RIMS Regional Science Fair

1. RIMSRegionalScienceFair

2. Judging Science Fair Projects

3. 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.

4. 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

5. The judge’s 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.

6. 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

7. 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

8. The Display • Major purpose: effective communication of: • Hypothesis • Purpose • Methodology • Experimental outcomes • Conclusions

9. 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.

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

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

12. 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.

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

14. 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

15. 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 student’s understanding of project and underlying science. • Find out how student learned about procedures, use of equipment, concepts involved. • If appropriate, ask about help received.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. 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. • Student’s knowledge should be consistent with the project and its goals.

19. 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.

20. 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.

21. A good science fair projectis an investigation and includes: • A clear hypothesis, field researchor 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.

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

23. 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.

24. 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.

25. Judging Criteria • Originality/creativity 20 % • Comprehension 30 % • Organization & completeness 30 % • Effort & motivation 10 % • Clarity 10 %

26. 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

27. 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?

28. 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

29. 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?

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

31. 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

32. 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

33. 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

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