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Science
Fair Projects for Students in Grades 7-12
The U.S. is lagging well behind other industrialized, first-world countries when it comes to math and science education. I shall not elaborate on the unpleasant long-term implications of this. One of the tools that are being tried to eliminate this humiliating gap is "hands- on science". You do not learn to be a good basketball player by reading books on the subject, looking at video tapes, or listening to people lecture on the techniques and strategy of basketball. These help, but they are minor players in comparison to actual practice. Exactly the same thing holds in science and math. Reading, watching a teacher lecture or solve problems at the board, or looking at fancy teaching videos or CD ROMs may be helpful, but they are not a substitute for hands-on experience. In grade school, hands-on may be in the form of the kits which the NSF project at Tennessee State University provides. In high school, science labs help to play this role. But science labs must be structured, they must follow the clock, they must work for everybody. In short, they must be all of the things that science isn't. Here is where the extended science project comes in, to provide a more complex, less cut-and-dried, messier, more interesting, more realistic experience in science and/or math than is possible in the confined, crowded schedule of the school classroom and lab. Science projects are not only for students who are planning to go on in science, engineering, medicine, or math. We live in an age which is overwhelmingly dominated by science and technology, and a person who has no idea of how these work (and, at times, don't work) has an education that is quite inadequate for our time. Good citizenship certainly does not require that one be a scientist or engineer, but it does require that one be able to distinguish between sound technical reasoning and technobabble garbage usually designed to mislead the public, to its disadvantage. America's young people need an exposure to science and math in their classes and through the projects they have worked on that will help them make sound decisions and choices on technical matters during the years to come. Questions involving global warming, fisheries resources, air and water pollution, smoking, drugs and alcohol, transportation, hazardous waste disposal, and energy demand a scientifically literate public. And by scientific literacy I do not mean ability to regurgitate facts and definitions on a multiple-choice test--I mean ability to evaluate and engage in scientific reasoning. top Science projects are a very labor-intensive activity in terms of mentoring. In order to survive, teachers must line up as much outside volunteer help as possible--from parents with professional qualifications; through the Tennessee Academy of Sciences, Sigma Xi, and/or any other professional groups with which they have contacts; through Prof. Melvin Joesten (Dept. of Chemistry, Vanderbilt), Dr. David Wilson (Eckenfelder, Inc., 227 French Landing Dr., Nashville, 37228), Prof. Ron Robertson (Dept. of Chemistry, Austin Peay State Univ.), Prof. Jack Rhoton, Box 70684, East Tennessee State University, and others. It is rarely realistic to expect a teacher to mentor a substantial number of science projects in addition to his/her other responsibilities. Most of the teacher's work on these projects should be matching up students with mentors and then maintaining oversight so that any mentor-"mentee" relationships which don't work out are corrected, if possible. top III. Role of the Tennessee Academy of Science One of the most significant ways in which the Tennessee Academy of Science can support secondary education is through the mentoring of students interested in projects in "science" (math, the sciences, medicine, and engineering). "Book learning" is certainly a most necessary part of the educational process. However, it must be supplemented with "hands-on" experience and activities if students are to find it interesting, if they are to make scientific, mathematical thinking a part of their intellectual equipment, and if those most suited for careers in science are to be attracted into it. The science and engineering fairs held across the state provide excellent opportunities for students to get a taste of what scientific work is like. Historically the TAS has played a strong role in activities of this type. The fairs, however, have been severely hampered by a shortage of professionally qualified mentors. The TAS is therefore initiating a program of mentor recruitment and the provision of lists of local mentors to the schools. As an organization which includes professionals in math, all sciences, and engineering, the TAS is uniquely positioned to serve this role. This document provides some background information on the problem. It also gives information on what the mentor can expect, what will be expected of him/her, and a bit on the nuts and bolts of mentoring. top IV. Selection and formulation of the project Much futility and frustration can be avoided if the mentor and/or the teacher consult with the student quite early about the feasibility of the proposed project. The three of you need to explore the following questions: (1) Are the student's training and maturity at such a state that it is reasonable for him to tackle this project--has he had the necessary courses in science and math? If not, this project is likely to be a pain in the neck for everyone. This year David Lepzelter did a project with me on the scattering of He nuclei off of gold atoms--OK if one looks at only the interaction between the alpha particle and the gold nucleus (his first objective), but quite difficult if one takes into account the interactions of the alpha particle with the electron cloud around the gold nucleus (his second goal). Start the student out on something within his capabilities, and, after he's handled this, then you can stretch him a bit if he's interested. (2) Does the student have access to the facilities necessary to carry out the project? A project that requires access to sophisticated equipment may be feasible if the student has or can get contacts giving her access to what she needs; if she doesn't, the project is a bummer. A couple of years ago Ms. Lee (at Martin Luther King Magnet High School) and I had a girl who wanted to investigate the mean free paths of gas molecules in an ultra-high vacuum. However, we had no access to the expensive, fragile, and specialized equipment needed to do the project as originally planned. We helped the girl redesign the project so that it involved a study of the diffusion of gaseous iodine at atmospheric pressure, which could readily be done with available equipment. She was happy, we were happy, and the project worked out quite well. (3) Is there a mentor available who has (or can acquire) the know- how to lend a supervisory hand on the project? If not you, do you know someone else who would be suitable? Mentors should not take on projects where they have any doubts about their ability to be helpful. (4) Does the project propose to find something out? This may be the testing of a formal hypothesis, or it may be less formally structured, but the project should be designed to find something out. This last spring I saw a little 7th grade project on the pendulum. The project had a display board with lovely artwork, but practically no science or engineering. Virtually no questions were asked, and virtually no answers were obtained. There are several things a mentor could have got the student to think of doing with this project just by asking him a few simple questions. Let me illustrate the point about asking questions with this pendulum project. What are the things you can measure when you study a pendulum? (The frequency of oscillation, and the rate at which the motion diminishes and dies out) What things about a pendulum might cause its frequency to change? (Weight of the bob, length of the string, initial angle of displacement--the mentor should question and gently prod the student until he comes up with these.) What experiments can you do to determine the effect of the weight of the bob? Make a plan for these, including equipment and design of the experiments--will you hold the length of the string and the initial angle of displacement constant while you vary the weight of the bob? What experiments will you do to determine the effect of the length of the string? What experiments will you do to determine the effect of the initial angle of displacement? How will you determine the way in which the motion dies out? (5) Is this project one that the student is interested in and thinks she will enjoy? Well-chosen projects are fun and exciting, not drudgery. If the student isn't fired up about the project, she may still do an adequate job, but she certainly won't do her best and she won't learn nearly as much from it as we all would like. (6) Are there questions of safety and/or ethics which need to be addressed? Science fair rules are very strict and complex with regard to projects involving human subjects in any way whatever, projects involving rockets, and projects involving vertebrates. Also, we don't want anyone poisoned, any houses burned down or blown up, etc. A recent project about which I was asked involved comparing the rates of burning of methanol and ethanol. The parent hadn't a clue about the dangers involved. Both of these liquids are nearly as flammable as gasoline, and both are toxic--methanol extremely so. It is the mentor's responsibility to ensure that BOTH the student and his parents are thoroughly briefed IN WRITING with regard to all possible hazards and all necessary safety precautions; accidents MUST NOT HAPPEN. Some types of projects must be done in a lab for reasons of safety. top V. Controlled experiments, repeated measurements, statistics Virtually all science projects involve making measurements or quantitative observations of one kind or another. By how much did this strip of plastic increase in length under the applied weight loadings? How many of the seeds we attempted to sprout in 5% salt water germinated, and how many of the ones in fresh water germinated? What is a "controlled experiment", and why should you do controlled experiments whenever possible? For any given situation, how can you design a suitable controlled experiment? What were the frequencies of our pendulum as we varied the length of the string? The weight? And so on. Students need to get the idea that it is important that they assess how accurate and reproducible these measurements are. At the least, this means doing repeated measurements and determining the average and the range. If you want to be a bit fancier, calculate the standard deviation. To get even fancier, figure out the 95% confidence limits. For juniors and seniors, t-tests, coefficients of determination (r2), correlation coefficients, least squares fitted straight lines, etc. Students who are good at math may want to go even farther. The students don't all need to become accomplished statisticians, but they need to realize that experimental measurements give you fuzzy numbers and that there are tools available which let you get the most you can out of these fuzzy numbers. top Have your students keep detailed lab books or journals, with ALL of their data, calculations, observations, etc., in them. This is essential if the mentor is to be of help on rough spots, and it is essential for the final write-up of the project. Loose pieces of paper are no good; too many get lost. I know this from bitter personal experience. top The final write-up of the project is a BIG DEAL. Communications skills are essential to scientists and engineers--and to everybody else as well. The training the students get in organizing their thoughts and writing them up accurately and clearly is as important as anything else they may get out of the project. Technical writing is highly structured and organized. The student should start by developing a rough outline (say through I. and A.), which is then discussed with the mentor and revised until everybody's happy with it. The details (1. and a.) are then fleshed in and discussed with the mentor. Only when a good, detailed outline has been prepared and pondered does the student start to write the actual text. With this outline and a complete lab book, the final writing goes very quickly and smoothly. There are a number of good ways to organize the paper. I find the following to be a useful generic outline, although some sections may be omitted and others added if the nature of the project dictates this. Abstract - Do this last; it is a paragraph or two, no more, describing
the salient aspects of the project. It should Background - What is currently known about this? What are some of the more useful references on the topic? Method of attack - Broadly, how was it proposed to tackle the problem? In a chemical project there might be some preliminary calculations here (stoichiometry, equilibrium, thermodynamics) to support the feasibility of the proposed approach. Experimental design - What's to be used in the way of equipment, chemicals, specimens, field observations, lab experiments? This should be pretty detailed. A theoretical or mathematical project would present the nuts and bolts of the analysis here. Results - What experiments were done, what observations were made, and with what results? What statistical methods were used to inform you how good your numbers are? Conclusions - On the basis of the above results plus information from the literature, what conclusions, if any, can you draw? On the basis of your statistics, how firm are these conclusions? Sources of error and uncertainty Future research - What do you think should be done next on this problem? Safety considerations - Mandatory in any project in which there might be any hazard whatever. This part of the write-up should be done before the experimental work starts. Acknowledgments - Who (both individuals and institutions) helped, and how? References - Cite the sources for any outside information you use other than material which is common knowledge, and give the reader citations where he can learn more about the topic. But don't pad the bibliography with irrelevant references-- that is SO obvious! Last but not least, the student should proofread the write-up and the display board carefully. Boards which feature a number of third grade spelling errors leave even the most charitable viewer with serious doubts about the project. top VIII. Mentors' authority and responsibilities Mentors should keep in mind that they have no authority over the students; they are there to provide help and guidance, and the relationship should be a friendly, informal, and supportive one, not one of an authoritative boss and a submissive subordinate. Since the mentor has no authority, he obviously has no responsibility for the student's performance on the project except (1) to be available, and (2) to let the teacher know whether or not things are working out. A few times I've had students who had personal problems of one sort or another which left them with no interest whatsoever in doing a project they had taken on. Other times a student had badly over- extended himself so that there wasn't time to do the project adequately. In my opinion, such failures are not the mentor's responsibility, and reproaches, reprimands, etc., are inappropriate. On the other hand, in such cases the mentor has no obligation whatsoever to rush in and try to save the student from disaster at the last minute; that disaster can be a real learning experience for the student. top Much of a mentor's instruction and counselling should, in my opinion, take the form of questions. If by careful questioning you can get your student to figure it out for herself, much more learning takes place than if you simply tell her what the answer is. It takes a little longer, and sometimes coming up with the right questions can be a challenge, but the analytical skills which are taught thereby are well worth the effort. On the other hand, don't push this to such extremes that the student becomes frustrated and resentful, thinking that you are simply "putting her down". Treat it like a puzzle, a game, a detective story. And be kind. Always. Kids bruise easily. top X. Winning, judging, the Little League syndrome Lastly, neither teachers nor mentors should worry too much about winning. A student who does a really bang-up project has already awarded himself or herself a much greater prize than anything a science fair, even the International Fair, can award. Every student who does a first-rate project is a winner. A bit of friendly competition does no harm, as long as it doesn't discourage students from helping each other. But the mentor and the teacher should have enough confidence in their own judgement to give praise and encouragement when they feel these are appropriate, and not to be either crushed or excessively elated by the judges' decisions. Sometimes the judges, being human, mess up and there are poor decisions. But the sky should not fall as a result. And try to keep the parents of your mentees from getting too competitive--this isn't Little League Baseball, you know. We want this to be a cooperative affair, without a lot of clawing and biting. Occasionally at the Vanderbilt Fair I've seen some rather ugly sights. If things get too competitive, if parents get too aggressive, it makes life quite unpleasant for the mentors, be they teachers, outside professionals like me, or other parents. top |
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