A Science Affair….

By Maggie Sheeran, Novi Middle School

It’s that time of the year again! Time to plan science fair projects! Encouraging, prodding and convincing students to complete a project is sometimes a very difficult task. I have been sponsoring students in the Detroit Science and Engineering Fair for many years, and there is one extremely important thing my students have taught me over and over and over again…don’t require everyone to complete a project! Only the student that is truly invested will do the best job and learn the most while doing it!

My approach to getting the best projects possible from my students is a little different than most. I require all of my students to develop a hypothetical science experiment. All students must write a lab form and complete research on their topic. However, when it comes to experimentation, collecting data, and completing a display board, only the truly interested science student has to complete the project. As an incentive, I offer students extra credit points that may be used throughout the school year on science assignments.

We start off slowly looking at inventors and inventions, trying to understand the process required to come up with a new idea, to “step out of the box” so to speak. Then we progress to looking at experiment structure and writing up a lab of their choice. We write a rough draft, and use peer editing to evaluate the procedure. Students then have a final consultation with me before writing a final copy. With the lab instructions out of the way, we then brainstorm to figure out what it is we need to know about this topic, what we need to know to be better informed about our topic. From there, each student generates a list of areas to research. I also consult with each individual student helping him/her to make a list of possible research areas. The finished research papers are usually three to four pages in length. At this point the students are finished. If a student is truly interested and wants to continue, he/she can complete the experiment at home and construct the display board.

This process takes time and planning on my part to be able to spend time consulting with every student. Over all, to complete both parts takes several weeks. In the long run, it pays off in that the projects I receive from my students are well done. Students are eager to do the work and are proud of their accomplishments. One of the most valuable things a student learns during this process is that he/she has finished a major task. He/she walks away knowing he/she can go beyond the normal realm of daily school expectations and succeed. I also find they are more willing to accept the challenge of other academic activities.

So today, go out there, make a difference; convince a student you know to try his/her talent in the science fair!