Students travel from across country to attend Science Olympiad hosted by UNL

May 14, 2015, 6:44 a.m. ·

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Science Olympiad is a nationwide program emphasizing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. The 2015 national tournament will be held at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln May 15-16. (Photo courtesy of Science Olympiad)

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Students from across the United States and Japan will soon converge on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s campus for the 2015 Science Olympiad. It will be the first time the university has hosted the program designed to supplement science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning through active learning. NET News spoke with Associate Dean for Research at the College of Education and Human Sciences and Nebraska Tournament Director, Jon Pedersen, about the event and STEM education.


NET NEWS: Tell us a little bit logistically about what’s going to be happening at the Science Olympiad at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln this year.

ASSOCIATE DEAN JON PEDERSEN: We’re going to have roughly 2,000 students from middle grades and high school, as well as probably 2,000 to 3,000 parents, coaches, supervisors, and chaperones on campus. The Olympiad itself is actually modeled after the athletic Olympiad. They do events like everything from wheeled constructed to see how far and accurate they can go powered off a rubber band, bungee drops, egg drops… As you can imagine, a whole host of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skills tests… The kids really get enthused about it. It’s a great way for kids to get involved in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) areas. Friday, May 15, we’re having a STEM expo all day, so it gives something for the kids that are coming in something to do. It’s also open to the public. It’s going to highlight things like the Diocles Laser and we’ll have different departments from STEM areas with Jorgenson Hall on campus doing different types of activities. We’ll also have some people doing some things with Sci Pop. Sci Pop is really taking science topics and putting them into the realm of popular literature. For example: the chemistry of Harry Potter. We’re also doing “How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse.” There’s real science involved with it but it really is an a very engaging and encapsulating way that they get the kids involved in the literature, as well as the science.

NET NEWS: Some of the goals of this program include improving the quality of K-12 science education, increasing male, female and minority interest in science, and creating a technologically-literate workforce. How do you go about accomplishing them?

Jon Pedersen is Associate Dean for Research at the College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Nebraska Tournament Director for the 2015 Science Olympiad. (Photo courtesy of UNL)

ASSOCIATE DEAN JON PEDERSEN: It’s a way to really engage kids in an active way in participating in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. They get it excited about it. They see the fun, creative, critical thinking aspects that go into these different types of activities. So it really does help promote and bolster that student engagement. We really do see the meeting of those goals through those types of activities.

NET News: There are so many questions right now concerning different approaches to education, and what is and isn’t effective. How is this type of active learning beneficial to students?

ASSOCIATE DEAN JON PEDERSEN: I think, quite honestly, as we look at how to teach science in the most effective way- obviously there is not always just one way to do it- it depends on what our goals are. With what we know about learning, most of the time the most memorable events that we have been engaged in are those in which we are doing something- actively constructing, actively processing- rather than sitting back listening to a lecture. That’s a big part of it. It’s that engagement aspect that we know really activates the mind, activates the learner, and it really allows the concepts or ideas to stick with children. We know it’s a longer-term learning than simple memorization or passive listening.

NET NEWS: This program was started 31 years ago. Where do you see this program a few years down the road? Do you think it will continue to generate interest and continue to grow?

ASSOCIATE DEAN JON PEDERSEN: I think it will. Just in Nebraska alone we have our state event and this year we had well over 640 students from around the state participating, which is continually growing each year. I see for the future that this will continue to grow in terms of the interest and the activities. I can see with the recent interest in Japan that it has the potential to also reach across the borders of countries and really start engaging them in this whole process as well.