On the Way to the Fair

By Amy Magin Wong

How are we, as a nation, going to address our chronic shortage of qualified scientists and engineers — a shortage that threatens our country’s economic welfare? And how do we educate and inspire a new generation to join in and become leaders of an increasingly technological and competitive scientific community?

This is the challenge that Cora Beth Abel, M.A.T.’71, is striving to address in her role as executive director of the Massachusetts State Science and Engineering Fair (MSSEF). The independent, nonprofit organization is dedicated to encouraging and fostering inquirybased science and technology learning among Massachusetts middle and high school students.

“The research has shown that if you want to capture a student’s interest in science, you need to do it by middle school,” Abel says. “Then, you need to continue with engaging programs in high school to sustain that motivation.”

Abel says that the inquiry-based way of learning has proven highly effective in stimulating students’ enthusiasm to pursue study in the sciences. “Instead of being led step by step, memorizing, and not really having to think,” Abel explains, “inquirybased learning involves the entire range of critical thinking. It starts with students’ own natural curiosity about the world and what they want to explore, and then gives them support and guidance to do so.”

This past year Abel helped to create the Curious Minds Initiative, a $1.8 million, multiyear program that aims to bring this style of teaching to every middle and high school in Massachusetts. The program will provide science teachers with the tools, expertise, and resources necessary to integrate project-based experiences into their existing curricula, offering students an opportunity to explore real-world scientific and engineering projects.

Abel hopes that the initiative will also boost the number of students that participate in yearlong science and engineering projects by increasing the number of school-based fairs that participate in MSSEF. “We know that the students most successful in their science fair projects come from these schools, most of which also participate in our affiliated regional fair programs,” she says.

She proudly points out that the state fair has seen a dramatic increase in student participation over the past four years. The threeday high school event takes place at MIT and highlights the best of the students’ talented minds. This year, more than $425,000 in scholarships and prizes were awarded, and some groups have even patented their projects patented.

One of the most innovative teams, from Pittsfield, created a project that originated from speaking with fellow students who have special needs. Team members then tried to think of what they could create to help them in their daily lives. This led to the invention of a device that helps to grip an object.

“The process is not only motivating,” Abel says, “but also involves a wide range of separate disciplines — reading and research, collecting and analyzing data, and then presenting what they have learned succinctly. It’s quite a challenge, involving communication, teamwork, and public speaking.”

These are the skill sets that are dramatically lacking in many candidates for jobs in science and technology industries. “They may have the technical skills,” Abel says, “but if they don’t know how to communicate and collaborate, then they aren’t going to be successful workers. This is as true of an entry-level technician as it is of a high-level scientist.”

Through MSSEF’s mission, Abel sees the potential to fill this gap in the workforce.

“Teachers are our most important resource,” she says. “If we can enable more teachers to use this inquiry-based method, we will help thousands of students each year. And have more fun as well.”

Photo by Ed Malitsky

About the Article

A version of this article originally appeared in the Fall 2008 issue of Ed., the magazine of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

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