Higher scientific education for the talented youth - Motivating scientific pursuit and laying the ground for academic and creative research

摘要

How does one elevate a talented kid into being a proficient scientist and a passionate researcher? The Future Scientists and Inventors Program in Tel Aviv University is a new educational platform for the nourishment and development of gifted teens, and our goal is creating a scientific community whose members are committed, skillful and are happy to collaborate and share. Our courses go beyond mere enrichment for leisure or acquisition of academic merits. We offer a worthwhile purpose for the so-far unchallenged youth. The program demands hard work of systematic, abstractive, analytic and creative thinking, and focuses on collaborative learning. It is designed to take the young teenager through a journey of revelation, following the historical process of scientific thought. All lectures take the form of discussion, and the students are encouraged to take part in the development of scientific discoveries. The students search for questions, take part in the excitement of discovery as well as its difficulties and limitations, and understand that no creative thought is without need or reason. The first implementation of our concepts shows promising results, and our young students have passed difficult undergraduate exams with exceptionally high grades. Moreover, kids from the senior classes have already started partaking in actual academic research. Our initial results demonstrate a method for maximizing potential in gifted children, and arousing their passion for scientific work. A young community of scientists is formed within the program, and its members develop the skills to work together, consult peers and experienced researchers, and are simply happy to have found a purpose and a friend.