Southern Ohio District 14 Science Day University of Rio Grande Saturday, March 23, 2019

Welcome John Means, URG/RGCC, Co-Director Tara Byrd, Minford MS, Co-Director Gwen Daniels, Gallia-Vinton ESC Sharee Price, South Central Ohio ESC

Notes from Last Year 117 registered participants from Gallia, Lawrence, Pike, and Scioto counties 24 schools represented 34 awards presented $3700 money and scholarships presented

Notes from Last Year 30 students/27 projects qualified for State Science Day 25 projects represented D14 at SSD 8 superior ratings at SSD 18 excellent ratings at SSD 12 students/10 projects qualified for Buckeye Science & Engineering Fair

Trying to Avoid This

Trying to Achieve This

Science Fair Benefits Direct application of scientific method Aligns with Vision, Goals, and Guiding Principles stated in Ohio Revised Science Standards Can be utilized to meet Science Inquiry and Applications standards Students developing skills that will help improve performance in future science classes and assessments Award money and scholarships at DSD and SSD

Rules and Guidelines Teacher Guidelines State Science Day Standards Physical Display Expectations Photo Credit Form What is NOT allowed at a Project Display Scientific Method vs. Engineering Design Also Metadata

Qualifying for DSD Superior rating at local science fair event Assigning places for qualification can be inaccurate Using DSD/SSD score cards give students idea of what to expect County fairs not required step for qualification Excellent practice, though

Qualifying for DSD Judges are incredibly important! Make sure judges at local event understand importance of taking criteria seriously Judges need to ask questions to help students refine project and presentation Brief judges training prior to science fair can help Students can make adjustments to project and presentation prior to next step

Team Projects Rule Team projects with missing participant – comments only Not eligible for special awards

Display and Photos Nothing can project more than 1 cm from face of display board Must display photo credit form on display

Display Space Equipment or materials used, or developed, as part of this project may be displayed if: it fits within the display dimensions. (Free-standing floor exhibits not permitted, must fit on table); and it is not listed in “items NOT ALLOWED at Project Display”; and it meets Safety Regulations stated in State Science Day Standards and is deemed safe by the Display and Safety Committee upon inspection. Permitted items may include Engineering Design prototypes and equipment designed and built to complete scientific research and to collect data for a project, assuming it meets the criteria above.

Display Space No demonstrations of experiments Nothing that could be dangerous Glass Food Chemicals Bacteria Animals or animal parts Etc., etc. – typically common sense stuff

Project Types All start with problem or question Hypothesis-driven Propose hypothesis to test Traditional experimentation Engineering Design Propose machine/equipment design to address problem Optimize design to address problem Metadata Utilize/analyze already acquired or publicly available data

Forms Science Fair Project Checklist Interest Inventory Judging categories Overview of ISEF forms ISEF forms OAS consent Scientific Fraud Statement

Project Process State problem or question Research problem/question Propose hypothesis or design Develop Research Plan Perform experiments/Build machine or equipment and test, recording notes and drawings in notebook Analyze data and develop conclusions Write report/create display

Identifying Topic Creativity of project part of score Encourage students to explore topics that are relevant to them Interest Inventory template provided in packet Teacher assistance can always help to improve student project ideas

ISEF Forms Written registration forms Approvals required before experimentation for work with human subjects, animals, or hazardous materials ISEF forms can be completed when registering for District Science Day Be careful with dates on forms!!! A number of dates must be from prior to experimentation

ISEF Forms Everyone completes Forms 1, 1a, and 1b Form 1 tells other needed forms (1 form/project) Fill in blanks on Form 1a (1 form/project) Student and parent signs section 1 of Form 1b (1 form/student) Refer to the Overview of ISEF Forms to determine which other forms If questions, ask us!

Only needed if work done at research university Likely needed before experimentation with human, animal, and hazardous biological agents Do not complete this section

Templates Sample Project Schedule Research Plan Requirements checklist Research Plan Template More on this is following slides Final Paper Templates Abstract Template and Sample

Getting the Project Done Make deadlines for various parts of the project Space out to promote higher quality projects and greater sanity

Research Plan What is the problem or question? What is already known about this problem or question? What is the proposed hypothesis or design How will the proposed hypothesis or design be tested (steps of experiment)? What data will be gathered? This is the first half of the final report

Research Plan Assistance Rio Grande science faculty and upper-level science majors will review students’ submitted Research Plans Constructive criticism communicated to students (not a proofreading service) Free and voluntary Interested students email Research Plan to jmeans@rio.edu

Final Report Includes Research Plan Describes what was actually done throughout project Should be distinct from notebook or journal Journal is raw data Try to involve English Language Arts teacher, if possible

Abstracts Should be summary of work Should be brief Typically a single paragraph Many students simply use their introduction and/or procedure as the abstract

Judging 1 of 3 districts piloting new scorecards Scientific Inquiry Engineering Design Metadata Individual and Team cards for each Will distribute when final formatted score cards received

Pilot Score Cards

Pilot Score Cards

Discussion Points How is science fair approached at your school? How does your school get students involved? What else can we do to provide support to you?

Wrapping Up Please provide names and contact info for other teachers in your school or district who participate in science fair Lots of additional resources at http://scienceday.rio.edu