How to encourage your students to pursue a science career:

 

First, at the beginning of the school year you may want to assess your studentsŐ current ideas about and interest in science.  I gave my students a 6 question survey:

  1. What does it mean to be a scientist?
  2. What types of things do scientists study?
  3. Do you think you might like to be a scientist some day?
  4. What skills do you think a scientist needs?
  5. How would you go about becoming a scientist?
  6. Other thoughts or questions you have about science or being a scientist.

 

At the end of the school year you can give this survey again to see if attitudes and responses change.

 

Second, in the middle of the school year we had a science career day.  I brought in samples of the work I do in my lab (photos of an ethidium bromide stained PCR gel - similar to gel photos they analyzed during their forensics activity, photos of the bats I work with, an example of a real time PCR or ELISA plate and a micropipettor so students can try pipetting, etc).  I also went to several websites to download information about various scientists and their jobs.  Students were interested to know that an ecologist or geologist may travel a lot and spend a lot of time in the field, while a parasitologist looks at many microorganisms under the microscope, a botanist grows many plants in a green house to be used for experiments, and an oceanographer spends time on research ships which may have a submarine, and a computer scientist can model a human neuron!  Printouts of these careers were kept in the science periodical stand in the classroom.

 

Third, as you progress through various topics in your science class, you can assign students an oral report about a day in the life of a scientist in that field.  Good examples are paleontologist, geneticist, environmental scientist, or physiologist.

 

 

Also:  Stress the various types of degrees (PhD, MS, BS, Vet, MD) and the salaries that can accompany them.  Stress that science jobs can be academic, in the private sector, for the government, etc.  Stress the difference between liberal arts schools and research universities, and the types of classes they would need to take for a science career.

Try visiting: www.nal.usda.gov/kids/careers.htm