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Sunday, August 25, 2013

Science Fair procedure

Here is my new science fair procedure.  It is probably good to introduce science fair with the scientific method so that 1) students can get a head start on projects, and 2) reinforce the scientific method with practice.  I also teach how to read and write lab reports at the same time.  My lab reports differ from science-fair models in that mine are based on what some scientists/journals actually use.  More on this later if I remember or if people express interest.

Procedure:
  1. Come up with a scientific field you enjoy.  (Class, subject:  i.e. Physics)  Or a favorite hobby, food, sports, game, etc.  Or read random science articles:  Which tend to capture our interest?  Are there local science interests?  (If you chose something more specific than a field, skip to #3)
  2. Come up with a topic you enjoyed within that subject. (i.e. magnetism)
  3. Study topic generally (i.e. read in book, or read general topic book).
  4. Based on study and brainstorming ideas about it, ask a question about said topic.  (i.e. Can magnets...?)
  5. Look up answer to question.  Does an answer exist?  If so, use study to come with a new study, one they did not investigate.  Rewrite question.
  6. Repeat the above until you have a unique question.
  7. Reexamine question.  Does it include/imply a method to incorporate numbers for purposes of graphs, etc.?  If not, rewrite.
  8. Follow your lab notebook procedure, writing down what you did each day AS you do it.

 Again, please let me know if you use this and what modifications you come up with.  I will pass on any modifications I come up with.

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