Science Fair Alumni Mentorship Program Orientation 2008

Science Fair Alumni Mentorship Program

Orientation 2008

November 24, 2008

Agenda

Introduction

Patti Leigh - Science Fair Foundation BC

Ross Waddell - BC Innovation CouncilGuidelines and Project Tips

Dr. Geoff Gabbott - Sir Winston Churchill Secondary

Angus Liao - BC Institute of Technology

Dinner and project discussions

Piloted: Greater Vancouver in 2006/2007 Now: Greater Vancouver

South FraserVancouver IslandNorthern BCCentral Okanagan

Connects students, teachers, and researchers

Program Goals

Resources to address a specific question

Encourage students doing project-based science

Encourage scientific discussion among students, teachers, and researchers

Connect science fair alumni - continued science fair involvement

Program Participants

Students grades 9-12

Alumni MentorsProfessional Mentors

TeachersParentsScience Fair Supporters

Timeline

Nov 21, 2008 Most mentor matches completed

Feb-Mar, 2009 School and district science fairs

Feb 6, 2009 Progress Report #1 due

Mar-Apr, 2009 Regional Science Fairs

May 22, 2009 Progress Report #2 andFeedback form due

Patti Leigh

Executive DirectorScience Fair Foundation BC

Ross Waddell

Director, ProgramsBC Innovation Council

Why mentorship? - an example

“Science” was building aliens out of paper-mâché and learning about salmon

I wasn’t very good with aliens

I didn’t like fish

Then I heard about science fairs...

Back in Grade 6...

Why mentorship? - an exampleChallenges for an aspiring grade 9

immunologist:

• My parents didn’t know the answers!• Limited access to literature and expertise• Limited laboratory skills• Difficult to understand specialized language• Discouragement - “Wait until Grad

School…”• Money and equipment - you can’t do tissue

culture in your bedroom!• My school didn’t “do” science fairs

Why mentorship? - an exampleImportant resources:

• My parents• Scientists at the NIH• Genetics camp at UBC• Grad students and faculty at UBC• Supervisors at QLT Inc.

Mentorship Program Guidelines

This program includes 2 kinds of mentors:– CWSF alumni– University/Industry Professional

Mentors– Pre-agreement: time commitment

meeting location type of mentorship

Suggested mentorship

CWSF Alumni Mentors• General science questions• Email/phone/in person• Requested journal articles• Project presentation and judging• Competitive poster board

Suggested mentorship

University/Industry Professional Mentors• Science and technology-related questions• Email/phone/in person• Technical advice• Requested journal articles• Provide technical assistance and laboratory

equipment (if appropriate)

Expectations of Students

• Responsibility for project – outline project goals, timeline, etc.

• Regular communication• Respectful of time• No more than one email in a day• Supervision if working in lab• Respectful of physical/intellectual

propertyEverything must be your own work!!

Science fair project tips

Choosing a topic

• Choose something you really care about!

• Significance - why does it matter?• Originality - has it been done before?• Creativity - is your approach unique?• Feasibility - are your goals realistic?

Science fair project tips

Developing a hypothesis or objective

• Understand what is known about your subject area (basic principles!)

• Provide a clear rationale• Not all projects have “hypotheses”• Ensure your hypothesis or objective is

sufficiently narrow in scope - eg. no “curing” cancer!

Science fair project tips

Experimentation / Development

• Try to eliminate extraneous variables• Choose the simpler method• Perform multiple trials• Improvise; create your own tools• Keep an up-to-date logbook -

standard of reproducibility

Science fair project tips

Analysis

• Critical component of a strong project• If you created something, test it

thoroughly (includes engineering, computing)

• Consider as many explanations as possible - it’s ok for your hypothesis to be wrong!

• Use statistics where appropriate - consult a math teacher for guidance

Science fair project tips

Presentation

• Typical display board includes background, hypothesis/objective, materials/methods, results, conclusions, future work, acknowledgements (many are possible!)

• Use figures when possible• Provide graphs for quick visual

reference - describe axes clearly• Be familiar with every aspect of your

work!

Dr. Geoff Gabbott

International Baccalaureate Programme Coordinator

Sir Winston Churchill Secondary, Vancouver

Angus Liao

BSc/DplT Operations ManagementUBC and BCIT

Thank you!

BriAnne Addison Siva SarathyBenjamin Cheung Robert YoungMichelle Chu David GrantElizabeth Kuan Brian LeAngus Liao Janny KeShazeen Suleman Dr. GabbottVicki Chen Ross WaddellDonna Ng Amy WakefordAndrew Lee Tera MoonDr. Sophie Lavieri Shirley FrykbergDr. Nabyl Merbough Dr. Catherine AndersonJordan Chin Joanne FoxCurtis Allan

Thank you!

More InformationProgram-related questions and concerns:http://www.sciencefairs.ca/[email protected]

Project tips, CWSF judging sheet, safety and ethics guidelines:http://www.ysf.ca/SMARTS/supportTaneille Johnson - BC Provincial SMARTS Coordinator

BC Innovation Councilwww.bcic.ca

Patti [email protected]

Questions

Dinner!