Health Authority of Abu Dhabi

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JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY Center for Talented
Youth Presentation to National Science
Board Preparing the Next Generation of STEM
Innovators Arlington, VA August 24-25, 2009
1/1/2021
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The Need to Nurture Young Talent

• Disturbingly, research has confirmed that many
  talented children perform far below their
  intellectual potential. We are increasingly
  being stripped of the comfortable notion that a
  bright mind will make its own way. Intellectual
  and creative talent cannot survive educational
  neglect and apathy. (Marland, 1972)
• The United States is squandering one of its
  most precious resourcesthe gifts, talents, and
  high interests of many of its students. In a
  broad range of intellectual and artistic
  endeavors, these youngsters are not challenged to
  do their best work. (U.S. Department of
  Education, 1993)

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How do we Initiate the Innovation Process?

• By viewing gifted students without sterotypes or
  misconceptions
• By identifying and recognizing young academic
  potential
• By offering innovative and challenging curriculum
• By meeting students social-emotional as well as
  their academic needs
• By creating a supportive environment that enables
  students to reach their highest potential and to
  let their talent soar.

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Mission Meeting the Needs of Gifted Students
The Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented
Youth (CTY) is recognized as a world leader in
the education of pre-college youth with high
academic potential.
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What is CTY?
Founded in 1979, the Center for Talented Youth
(CTY) is an institute of The Johns Hopkins
University. CTY nurtures and supports talented
pre-college students by offering challenging and
innovative academic courses and providing other
related services for grades K-12th (ages 5-18).
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The CTY Talent Search

• CTY is the oldest and most extensive
  university-based talent search, now in
  operation almost 30 years
• Works with thousands of schools to identify
  the top 5 of students
• Through its Talent Search and programs, has
  served over 1,500,000 highly gifted
  children in the US and other countries since
  1979.

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Thousands of students from the United States and
over 100 other countries participate in CTY
programs.
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CTY Summer Programs
CTY offers advanced academic courses for K-12
students at 30 sites.

• In the U.S., there are sites at universities such
  as Johns Hopkins, Princeton and Stanford.
• Over 10,000 students enroll in CTY summer
  programs every year
• Grades 2-4 (ages 7-9 years) commuter programs
  only
• Grades 5-6 (ages 10-11 years) commuter or
  residential
• Grades 7-12 (ages 12-18 years) residential only

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Examples of Courses in Mathematics and
Sciencefor 7-12 grades (ages 11-18 years)
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CTY Summer Programs continued
Examples of courses for young students

• Grades 5-6 (ages 10-12 years)
• Great Discoveries in Mathematics
• Inductive Deductive Reasoning
• Math Sequencing
• Model United Nations Advanced Geography
• Dynamic Earth Our Universe
• Crystals and Polymers (Introduction to
  Chemistry)
• Science and Engineering
• Flight Science

• Grades 2-4th (ages 7-9 years)
• Numbers Zero to Infinity Math Problem Solving
• The Ancient World
• Geometry and Spatial Sense
• Flight Science
• Be a Scientist!
• Through the Microscope
• Inventions
• Introduction to Robotics

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CTYOnline - Distance Education

• CTYOnline courses are taken by over 8,000
  students a year in 60 countries.
• Courses are offered in Writing, Mathematics,
  Science and Advanced Placement courses such
  as physics and chemistry.
• Language courses in Arabic and Chinese are
  also offered online.

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CTY Collaboration with JHU School of Medicine
A sequence of courses to understand genetics is
taken by students in grades 8-10 (ages 12-14)

• CTY Summer Course in Biology
• CTY Summer Course in Genetics
• CTY Summer Course in Genomics
• Students Assigned to work with JHU School of
  Medicine Research Scientists and Physicians
• students visit the Johns Hopkins Center of
  Excellence in Genome Sciences (CEGS) and the
  National Human Genome Research Institute and
  participate in lab demonstrations and lectures
  offered by CEGS faculty on topics such as
  epigenetics and human diseases.

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JHU Material Research Science and Engineering
Center Project

• Established by the JHU School of Engineering with
  a grant from the National Science Foundation
• Components include
• High school student interns
• High school teacher interns
• Intensive summer research programs

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MRSEC Participants

• To date there have been 176 participants
• Students participate in multi-disciplinary
  research programs ranging from physics to
  electronic and biomedical devices
• Of MRSEC participants who have graduated from
  college or are currently in college
• 70 have received a degree in engineering or
  have declared engineering as a major
• 25 have declared pre-med/biology as majors
• 95 of students have continued in
  engineering/science majors

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Investing in Americas Future

• Expanding the future educational pipeline to
  top colleges and universities
• Jack Kent Cook Young Scholars Program
• Goldman Sachs Next Generation Venture Fund
• John Templeton Foundation
• Cogito.org for top math and science students
• Students from the U.S. and 80 countries enrolled

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Program Impact
I have considered engineering as a career, but
what I knew about engineering was based only on
what other people told me. Now, I know firsthand
what engineering is all about and I feel
confident that this field is right for me.
(High School Intern Morris Cohen, received his
PhD. In Electrical Engineering from Stanford
University) I came away from the MRSEC
internship intellectually refreshed and eager to
incorporate practical examples and activities
from the latest high-tech materials science into
my curriculum. (High School Teacher Intern, Lee
Kladky, Baltimore, Maryland)
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Strategies That WorkCTYs Urban Outreach
Initiatives

• Reflecting the Face of America in gifted
  education programs
• Focusing outreach efforts to find and develop
  talent in all of Americas neighborhoods.
• Identifying, recruiting, and serving rising
  numbers of youngsters from groups
  historically underrepresented in gifted and
  talented programs.

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• Have established aggressive and sustained
  recruiting efforts in urban areas by full-time
  outreach specialists.
• Over 5 million in financial aid awarded to
  CTY students in 2008.
• Math Academy for PromisingScholars
  established in low income areas to improve
  the mathematics skills of students.

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Strategies that Work (cont.)What We Have Learned
in Working WithUnder-represented Students

• Under-represented students sometimes have
  specific skill/knowledge gaps that can be
  addressed with targeted, accelerated instruction
  that allows them to move ahead academically and
  excel at a high level.
• In specially targeted programs that are
  supplementary to their regular school program,
  educationally disadvantaged students can learn at
  a fast pace and increase their aptitude and
  achievement test scores.

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Underrepresented students who attend CTY courses

• look very similar to other CTY students in terms
  of their high educational aspirations and
  academic self-concepts.
• make similar achievement gains as other CTY
  students.
• perform academically as well, if not better, than
  their gifted and talented peers.
• go on to attend highly competitive colleges and
  universities.

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Benefits of Summer Experience

• Exposure to academic challenge and high quality
  of instruction are frequently reported by CTY
  students and their parents as benefits of taking
  a CTY course.
• Achievement gains have been reported by
  instructors and documented via pre- and
  post-assessment methods.
• Many students who take a CTY summer course are
  eventually accelerated in their schools
  curriculum.
• Opportunities to be with other bright students
  and friendships with such students are frequently
  reported by CTY students and their parents as
  benefits of taking a CTY course.

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What we have learned about how students learn

• Offering advanced courses to young students, both
  in-class and on-line, is effective and necessary
  in nurturing talent
• No limits, by grade level or age, should be
  placed on how fast students can progress through
  school curriculum
• CTY middle school students can take college level
  courses and do very well
• In-depth and innovative instruction in a subject,
  such as genetics or neuroscience, can nurture
  passion in that subject and commitment to that
  field.

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Student Comments
CTY has been a thrilling experience that I will
treasure . . . . Summer has never been so fun and
inspiring It was nice to be around other smart
kids. I felt like Id found my people. CTY
has opened my eyes to a world of fun, education,
independence, and everlasting memories. You have
made a profound difference in my life. Have
you ever had a miracle happen to you?
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The Future