Taos Schools Science/STEM Fair Judge Tutorial

Thank you for volunteering to be a judge at the Taos Schools Science/STEM fair. Your time and efforts in offering constructive criticism to our students are greatly appreciated. This is the first step of the journey for these students in competition. The top scoring students from this competition will move on to the Regional Science Fair in Las Vegas, NM: And eCybermission online, as well as other competitions. The skills they learn from talking to you, the judge, as well as the help they receive from your critique will help them improve their chances at advancing through the different levels of competition.

- Display Board - Logbook The students have been working on these projects since at least August. Science fair is part of their grade so that all students can experience the process at least once. The students at this fair are 6th- 8th grade, and many of them have had experience at elementary science fairs. For the 6th graders, this is their first encounter with higher level science fair where they can advance to Regionals and eCybermission. In coming up for the idea for their projects, students are encouraged to NOT go to the internet, print it off and follow the instructions, but to find a topic, determine its usefulness to society and then carry out experimentation. The students are given a timeline and a set of deadlines to follow to complete all aspects of their project display. Parental assistance is welcomed, but not to do the entire project. It should also be noted that the concept for selecting these projects is not about the newest invention or to test our a demonstration, but to explore the scientific method, as is standard with scientific research projects. All projects should have the following components on the display floor: - Display Board - Logbook - 5-10 copies of the Abstract - Research Report

The top scorers in each category will be sent to Regionals. The project will be assigned to one of 22 categories. These categories are established by the Intel International Science Fair (ISEF) – the governing body for traditional science fair. Animal Sciences (ANIM) Behavioral and Social Sciences (BEHA) Biochemistry (BCHM) Biomedical and Health Sciences (BMED) Biomedical Engineering (ENBM) Cellular and Molecular Biology (CELL) Chemistry (CHEM) Computational Biology and Bioinformatics (CBIO) Earth and Environmental Sciences (EAEV) Embedded Systems (EBED) Energy: Chemical (EGCH) Energy: Physical (EGPH) Engineering Mechanics (ENMC) Environmental Engineering (ENEV) Materials Science (MATS) Mathematics (MATH) Microbiology (MCRO) Physics and Astronomy (PHYS) Plant Sciences (PLNT) Robotics and Intelligent Machines (ROBO) Systems Software (SOFT) Translational Medical Science (TMED) Projects are placed in the categories that best fits the description of the category and the project. The top scorers in each category will be sent to Regionals. The scores are kept confidential from students and public so that the students can maintain the spirit of fair competition at other fairs.

This is the project judging form that we use for the Taos Science/STEM fair. This form is based on the State and International Fairs. These forms will be in your packets. These forms include suggested point ranges for each segment of judging, with appropriate weights for items of focus.

Project Number = This is the number on the upper corner of the exhibit, this is the exhibit you will judge. We ask that you judge only the pre-assigned exhibits, please. If you reassign the exhibit number, then the form will be disqualified. Judge’s Number = This is your number, each table will have a sign-in sheet, once you are done judging, sign your initials and judge number to this sheet. Points = These are points you assign the project from recommended points in each area. The points change between the different scoring criteria. The total is the amount of points overall that you award by adding up the previously assigned points. If the board is not there, please mark ‘no show’ on the score sheet. If there is a board but no student, judge the project by the board, with a Zero for the Interview. Comments = This is an area where you can add constructive helping points to help the students improve. This is the only part of the form that the students will see, as it will be cut out and given to the students.

Demonstration of Points Board = This is the primary demonstration of the project. Boards should be laid out with the following categories: Rationale, Problem, Hypothesis/Theory, Procedure, Observations/Data Analysis and Conclusion. (there may be some variance, particularly with 6th graders). The board should flow from left to right. Students should also have copies of their abstracts, a log book and the research/experimentation report. - Projects can have multiple hypotheses and theories. A top level board will have captions and the pictures will tell the story rather than words. A great board will have just enough information to relay the project information, without being cluttered. * Theories are introductory paragraphs that should display the rationale of behind the project, as well as the background research that explains why the hypothesis was made. The rationale is the reason why this project was done, how it will benefit society and how the experimenter proposes to answer the problem. *Conclusions should reflect to the hypothesis or hypotheses, determining whether the hypothesis was supported or rejected. Materials should NOT be on the board. This should be in the report. Abstracts do not have to be part of the board.

Interview = This is the criterion assigned the most points Interview = This is the criterion assigned the most points. This is also the criterion that determines the student’s grade for doing the project, as their presence is the most important part of the project presentation. The interview is the defense of the project and a great indicator of if the student did their project. The interview is kind of like a job interview. The interview can start one of two ways, you, the judge, can ask the student to tell you about their project, or you can read through and go straight to asking them questions about the project. Memorized speeches can indicate that the student doesn’t really know about the project. Presentations should last no longer than 2.5 minutes. Example Questions: How did you think of this project? How can this project help the average person or society? If you were going to continue this project, how would you improve it? What would you change about your experimentation? Note: Just because science fair is part of the curriculum and the students will get a grade for it, does not mean that ‘for the grade’ is an acceptable answer.

Originality and Creativity = This refers primarily to the project, how original and creative the actual topic is. This science fair discourages projects that are ‘pre-canned’ that came off the internet with no actual student interaction or thought. This can also apply to the presentation of the project in addition to the topic. The display of the scientific process is at the heart of science fair. But to remain competitive, it is not enough just to have a project that displays the scientific process, students should have new and innovative approaches to a scientific problem, and follow it all the way through to the conclusion, and how they would continue to follow through. Purpose = This indicates the problem, and whether this project has applications for society. A well defined problem, and a solvable problem are a must. Methodology = This indicates how well variables and controls were isolated and determined, as well as any thought towards completing the line of thought with the project. Did the student find ways to get their data or did they settle for the easy way out?

Each judge will have pre-assigned packets with the exhibits they are supposed to judge. Each packet should have between 10-12 exhibits in the envelope. Each packet has the judge sheets, a description of the criteria and a thank you letter/suggestions and comments. Judges are given their packet, traditionally a badge and a choice of what project category they would like to judge if they have not submitted their RSVP. The choices are physical and life, and the packets will be mixed. Students should stand up to present to you. We will attempt to limit the ‘are you my judge’ questioning. Students are assigned 3 judges, every project is assigned, there is no need to have to change exhibit numbers on the judge sheets. Students will be wearing number badges, indicating their exhibit number and category so that you know what student will go with which board. To remain fair, we ask that you do not ask their name or school. Please sign off on the sign-off card on the table with your initials and your packet number.

Thank You! Thank you for volunteering your time and expertise to judge this fair. The students and staff appreciate you and all that you do! Picture credits: Slide 1: Taos Municipal Schools Science Fair, 2014. Slide 2: Northeastern New Mexico Regional Science Fair, 2012, eCybermission, 2014: Crabyotics = National Championship Presentation (Anthony Archuleta, Andrea Chin-Lopez, Julia Johnson, James Valerio). Slide 3: Taos Municipal Schools STEM Lab. Slide 4: ISEF/Taos Muncipal Schools Science Fair 2014. Slide 7 & 8: Majdolene Khweis, ISEF Grand Award Winner, 2010. Slide 9: Priscilla Martinez, ISEF Finalist, 2013. Slide 10: Taos Municipal Schools Science Fair 2014. Slide 11: eCybermission Nationals = Crabyotics.