What are the key science life-skills?

[brownie]

...not content.  For all you STEM people, what do you consider to be the important life skills in the life of a scientist?

 

So far I have:

• observing and questioning
• problem solving / creative solution generation
• technical comfort level (hands-on, willing to use equipment, understand how it works, etc...)
• something with reading comprehension/ability to research? Though this is partly based on having the content background, I think it's also more than that

 

If it matters, reason being I am trying to figure out what to do with my upcoming 6th grader.  He is doing a solid science course this year that covers earth and physical science using an 8th grade curriculum.  He will take bio in 7th and he had bio 2 years ago.  So next year I have no real need to cover specific content.  I would like to focus in on life-skill development.

 

As far as what I am considering: Royal fireworks Press Ferret it Out, which is now written for homeschool, some reverse engineering and electronics stuff, his first real science fair entry, science journalling, and reading current events/magazine articles on science topics.  I want to make sure I a doing this with a particular skills list in mind so that it's not just "check the box", but purposeful with an objective in mind.  In reality, he probably gets all this to some degree already the way I run science but I want to be more intentional about it.

 

Brownie

[raptor_dad]

...not content.  For all you STEM people, what do you consider to be the important life skills in the life of a scientist?

 

So far I have:

• observing and questioning
• problem solving / creative solution generation
• technical comfort level (hands-on, willing to use equipment, understand how it works, etc...)
• something with reading comprehension/ability to research? Though this is partly based on having the content background, I think it's also more than that

 

 

 

Along with these I would add comfort with uncertainty and ambiguity.

 

Hard problems build this since you seldom know where to start.

 

Experimental design can help since you have to come up with testable hypotheses that are informative with either a positive or negative answer. So you have to confront your uncertainties head on and resolve them.

 

Struggling to work out problems from first principles can help force you to acknowledge the limits of your own knowledge.

 

All of these could help cultivate a capacity to deal with uncertainty that can be naturally very uncomfortable and unfamiliar for smart kids.

[lewelma]

I came up with this list last year on this thread: Science activities: setting goals and evaluating usefulness of activities

 

Ruth in NZ

 

x-post

 

Elementary level goals

Content: Interest driven. There are no requirements for content in elementary

Skills
1) Reading: able to read nonfiction at increased difficulty over time
2) Output: able to summarize what has been learned, verbally or in writing
3) Observation: ability to see what is actually there, not what you expect to see
4) Math: at grade level

Attitudes
1) Curiosity: "wanting to understand the world"(Regentrude). Including the desire to find answers either through books, observation, experimentation, or tinkering
2) Enthusiasm towards science (or at least a positive attitude)

Middle School level goals

Content: Broad overview of biology, earth science, chemistry, physics (this can be systematic or interest driven). High school science is easier if it is not the first time the material has been encountered.

Skills (students who already possess these skills by 9th grade will be set to succeed in high school science):
1) Reading: Ability to read difficult text. Ability to interpret graphs, charts, and diagrams.
2) Writing: Ability to write succinct answers to "short-answer" questions including evaluate, interpret, integrate, compare and contrast, critique, etc.
3) Math: at grade level. Including the ability to identify and draw appropriate graphs for the data
4) Logical thinking and problem solving capability
5) Study skills, reading a textbook, organization skills, time management, note taking
6) Scientific Method: general understanding of how experiments are replicated and controlled, how hypotheses are are accepted or rejected (this does not need to be a detailed understanding, although it could be if you want to spend the time doing it in middle school to save some time in highschool)

Attitudes
Reinforce 1 and 2: curiosity and enthusiasm
3) Scepticism: "inquire what facts substantiate a claim" (Regentrude)
4) Acceptance of falsification: Ability to reject your hypotheses; to not have your ego tied to your ideas.

High School level goals

Content
1) Science curriculum, including interdisciplinary topics
2) Current events: including politics, pseudoscience, and ethical decision making (I need to think more about this one)
3) Science careers: understanding the peer review process, variety of methods to answering questions (observational, theoretical, statistical, experimental, etc)(Regentrude), double blind studies (need to think more about this one too)

Skills
Reinforce skills 1-5: reading, writing, math, logical thinking/problem solving, and study skills

6) Scientific method:
a) Forming a hypothesis and identifying if it is answerable

b.)Collecting background information
c) Designing systematic methods to answer a question (including objective measurement, defining terms, and replication and controls if doing an experiment)
d) Identifying best way present data (designing tables, graphs, diagrams)
e) Identifying assumptions
f) Identifying errors, find their source, suggest future ways to prevent them
g) Interpreting data
h) Identifying future work

7) Ability to use equipment appropriate to field of study
8) Ability to write lab reports
9) Statistical knowledge including probability and issues like correlation vs causation
10) Evaluation of scientific research (obviously, in only a general way)
11) Presentation skills/public speaking (not required, but an excellent add in if time)

Attitudes
Reinforce 1-4: curiosity, enthusiasm, scepticism, falsification
5) Persistence: in the face of failed experiments and the need to try new things over and over and over
6) Honesty: being completely objective while collecting data. The goal is to find the truth, not support your personal opinions (this is often harder than your realize, which is why scientists do double blind studies)

[Anacharsis]

Patience. Lab-work is actually sort of like sculpture, in that the end result may be impressive, but the actual process of production involves being stuck in a room doing a series of fairly repetitive tasks.

[ThoughtfulMama]

Troubleshooting - as a lab scientist the majority of my time is spent either figuring out why an experiment isn't working or optimizing an experiment to best answer my question. The ability to come up with creative alternatives and the patience to repeatedly test _and fail_ are both key skills for the working scientist and will serve you in all areas of life.

[kiwik]

patience - lab work can be very dull. Safety procedures and protocols, how to follow instructions exactly the same every time. Dealing with failure and working out what to do.

[brownie]

Wow.  You guys are really uplifting :)  I don't think teaching ds to tolerate boredom is on my agenda for next year, but we'll keep it on the radar for career planning :)

 

Yeah - I really don't think I had the patience to work with cell cultures in the lab.  I think it compounds the frustration to have to deal with things that can die after you put a ton of hours in :( I wish I had known that about myself. I would have chosen polymers or...something.

 

Patience with working through a problem is something we address in many other ways, but I'm not sure we're making much progress!

 

I appreciate the ideas.  I really like the idea of teaching some experimental design.  If anyone knows of a good book that is digestable by a bright 12 year old, I'm all ears.  Up until now I've just spouted my personal opinions gained from experience but it would be nice to have something to work through.  Some examples of experiments with issues would be great.

 

Brownie

[EndOfOrdinary]

This sort of goes in with patience, but mastering the art of mulling something over. Being able to leave the intensity aside and let your brain go on it without forcing anything. Perhaps this is more on the math end, but allowing myself to mull over a problem without dwelling was immensely helpful in letting life happen. Otherwise, I would have been holed up forever. Some of my best ideas came while playing ultimate frisbee, or eating a sandwich. My son will come up with crazy great stuff when he finally stops stressing and is just brushing his teeth.

 

My husband (an English major) does not get this. It drives him crazy that he will ask what is bothering/distracting me and I will say, "I don't know. My brain hasn't figured enough of it out yet. I'll tell you in a day or so." To my math friends in college that would have been a perfectly reasonable answer. It seems this would cross over to science as well.

[Staceyshoe]

So many children who are academically advanced are also perfectionists.  Scientists need to be able to handle a lot of experiments that show what doesn't work.  Being able to handle something not working the way you want/expect is so important if going into research.  I also think making connections, even unusual ones, is an excellent skill to have.