RIMS Regional Science Fair

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RIMS Regional Science
Fair
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Judging Science Fair Projects
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The purpose of the Science Fair is to give young
people the opportunity to

• Do some science.
• Learn about a new subject or more about an old
  one.
• Learn what scientists do.
• Have fun doing all of above.

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RIMS Regional Science Fair

• Annual event, held in April
• Includes about 950 student participants grades 4
  12
• Participants usually winners of local school
  science fairs
• Best projects from grades 6 12 go to California
  State Science Fair

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The judges job is to

• Probe skillfully and deeply.
• Leave the student feeling positive about her/his
  accomplishments.
• Help the student learn something from the
  experience.
• Determine award winners.

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As a judge, what should I expect from the
students?

• Pride in their projects and accomplishments
• Preparation for the fair and the ability to
  clearly and concisely explain their projects
• Ability to answer questions about their projects
  at levels appropriate to their grades and ages
• Wide variety of project quality and sophistication

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What should student oral explanations include?

• Hypothesis and where it came from
• Experimental procedures
• Experimental results
• Conclusions drawn from experimental results
• Thought processes that went into the project
• Outcomes and possible future hypotheses and
  experiments

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The Display

• Major purpose effective communication of
• Hypothesis
• Purpose
• Methodology
• Experimental outcomes
• Conclusions

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The Display

• Effectiveness in communication and scientific
  content should be primary considerations.
• As secondary considerations the extent to which
  displays are elaborate or attractive may be taken
  into account.

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Conflicts of Interest

• Disqualify yourself and ask to be reassigned if a
  real or perceived conflict of interest occurs.

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Confidentiality

• Information regarding findings or conclusions
  must not be revealed to anyone except other panel
  members and Science Fair officials.

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Be an educator

• Treat students with respect
• Project should be considered a significant,
  serious enterprise.
• Evaluate but also praise efforts and
  accomplishments.
• Ask questions which will cause the student to
  think and learn, and to explore more deeply.

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Preparing for Judging

• Before the Science Fair
• Read the Judging Handbook and be familiar with
  judging guidelines.
• Prepare general interview questions.

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At the Science Fair Pre-Judging Activities

• Orientation meeting
• Judging panel preparation
• Have all appropriate forms
• Determination of average interview length
• Locations of categories to be judged
• Procedures for turning in judging results

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Interview Procedures

• Introduce yourself and put student at ease.
• Ask student to explain project.
• Ask questions designed to clarify, to establish
  how student got project idea, and to determine
  students understanding of project and underlying
  science.
• Find out how student learned about procedures,
  use of equipment, concepts involved.
• If appropriate, ask about help received.

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Interview Protocols

• Judging done by one panel member at a time, not
  by the whole group.
• Each judge should try to interview each student,
  but at least three interviews should be conducted
  for each participant.
• Use about the same amount of time for each
  interview.
• Adhere to the interview sequence as closely as
  possible.

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Determining Awards

• After interviewing all students and evaluating
  projects judges collaborate and rank the category
  projects
• Judges rank the top two projects 1st and 2nd
  GOLD. The top project in this group will be
  considered for the overall SWEEPSTAKES AWARD.
• Judges then rank the next 5 projects SILVER,
  noting the top project in that group, which may
  advance to other awards.
• All remaining projects are given a BRONZE award
  and are not ranked individually.

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Comparing Projects

• Projects can vary widely in level of complexity
  and sophistication.
• Issue is not tools used but what is done with
  resources available the better science should
  be given the higher rating.
• Students knowledge should be consistent with the
  project and its goals.

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Use of Sophisticated Equipment, Techniques, and
Knowledge

• This by itself should not be given extra credit
  nor should the student be penalized for access to
  it.
• If advanced equipment or techniques are used,
  student should understand them and how they
  relate to the project and its conclusions.

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Team Projects

• Allowed 4th to 12th grade
• Judging criteria same as for individual projects.
• Look for significant contribution and
  understanding by each team member.
• Direct questions to each team member.
• The best project should win, whether individual
  or team.

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A good science fair projectis an investigation
and includes

• A clear hypothesis, field research or engineering
  goal based on research and/or observation.
• An experimental procedure designed to test the
  hypothesis or goal.
• Execution of the procedure, with repetitions as
  needed.
• Data collection and recording.
• Data analysis.
• Conclusions which refer to the hypothesis.

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• Proving the hypothesis true is NOT the purpose of
  a science fair project.
• A well supported answer to a problem is.

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Inappropriate projects include

• Illustrations of concepts in the absence of their
  use in an investigation.
• Experiments done without sufficient background
  research.
• Displays or collections in the absence of their
  use in an investigation.
• Experiments done without a scientific rationale.

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Inappropriate projects include

• Presentation of theories or hypotheses with no
  scientific evidence for them.
• Experimental results without analysis or
  conclusions.
• Experiments which do not check data and/or
  explain anomalous results.
• Procedures using apparatus or procedures unlikely
  to produce good data.

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Judging Criteria

• Originality/creativity 20
• Comprehension 30
• Organization completeness 30
• Effort motivation 10
• Clarity 10

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Originality/Creativity

• Original problem or unique approach to an old one
• Resources used ingeniously
• Application/interpretation of data shows original
  thinking/creativity
• Student shows understanding of unanswered
  questions

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Originality/CreativityDoes the project show
creativity in

• The hypothesis or question asked?
• The approach to solving the problem?
• Analysis of data?
• Interpretation of data?
• Use of equipment?
• Construction and/or design of new equipment?

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Comprehension

• Clear hypothesis and project design
• Depth of study demonstrated
• Experiment effectively tests hypothesis
• Experimental procedures and data collection well
  done
• Data recorded in organized fashion

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Comprehension

• Did the idea for the project come from
• Reading and study?
• Personal experiences or observations?
• A suggestion from a book or the Internet?
• Suggestions from a scientist or engineer?
• Other sources?

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Comprehension

• Results and conclusions logical and related to
  hypothesis
• Implications discussed and further experiments
  suggested
• Knowledge of scientific/engineering principles
  shown

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Organization/Completeness

• The study is complete within the scope of the
  problem
• Scientific literature has been searched
• Experiments repeated as needed and data carefully
  recorded
• Conclusions supported by experimental evidence
• Project is well executed

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Effort/Motivation

• Time for project appropriate
• Time on background reading/research appropriate
• Student learned considerable amount about subject
  during project
• Display informative, complete, clear, well
  organized, and attractive

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Clarity

• Original notebook available for inspection
• Notebook well organized, accurate
• Purpose, procedures, results, and conclusions
  clear
• Title accurately reflects project
• Abstract clear and descriptive
• Oral presentations clear, reflect knowledge of
  project and underlying science

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Thank you for contributing your time and
expertise to the young scientists of Riverside,
Inyo, Mono, and San Bernardino Counties