CISD District Science Fair

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CISD District Science
Fair
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Judging Science Fair Projects
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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.

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The judges 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.

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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

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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

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The Display
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The Display

• Major purpose effective communication of
• Hypothesis
• Purpose/Question
• Variables
• Data/Graphs
• Experimental outcomes
• Conclusions

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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.

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

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A good science fair projectis an investigation
and includes

• A clear hypothesis, field research 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.

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

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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.

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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.

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Interview Protocols

• Judging done by one panel member at a time, not
  by the whole group.
• Two interviews should be conducted for each
  participant.
• Use about the same amount of time for each
  interview.

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Team Projects

• 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.

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CISD Science Fair Judging Rubric

• Scientific Method
• Scientific Knowledge
• Presentation
• Simplicity

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Confidentiality

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

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Thank you for contributing your time and
expertise to the young scientists of Canutillo
Independent School District