Science Fair TTO GLOBE CC-project
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Science Fair
TTO GLOBECC-project
5 vwo
2College Cobbenhagenlyceum 2016
Contents1. Introduction
2. Project promoter
3. Assignment
The scientific research process
Pose research questions
Develop a hypothesis
Plan investigation
Assemble data
Analyze data
Submit research data
Document conclusions
Present findings
4. Organisation
5. Assessment and reflection
6. Appendix
1. IntroductionCobbenhagenlyceum TTO has been selected to be part of an international research programme set up by GLOBE and TTO network Netherlands .
The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) programme is an international science and education program that provides students and the public worldwide with the opportunity to participate in data collection and the scientific process, and contribute meaningfully to our understanding of the Earth system and global environment.
OverviewIn the Netherlands 15 school teams of students will conduct a thorough investigation concerned with soil, water, atmosphere and nature. Students should use the GLOBE data they entered into the database and should collaborate with scientists, including scientists who are part of the GLOBE International Scientists' Network (GISN). This is a great opportunity for students to practice the skills they've learned through their involvement in project and apply them to address real-world problems.
Final results will be presented to other participating teams and an official jury at Wageningen University on the 27th of May. The best school is awarded with a prize.
2. Project PromotorThe Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Programme is an international science and education program that provides students and the public worldwide with the opportunity to participate in data collection and the scientific process, and contribute meaningfully to our understanding of the Earth system and global environment. Announced by the U.S.
Vision: A worldwide community of students, teachers, scientists, and citizens working together to better understand, sustain, and improve Earth's environment at local, regional, and global scales.
Mission: To promote the teaching and learning of science, enhance environmental literacy and stewardship, and promote scientific discovery.
GLOBE provides grade level-appropriate, interdisciplinary activities and investigations about the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and soil/pedosphere, which have been developed by the scientific community and validated by teachers. GLOBE connects students, teachers, scientists, and citizens from different parts of the world to conduct real, hands-on science about their local environment and put in a global perspective.
GLOBE is jointly sponsored by U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), with support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Department of State. Internationally, GLOBE is implemented through Government-to-Government agreements with each Country Partner responsible for in-country activities. As the lead agency for GLOBE in the U.S., NASA has the primary responsibility for administering the Government-to-Government agreements, and the management of the GLOBE Implementation Office and the data and information system that support the worldwide implementation.
3. AssignmentOverview
The Scientific Research Process
Science is something you can do. And doing science makes you a scientist!
So, what do scientists do? They observe the world around them, ask questions, and use evidence (data) to answer the questions. They identify useful data that already exist or take new measurements. They also do calculations and analyze their data to draw conclusions about the questions they asked. Finally, and most importantly, they communicate their results so everyone can benefit from their work. By doing science, scientists gain a better understanding of the world around them and share that understanding with the whole world.
Here are the steps that a scientist takes to conduct a research investigation. By following these steps, you can be a scientist!
Pose Questions
After you have taken some time to observe the environment around you, identify research question(s) to be answered by your project.
A research question is one that does not have an immediately obvious answer and could have more than one answer or solution. Questions with yes or no answers are typically not good research questions; try to ask your research questions so that their answers help fill in gaps in the current understanding on your chosen topic. Questions that begin with "How does…?" and "What is….?" are often better than "Is there…?" It is also good if your research question addresses a problem that's significant and interesting to you and your community.
Use the research question worksheet to helpe evaluate possible research questions (appendix xx).
1) Brainstorm questions you wish to investigate.
2) Identify one or more questions that are:
o Interesting to youo Able to be answered using available data or GLOBE measurements, ando Answerable in the time available for your research project.
3) Revisit these questions throughout the course of the project, as necessary. Scientists often refine their questions as they do research – they are always learning.
Develop Hypothesis
Science is about finding answers to our questions about the world around us. Part of finding the answer is to test a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a tentative statement that proposes a possible explanation to some phenomenon, event or scientific problem that can be tested by further investigation. A useful hypothesis is a testable, measurable statement. Then the rest of the scientific process helps us test if our hypothesis was correct or not.
What do you think will be the answer to your research question? That is your hypothesis. As you investigate, and perhaps refine, your question you may also refine your hypothesis – they go together
Plan Investigation
How will you test your hypothesis and answer your research question?
Develop a research plan with specific steps to complete your investigation, including who will be responsible for each task if you are working in a group.
Determine the data you will need to collect to answer the question(s) you are asking. Decide which GLOBE measurement protocols you will use. If you need to take observations that are not covered by GLOBE protocols, write out the procedure you will follow, and specify the instrument(s) you will use.
Decide what existing data you will need, where they can be obtained, and how you will get them.
Identify the resources available to you such as measurement equipment and supplies. Identify what help you may need from others including your teacher, experienced scientists,
and other adults and students. It often helps to have a mentor or coach when learning anything new.
Plan your time. When and where will you take measurements? How will you get other data that you need?
Remember that the precision and accuracy of the data you use may affect the questions that can be answered. For instance, looking for a change of half a degree in temperature with a thermometer that is only accurate to ±2o C will only work if you average many measurements.
Assemble Data
Once you've developed a plan for conducting your investigation, you will need to start the investigation by assembling the data to be analyzed.
If you are taking measurements, be sure to keep records in an orderly fashion that will make it easy for you to use the data in analysis. Keeping a notebook of GLOBE data sheets is one way do this. If your data were collected following GLOBE protocols, reporting your data to the GLOBE archive will guarantee that they are saved and can be viewed using GLOBE visualization tools.
Analyze Data
In studying Earth, data analysis often involves comparing data from different times and places and looking for patterns and different types of variations. Averages and extreme values are often useful to consider along with comparisons of how data from two different measurements vary.
Think about what are the easiest ways to see what you are looking for in the data you have assembled – maps, graphs, tables? If you are looking for spatial patterns, maps are useful. If you are looking for patterns over time for one place, a graph works well.
Do you need to do any calculations as part of your analysis? Remember you can use spreadsheet programs if you have access to them. They can make it easier to do calculations on large amounts of data and generally provide the ability to graph data and results.
Analyze your data and create tables, graphs, and charts to illustrate and summarize your discoveries. Analysis should be focused on using the data to answer your stated research question(s).
Can you answer your research questions from your data? Is your hypothesis confirmed or disproved? Remember that either result is valuable. Can you clearly state your reasoning and explain it to someone else? If you can't answer your question(s) with the data you have collected and the analysis you have performed, can you collect more data, do a different type of analysis, or revise your original questions? This is a point in your research project where talking to your teacher or mentor can help.
Document Conclusions
The key to documenting your conclusions is to clearly state the question(s) you investigated, how you did the investigation, and your results. Your discussion of how you did your investigation should describe:
what measurements you took and when, where, and how you took them what other data you used and where you obtained them what calculations you did
Generally you should show examples of the data you used (graphs, tables, maps) and the results of your analysis. In explaining your results you should describe your reasoning – the thought process that you went through to get from the data to the conclusions.
Because research is an on-going process, you should share your thoughts about how this investigation could be improved, explain other approaches that might be taken that would lead to an answer to your question(s), and state what new questions you might ask as a follow-on to your research.
One way to document your work is by writing a research report. The report should follow a well-structured format used by science fairs that clearly conveys the details of your research project:
GLOBE Student Research Report Format Sample Research Report
Ask your teacher to submit your research report for publication on the GLOBE website using the upload tool on the Student Research Report page.
Present Findings
Sharing your findings with your peers and your community is a very important step in the scientific process. In GLOBE, there are several ways for you to share what you found.
Create an artifact about your project and have your teacher submit it to the GLOBE website via [email protected]. Artifacts can be images, audio, or video. Be creative when sharing your results!
Write a student research report and have your teacher submit it to the GLOBE website via the upload tool on the Student Research Report page.
You can also share your findings by presenting your report or presentation at a meeting or science fair. GLOBE hosts several opportunities for you to present your results to the GLOBE community via a GLOBE Student Science Symposium, GLOBE Virtual Science Fairs, or a GLOBE Learning Expedition (GLE) .
Pose New Questions
Think about what questions are still remaining after you conducted your investigation. Big science questions are seldom fully answered by just one investigation. Rather, subsequent investigations are needed to answer the remaining unanswered questions or new questions that were revealed by doing research.
You can also generate new research questions by reading about what other students are doing:
Student Projects GLOBE Stars GLOBE Science Blog
4. OrganisationAims of the project This project aims to develop students who:
enquire into and reflect on issues independently and in collaboration with others from a variety of different cultures and communities
can communicate sensitively with people from a variety of backgrounds work independently as well as part of a team, directing much of their own learning critically assess the information available to them and make judgements can support judgements with lines of reasoning can empathise with the needs and rights of others
Requirements for the research reportRequirements for this research report ca be found in the research report rubric (appendix xx). Minimum requirements are :
Student-led research question(s) are asked. The investigation includes use of at least one GLOBE protocol and GLOBE data are added to
database. Tables and/or graphical representations of data are present. A conclusion is present and relevant to the report.
Submission of project dataAll project data have be submitted before May 15 2016! Use this website to submit your project data:
Group sizeGroups should be between four to five students. The scope of the project selected by the Group should enable all members of thegroup to play an active part in carrying out the project. Therefore, if a group is made up of four students, the scope of the project should allow all four members the opportunity to be fully engaged in carrying out the project over the 20–30 hours of time it takes to complete.
Specific outcomes of the project
Group work
Individual workEach group member is to produce two documents. At the start of the project each student is to produce a document in which you describe how to set SMART goals. The second document will be produced at teh end of the project and is divided into four sections in which each student: 1. Evaluates the project plan and process (i.e. the strengths and weaknesses of the project plan
and the process). 2. Evaluates the group outcome of the Group Project (i.e. project plan). 3. Evaluates his/her individualcontribution to the group project (i.e. what he/she did well during
groupwork and what he/she could have done better, and/or what they found difficult about working as a group.
4. Explainswhat he/she thinks they have learnedfrom collaboration and whether what has been learned has changed his/her opinions in any way.
Project activities, work distribution and timeframe What? Who? When?
1 Introduction of the project all March 30 2016
2 Measurement workshop all
3 Production of a SMART model all
4 Production of a Project plan all
5 Group project: research all
6 Production of a research report all
7 Upload your research report all Dead-line for uploading is May 15 2016
8 Present your results – school finals all
9 Present your results at the Science Fair at Wageningen University – national finals
winning team May 27 2016
10 Production of a STARR reflection all
5. Assessment and reflectionGroup Project assessment criteriaA total of 80 marks will be available for the group project. The marks should be awarded for group and individual elements against the following assessment criteria:
Assessment criteria Group Individual Marks
Production of a SMART map1) 10
Production of a project plan 2) 10
Production of a research report 3) 10
Group presentation 4) 10
Evaluation of project plan 10
Constructive participation in groupwork/ activities
10
Evaluation of the project outcome5) 10
Evaluation of individual contribution and learning 5)
10
Marks will be awarded against each criterion using the statements (rubric) on page xx of this syllabus. Detailed information about the group and individual elements can also be found in the appendix of this syllabus (page xx).
1) A SMART goal setting model can be found in the appendix of this syllabus (page xx).2) Guidelines for the production of a project plan can be found in the appendix of this syllabus (page xx).3) Guidelines for the production of a research report l can be found in the appendix of this syllabus (page xx).4) A presentation rubric can be found in the appendix of this syllabus (page xx).5) A STARR reflection model can be found in the appendix of this syllabus (page xx).
Group assessment
Individual assessment and reflection At the end of the project every student has to submit an individual evaluation of the project outcome and individual contribution and learning. Setting SMART goals before you start the project, is one of the practical skills you need to master. Setting and achieving SMART goals can mean the difference between success and failure. For setting goals right at the start of the project, your are going to use the SMART goal setting model (appendix xx).
At the end of the project each student is also required to submit an individual evaluation of their own contribution to the group project, such as the information and ideas they contributed, as well as an evaluation of, and personal reflection on, the group project as a whole. It is important that you recognise that your individual submission should be made up of three distinct parts:
1. Your own evaluation of the project plan and process. This must include some evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the plan and the process and some suggestions for improvement.
2. Your own evaluation of the group’s Group Project outcome (which is, why it is essential that a specific outcome is articulated in the group’s submission).
3. An evaluation of your individual learning and contribution to the group project.
To reflect on these distinctive parts the STARR reflection method could be helpful. How do I use the STARR reflection method? The STARR reflection method is mainly used to examine how you operate.In your reflection:
It is especially important that you do not make a judgement about whether something is right or wrong.
You create a safe room in which you can systematically ask questions about how and why you adopt a specific behaviour.
There is room and time to grow.
For evaluation and reflection at the end of the project, your are going to use the STARR reflection method (appendix xx).
Appendix xx Research questions worksheet
Appendix xx TTO GLOBE Science fair rubrics
Appendix xx GLOBE Student research report format
Appendix xx SMART goal setting model
SWhat do you want to accomplish?
specific
MHow will you know when you have accomplished your goal?
measureable
AHow can the goal be accomplished?
atainable
RIs this goal worth working hard to accomplish? Explain.
relevant
TBy when will the goal be accomplished?
timely
Appendix xx STARR reflection method
SDescribe the user group and the project work context.
situation
TDescribe what you are trying to achieve? What was your role?
task
AHow did you try to address the issue? Describe the actions you have to taken . How did the other team members react on your actions?
action
RWhat were the outcomes of the actions you took? Use the outcomes of the SMART map and (tips and tops)
result
RLessons you've learnt and conclusions you’ve drawn.Did you achieve your goals? Is this learning goal achieved? Can you start with working on new goals?
reflection
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