Scientific Research project

Secondary School Science Teaching Method

 

The thrust of this assignment is to do some of your own research and report on it.  Perhaps this is just the kind of thing that you should be having your own students doing at some point in time, so you should probably do it yourself.  (Strangely, even science majors rarely have the chance to really do authentic  “science research.”  What is wrong with that picture?)

 

Your research project should be something that you pursue on your own – very much like a “science fair” type of project.  In fact, you will present your work in a poster presentation in class, much like what is done at science fairs.  (However, what many students do for a science fair poster is very glitzy and cosmetic.  You will not be expected to make your presentation frilly or fancy, just presentable AND clearly understandable.)

 

It is important to note that this research will be your own. That means that you will:

1.      Propose a question that is scientific in nature.

      This should NOT be a yes/no question.  The question needs to be one that allows you to come to an understanding about your phenomenon that will allow you to make predictions and or "discover" a fundamental principle or mechanism - can explain something rather than just describe or document.

2.      Collect your own data (e.g., times, lengths, masses, colors, etc.) pertaining to the natural phenomenon you’re considering.

3.      Explain what you did and what it all means.  This includes an analysis and explanation of your data.

4.      Conclude something about how the study went.  In particular, you should describe what you would do differently if you were to do the experiment again, and/or what new questions this study suggests.

5.      Present this all in an understandable manner.

 

This project is not any of the following:

1.      A report on research that has already been done, although you are free to refer to such if you desire and/or you might use the data from research that has been done in a new way.

2.      An essay describing some physics/chemistry/geology/biology/etc, although this might also be incorporated into your research.

3.      A description of a demonstration/application and how it works.

 

The best advice you could be given would be to keep it simple, yet original. (Please try not to confirm something you already know to be true.) Hold yourself to the same standards that you would hold your own students to.  You might start with the Experiment Scaffold and then work through the grading rubric to make sure you have included all required elements.

 

This project has three steps:

          1. Email Dr. Ohlhorst with Items 1-5  (This basically is your research proposal) - what, why and how.

          2. Present the results of your work to the class on 1-5 overheads or power point slides - you will be given 8 minutes for this presentation.

          3. Following feedback from Dr. Ohlhorst and your peers, prepare a science fair poster for final evaluation.

 

Have fun with this!  This project should model what science is all about.  Click here for the rubric with which your project will be assessed.