PROPOSAL FOR RE-USE OF
QUINCY’S EARLY CHILDHOOD CENTER:
A THEME SCHOOL BASED ON
GATEWAY TO
SCIENCE: SPORTS AND GAMES
Kathy Dullea Hogan
http://sportscience-kathy.blogspot.com
MY MESSAGE TO YOU, READER:
The plan
proposed below is certainly something I want to see happen. However, equally important is to introduce
this revolutionary idea to people, to you, to get conversations going,
and to spur people to investigate and implement this approach on their own and
with others.
BACKGROUND:
Almost 25
years have passed since I began raising funds for the Father Maurice Dullea,
S.J., Athletic Scholarship at Boston College in 1996. This is when I began to think about the
connection between physics and sports.
Since kids already like to play games and sports, it would be easy to
incorporate physics (and geometry) into what they already know instinctively
and physically. What is the link?
The link is learning the name of the force involved! Language is the connection between the
activity and the brain’s understanding of the principle. Arrange for kids to acquire basic physics
this way, and they’ll start learning more on their own. Painlessly while having fun – and gaining
confidence.
A retired
teacher, I collect games, books, articles, and much more that promote this
approach. Some I’ve used at the South
Shore Science Festival since 2015 (at 180 Old Colony Avenue when the Quincy
Center for Innovation was there). For
example, string-can telephones are always a big hit while learning about
vibration. I’ve also done volunteer work
at QCAP, Kenny School in Dorchester, and Science Week at Saint Agatha School in
Milton and incorporated this theme, often done through finding science in
stories. It’s time to put it all into
practice – a theme school.
PROPOSAL:
Implementing
this is the next step. Since reading
that Quincy is to make changes vis a vis the Amelio Della Chiesa Early
Childhood Center, this is what I would like to suggest. Integrate this theme
school into one of the two options for the ECC – create a city-wide
kindergarten center or relieve space shortage in elementary
schools. Which one?
Kindergarten works as it’s a good age to start, and it would
be city-wide.
Elementary works, too, because, ranging from kindergarten to
grade 5, curriculum would get a chance to be developed further as kids get
older.
DETAILS:
I envision one room to be set aside as the “Gateway to Science,” which would be something like a library or a special type of gym.
It would have stations around the room with space in the middle for activities. The stations will have different science themes, with a card on how to carry out each activity.
For example,
Center of gravity/mass:
Various games and challenges (see illustration below).
Torque: Hula hoops,
jump ropes.
Measuring: Yard/meter stick, food scale, measuring cups, Newton
apples, etc.
Light and color:
Prism, CD (for light refraction in the grooves), glitter; paints,
chalk.
Sound and music:
String-can telephones, musical instruments.
Other themes and other equipment:
Energy. Gravity. Collision. Inertia. Friction. Magnetism. Potential and kinetic energy. Golf equipment, soccer ball, football,
magnets, Slinky.
Books: General
reference books, children’s stories, leaflets that I’ve written, videos.
The next
step is to write the curriculum.* Many
subjects lend themselves to a cross-curriculum approach, e.g., reading, with
activities to reinforce the science found in the story. Music class can be enhanced by a greater
appreciation of vibrations. Public speaking can be eased into by a student
showing and explaining the above trick he’s learned. Gateway to Science is the teacher’s friend!
Outside what is now the
ECC, the playground can be adapted with names for the rides. For example, the slide could be called
“Gravity Glide.” The xylophones might be
called “Very Good Vibrations.” Additional
information can be put on signs, such as explaining friction on the slide
(quality of the ride depends on whether you’re wearing long pants or shorts, whether
you or the slide is wet or dry, etc.).
Recommend: Collaborate with a college with an education
and science major to strengthen this approach.
Do a research project and write it up for a professional journal
(preferably from the National Science Teaching Association). This school would be good for teachers in
training to do observations and student teaching.
*To be
developed next.
Finding science in stories is one of the strategies used in Gateway to Science, followed up with an activity to reinforce the science. Here The Rainbow Fish was read at the 2017 South Shore Science Festival by volunteers Denise Duncan and JoJo Foley. Bruno Barroso and Nandan Nair approved! Other times, Deputy Dan and the Bank Robbers offered lots of jumping activities, and Curious George at the Aquarium offered throwing activities to learn about energy v. gravity. Kathy Hogan photo
WHAT NEXT? MY GOAL:
This school
can become a model, not only for other such schools but for camps and
after-school programs. This approach can reach kids who may not have a good
opinion of themselves academically, yet through their games and sports they
really do get the physics and just need to be shown how much they do know. Our precious planet needs dedicated
scientists who can help restore a healthier Earth. My ultimate goal is to develop:
C.A.M.P.S.
(Center for the Advancement of Math and Physics through Sports)
C.A.M.P.S.
will offer camps, of course, that offer physics in games and sports;
professional development for teachers, coaches and parents; after-school
programs, and more. C.A.M.P.S. will be a
resource for training education majors to use this approach. C.A.M.P.S., too, will be a model for other
such programs.
There is
nothing like this anywhere, and it is needed, but I can’t do it on my own.
Quincy can be the leader. What will you
do to help make this happen?
Volunteer Bonnie Gorman introduces curious visitors to the unusual Galileo thermometer in a tall glass cylinder before turning their attention to the colorful Slinky and the physics lessons it holds. 2018 South Shore Science Festival. Kathy Hogan photo
Kathy
Dullea Hogan was
happy to discover her vocation to be teaching when she was 39, and so she went
back to college in 1984 to get her degree in elementary and special education
at Bridgewater State College. Kathy is
the niece of Father Dullea (1896-1984), the inspiration for Gateway to Science:
Sports and Games. She can be reached at kathydulleahogan@aol.com
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