Increasing the number of students majoring in technology, science, mathematics and engineering can be done through a summer physics camp. The current supply of qualified science teachers and scientists is not meeting the societal demand and that is why teachers are using alternative ways to encourage children to major in science courses. Camps provide an effective way to encourage children to major in science.
Investigative teams
Participation in camps emphasizes cooperation, teamwork and creative problem-solving when faced with various engineering and scientific challenges. To facilitate this conducive atmosphere, we form campers into scientific teams before their arrival. These teams comprise about 4 campers. They are led by a counselor who is a science major student or a high school teacher.
The teams are mixed gender with students coming from different schools on the same team. This encourages forming new friendships and a cohesive group work spirit. The teams are encouraged to work together the entire week. The leaders are instructed to help the team in solving solutions. They are also instructed to take charge.
Social Activities and science
When planning annual camps, teachers and planners identify activities that are most appropriate for students. When the motivational goals of the camp are kept, the activities necessitate teamwork, problem-solving and the application of various science skills are chosen and form the framework of the science camp experience. Activities that result in finished products and that can be demonstrated publicly by the campers are utilized during a summer math camp.
Each year, the schedule of camping activities is adjusted based on the observation of the camper’s engagement and information from an end camp survey. During the survey, campers identify their favorite activities and least favorite activities. A wide range of topics is chosen to meet the interest of the students.
A copy of the recent math or science camp manual can then be found online. Some of the major activities that students engage in at each camp include gel electrophoresis, forensic science, building and riding hovercrafts, construction of boats, modeling and digital video and so on.
Camp assessments
There are several forms of assessment in place and these assessments have evolved throughout the years with experience. The good thing is that these assessments are usually made public to enable people to view them and encourage their friends, children, colleagues and whoever is in their circle to try the camps. The data is used to determine the perception of the campers and whether the goal of encouraging students to learn math and science was achieved.
Results
The main goal of a summer physics camp is to encourage students to participate in science in a fun and interesting way. During the camps, campers can share their enthusiasm for science and talk about how real-life situations depend on science. The data collected is used to provide an in-depth look at the power of camping experience. Student voices are also shared to reveal the quality of the camp experience to other children who are hesitant on studying science.