
*To raise academic expectations in science and mathematics;
*To make scientific activities fun and challenging, instead of just another set of courses;
*To illustrate the role science plays in everyday life;
*To provide an orientation that prepares students to pursue college studies in mathematics-based careers;
*To provide “Intensive Care” and supervision in preparation for independent study and research activities;
*To provide effective and appropriate role models and mentors in science, and to cultivate scientific talent;
*To stimulate interest in science through exposure and participation in scientific projects;
*To help students develop critical thinking and decision-making skills.
PARENTS AND STUDENTS COOPERATIONS AGREEMENTS
Students and their parents enrolling in the Incubator Scientists Program agree to terms of participants as outlined below:
PARENTS
I will….
Encourage my child to attend scheduled
program activities;
Encourage my child to make working on and
completion of his/her research project a
priority;
Assist my child’s progress in school;
encourage him/her to maintain a 3.0 GPA;
Assist my child in planning for college
study;
Support my child in enrolling for college
study.
STUDENTS
I will…
Attend all scheduled program functions and
classes;
Be purposeful and serious about school and,
work to maintain at least a 3.0 GPA;
Conduct an independent research project;
write a paper and present my findings at
science meetings and competitions;
Maintain a positive attitude; plan for my future.
________________ ________
(parent's signature) Date
_________________ _________
(student's signature) Date