1. Name ______________________________________ Date __________________ Period _____________ THE BIG PROJECT Here it is. The big project. The whole enchilada, the big cheese, the real deal, the prize cow, the entire banana cake with cream cheese frosting. This is it. This is our chance to do something that really matters, and share it with the entire school, or even the entire community. I hope that you’ll really get involved with the project, and create something of which we can all be very proud! The idea is simple: we come up with a survey of some description that can be administered in homerooms, study halls, or at lunch. The results will be collected and analyzed, and then you will design an information campaign to address whatever issue you surveyed. The survey, of course, has to be science-related. Some ideas are below. Do not take these as the only possibilities, however. Further, let us not limit ourselves to paper-and-pencil surveys. Think of hands-on things that could be done, as well, as in our reaction time lab. I want us to come up with something really important, and, above all, something in which you are truly interested. Go forth and make science! POSSIBLE IDEAS 1. Biological knowledge of students, teachers, or administrators. 2. Substance abuse among certain populations. 3. Evolution vs. all that other stuff. 4. Blood pressure, heart rate, respiration rate. 5. Food intake per day. 6. School lunches. 7. Urine analysis. 8. Health issues (exercise vs. no. of calories per day, etc.) 9. Pets at home vs. health and happiness. 10. Dog owners vs. cat owners. 11. Heart rate before and after PE, tests, before or after school. 12. Bacteria counts on various surfaces. 13. Effectiveness of cleaning chemicals used in school. 14. Surveys comparing Groton to other high schools. 15. Rain forest destruction, habitat devastation, etc. So you see that there are many things we could do to collect data. We may be able to take a field trip. We may be able to get stethoscopes, sphygmomanometers, stop watches, etc. Either way, when planning a project of this scale, it is important to work together, and think ahead. As such, the project has been divided into a series of tasks: TASK THE FIRST: Select a project (due today). TASK TWO: Research and pick the survey method (due on Friday, 10/13). TASK THREE: Design the survey and seek administration approval (due on Wednesday, 10/18). TASK FOUR: Implement survey (may take several days). TASK FIVE: Analyze and present data to the class and administration (c. Friday, 11/3) TASK SIX: Craft a campaign to educate the surveyed population (c. Friday, 11/10) TASK SEVEN: Implement campaign and test for usefulness.

2. So there you have it. In the space below, complete TASK THE FIRST. You may use the computers in the room, or other resources to decide upon what you’d like to search out. Make sure your proposal includes how you will conduct your research, what will be asked, any potential problems, and any other thoughts you have. Think ahead! Keep in mind the following factors: 1. Funding – we don’t have a lot. I can probably finagle a few dollars here or there, but don’t plan on much from the school. There are plenty of grants out there for the enterprizing student, however. Check out these websites: www.technologygrantnews.com www.edweek.org www.schoolgrants.org www.ed.gov www.nsta.org 2. Feasibility – Make sure that we can actually do whatever you propose. Testing peoples’ fear of jaguars by purchasing a live jaguar and letting it run loose in the school is what we science-types call a “bad idea.” 3. What it will tell us – We need a hot topic or something very new. We also need to get some quantitative, not qualitative data out of the project. 4. What we can do to educated afterwards – What kind of posters, etc. can we design to educate the surveyed population after the fact?