Science4Kids & Teens
Science4Kids & Teens
Project-based learning, where students understand the importance of learning from mistakes
"What we learn with pleasure we never forget" -- Alfred Mercier
Project-based learning, where students understand the importance of learning from mistakes
"What we learn with pleasure we never forget" -- Alfred Mercier
Our Story
Our Story
Hi! I'm Dr. Elhamdani Abdeladim.
You can call me Abdel for short. I'm a neuroscientist. I know how the brain works, how it grows, and what it takes to help children grow theirs. I've used my knowledge to teach my own kids about science and math. And now, I'd like to teach your kids, too!
When your child joins one of my classes on brain function awareness, we don't memorize lists and vocabulary. We talk about how brains differ between fish, animals, and humans. We talk about which parts do what, and then we build the brains!
Similarly, in my classes on electricity, we don't talk about electrical circuits and memorize schematics. We build and experiment with fruit batteries, electromagnetic motors, multimeters, and more!
My own sons, now at UMD and Richard Montgomery H.S., have had a lot of fun learning about math and science with me. I've also taught many kids about neuroscience, Chemistry, and electronic circuits through the makerspace at the Rockville Science Center, where I work as a scientist and coordinator. (The Rockville Science Center is not affiliated with my company).
About me: I worked for more than 20 years as a research scientist for leading institutes in four countries, including Morocco, France, Switzerland, and the U.S. ( I was a research fellow at the National Institutes of Health). During that time I taught many classes in neuroscience to graduate students and post-docs. You can read more about me on my LinkedIn profile.
Intelligence is malleable
Intelligence is malleable
Intelligence is not a fixed trait that one simply possesses. It can be cultivated through learning and hard work. Just like a muscle, it becomes stronger with sustained exercise. With effort and guidance, anyone can increase their intellectual abilities.
Research shows that students learn more when they are taught that intelligence is malleable and can be grown through hard work. In fact, when students believe that intelligence is fixed, they are afraid to make mistakes and ask questions - the very foundations of the learning process. See example below.
Students achieve more when they know they can grow their brain power
Students achieve more when they know they can grow their brain power
A recent study by faculty at Columbia University indicates that actually teaching your students about malleable intelligence theory - sharing this information with them on how the brain works - can increase their levels of academic achievement.
The study in question focused on two groups of junior high school students receiving direct, one-on-one tutoring time and individual instruction. The control group was not given access to this information on malleable intelligence, while the experimental group of students read articles on this theory and the research that supports it, and discussed with their mentors how the brain works and expands over time to accumulate knowledge.
The results from the study showed that students who believed their intelligence was malleable held many other positive attitudes about learning as a goal and working hard to achieve success, and therefore they chose more positive, effort-based strategies to attack any difficulties they encountered in their academic work. The study revealed a strong correlation between these positive attitudes/work methods and the success of the students in terms of their mathematics abilities.
The problem with school-taught math
The problem with school-taught math
One of the things I love to do is teach math. Here is a quote that informs the way I teach.
"If your acquaintance with mathematics comes entirely from school, you have been told a story that is very limited, and in some important ways false. School mathematics is largely made up of a sequence of facts and rules, facts which are certain, rules which come from a higher authority and cannot be questioned. It treats mathematical matters as completely settled.
Mathematics is not settled. Even concerning that basic objects of study, like numbers and geometric figures, our ignorance is much greater than our knowledge. And the things we do know were arrived at only after massive effort, contention, and confusion. All this sweat and tumult is carefully screened off in your textbook.”
-Jordan Ellenberg (How Not To Be Wrong).
As recently as 2014, 82% of our nation's high school students failed their algebra exams. Our school system is better than most, but it also does not do a good job of teaching math and science. According to five years of cumulative data, more than two-thirds of high school students in Montgomery County Public Schools do not master math and science.
How do we fix that? With hands-on learning and critical thinking!
