Students Benefit From Taking Part In Academic Competitions
April 4, 2005 - Academic competitions give students a chance to dig more deeply into topics they love.
Academic CompetitionsSeveral websites catalogue lists of academic competitions including the National Association of Student Councils under contests and activities and the John Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth |
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Students have a chance to connect their classroom efforts to real world activities as they tackle complex problems often with the help of mentors who are experts in the field. There are many rewards - from the travel to exciting events where students meet others who share their interest to scholarships and learning adventures. Ultimately, these events give children a chance to excel.
While the daily demands of the classroom can be consuming, some teachers and their schools find academic competitions great extension activities for challenging students. Some of these activities are tackled as part of electives and others are part of after school meetings. Nearly all are the result of caring teachers who make time to challenge their children.
As a result of this teacher-driven participation, schools determine which events they will participate in the wide variety of activities available from Science Olympiad and FIRST Robot competitions to the Battle of the Books, Geography Bee, Academic Decathlon, National German Test and other content-specific national tests.
WCPSS middle and high school students competed in the Science Olympiad Region 4 Tournament that was coordinated by Michael Tally, WCPSS high school science administrator, and Kim Gervase, Green Hope High science teacher.
"The Science Olympiad turns students on to math and science," said Tally. "In these events, students study in detail a math or science topic."
The Olympiad offers around 50 events that let students make a more in depth study of a topic of personal interest and then test their learning in written or practically activities.
Students from Southeast Raleigh High have developed a reputation of success in the FIRST Robotics competition. Students must design, build and test a remote-controlled robot that can accomplish a number of tasks and then place their robot into competition with robots designed by other teams of students.
The Southeast Raleigh High team known as the Robodogs included 32 students, two teachers and mentors from NC State and Cisco Systems.
"Teamwork is a key to success in any profession, especially engineering," said John Toebes of Cisco Systems. "I am very proud of these students for displaying the spirit of innovation and collaboration that will be required of them if they seek careers in technology and science."
Students from Partnership Elementary coached by parent volunteers made their way to the state Odyssey of the Mind competition, an event that demands creativity and acting skills. Students were challenged to prepare a skit where they build and drive a human-powered vehicle that collected trash and delivered it to a factory where the trash was recycled to make a product of the team's choice. The Partnership students developed a "teacher tracker." They created a humorous sales pitch for the product.
Nearly 400 students from 23 WCPSS middle schools took part in the Battle of the Books, a team quiz competition where students answer questions from books on a reading list developed annually. The event encourages reading by all students, exposing students to quality literature representing a variety of literary styles and viewpoints. It makes reading exciting.
Students from 17 WCPSS middle schools took part in the Geography Bee, a contest designed to encourage teachers to include geography in their classrooms, spark student interest in the subject and increase public awareness about geography.
At her middle school chairs meetings, WCPSS social studies administrator Melinda Stephanie says teacher leaders reported that students have participation in the Geography Bee has renewed interest in geography as a whole.
"It fosters enthusiasm in social studies classes and in some cases, required staff in cross-curricular areas (namely, science) to help out," said Stephani. "Cultural geography is a main focus in the middle school standard courses of study. So this is an overall support to the social studies programs."
At the high school level, several WCPSS high schools offer Model UN clubs as extracurricular activities. Many of these students are enrolled in their school's Lessons of Vietnam/Recent International Relations class. Teachers report enthusiasm and interest in Model UN, as well as interest in public and governmental service. It also provides a connection to the adult UN organization, which has a vitally active group here in Wake County. They sponsor an essay-writing contest each year for high school students. Last year, Jacob Weaver, a Broughton High School student, won the local and state competitions and placed in the top 10 in the nation.
Academic Decathlon is a changing organization this year in North Carolina as NCAD applies for nonprofit status and seeks sponsorship. Academic Decathlon is an exciting program that involves students from all backgrounds testing abilities in social studies, math, science, art, music, and literature. The competition tests student teams with an essay, interviews and speeches.
Content-specific national tests, such as the National German Test, are administered on an annual basis to interested high school students. Depending upon a student's performance on a local test, a student may be invited to compete on a national level.
WCPSS Communication Department seeks to make people aware of these competitions through wcpss.net reports such as the Good News at http://www.wcpss.net/good_news and Recognizing Success at http://www.wcpss.net/news/poston/honors . Information is added to this list as teachers and schools report their success to the Communication Department at bposton In recent years, this information has also been compiled in the WCPSS Annual Report.
Teachers Speak
MathCounts is a regional, state, and national competition in which many middle schools annually compete. -Carol Blankenhorn, Centennial Campus Middle School
The Future Problem Solving teams at Ligon Middle School have won 6 state championships in the 9 years it has been offered. The teams are composed of both AG and GT students and have resulted in marked grade improvement and concept mastery in Language Arts and writing for those students who are on the teams. As well, we have received a bid to the International Competition 6 times, taking finalist places every time, and winning 5th and 9th place in 2002 against 66 world wide teams. Ligon, Carnage and Enloe (composed of students-organized teams which have also been to International) offer this opportunity to students in their schools. The students in these programs,which receive little to no financial support, pay their own expenses. - Jackie Brooks, Ligon Middle School