Teacher Facilitator: Mrs. Theresa Lawrence                                                                                         

Meeting time:  7:30 am

Syllabus

Independent Study Mentorship (ISM): Science Fair

 

Rational

The Independent Study Mentorship (ISM) is designed for self-motivated students with a desire to develop their Independent Science Fair Research Project at a higher level. All Science Fair ISM students will research, design, and present an Independent Science Fair Project in conjunction with their PreAP Chemistry course. The ISM class allows students to work with experts in various fields, acquiring practical knowledge and hands-on experience.  It also presents students an opportunity to accept the type of responsibility that is usually only given to college students and business professionals. 

 

Objectives

• Create a focused research proposal.
• Employ empirical methods to gather data.
• Write a research paper in APA format.
• Develop a project according to scientific method.
• Work independently and demonstrate commitment, initiative, self-motivation, and problem solving skills.
• Learn how to design and apply presentation media.
• Plan and implement a professional presentation.
• Interact with community professionals.
• Plan and execute short and long-term goals. 
• Coordinate, manage, and adhere to scheduled meetings and deadlines.

 

General Information

Course Requirements

 

§         The student must spend a minimum of 140 documented hours designing and producing a senior level Science Fair Project by May 3, 2010.  This includes meeting with the ISM class and teacher, research, design, meetings with their mentor, gathering of materials, experimentation, Preparation of written documents, preparation of final presentation and science fair competitions.  Time spent during the PreAP chemistry class does not count toward ISM hours.

§         A completed SENIOR LEVEL Science Fair Project and Presentation must be presented to the ISM teacher, school administrator, (and mentor), and a set of science fair judges by the class deadlines, but no later than May 3, 2010.  Should a student not be selected to compete at the FHS Science Fair, a local panel will be developed to hear and evaluate the presentation.  All Science Fair projects must conform to all International Science and Engineering Fair guidelines and rules.

§         All ISM students will be required to make an in-depth project presentation during the ISM class to a school administrator for their third project grade.  This will be in addition to the shorter oral presentation given to the PreAP Chemistry class where the teacher will grade the presentation.  Any student who qualifies and competes at the regional (SEFH) science fair may choose to waive the long presentation and the third project grade.

§         A student will be given credit for ISM if they have 140 hours of documented independent work, produce a senior level science fair project, and earn a passing grade.  This will include a full year science elective credit, and AP grade credit toward the student’s GPA.  ISM will not be listed on the student’s schedule or transcript until all course requirements are satisfied and a final grade is awarded at the end of the school year.  There will be no grades issued for ISM until the end of the school year.

§         A final grade of 80 or higher for the entire course must be achieved to gain DAP credit at the end of the 2009-2010 school year.  This credit will result in one DAP measure.

§         All ISM students will be given a copy of the completed ISM Grade Summary Rubric before grades are submitted to the FHS Registrar.  The Student and Parent must agree to have the grade recorded on their permanent record or no credit will be received.  Once the ISM grade is recorded on the permanent record, it cannot be removed.

§         See the ISM Grade Summary Rubric for grade breakdowns and values.

 

Probationary Period during 1^st 9 weeks

 

• All ISM students will be accepted on a probationary status until the end of the 1^st 9 weeks.  Only at the satisfactory completion of the 1^st 9 weeks requirements will the students be formally enrolled in the ISM class.
• 1^st 9 Weeks Requirements are: a Senior level Science Fair project developed in the Project Proposal, a satisfactory Literature Review, selection of a project mentor, attendance at all mandatory meetings and bi-weekly meetings (or make-ups), and a minimum of 15 credit hours documented on the 1^st 9 weeks time sheet.
• Students will receive a letter at the beginning of the 2^nd 9 weeks indicating full acceptance in the program or not.  Students not accepted into the ISM program will either change to Project Option #1(Organic compound) or Option #2 (Science Fair) in the PAP class for the rest of the year.

 

Online Communication

 

• Important class information will be available on my teacher home page.
• It is your responsibility to check this site on a weekly basis.

• When you are off campus and need to contact me, you may use the teacher email.

 

Class meetings

 

• Although this is a self-directed program, there will be several times that we all meet in the classroom to cover material that is pertinent to independent research during the ISM class period. Failure to attend a required meeting (or make-up meeting) will result in grade penalties.
• Students are required to meet with the teacher facilitator at least once every two weeks to verify the weekly time log during the ISM class period and discuss the progress of their project. This is a required scheduled class meeting and failure to attend the required bi-weekly meetings without prior arrangements made with the teacher will result in grade penalties.  These penalties will be waived due to emergencies and excused absences due to illness.

 

Timelines

 

§          Each ISM student is responsible for meeting all product deadlines.  Failure to do so will result in grade penalties and may result in removal from the ISM class.

 

Mentors

 

Mentor Selection:

§         It is the student’s responsibility to select a mentor to assist with his/her science fair project.  A qualified scientist (MS with experience or PhD) may be required according to Safety Review Committee rules based on the specific project topic.  Otherwise, the teacher facilitator can serve as your mentor.

§         ISM students must submit the following mentor information to your teacher facilitator:  mentor’s name, area of expertise, address, phone number, and fax number by the end of the 1^st 9 weeks. 

Mentor Visitation: 

§         Always let your mentor know if you cannot keep a scheduled visit. 

§         Please keep your mentor updated on the progress of your research project.  Communication with you mentor is necessary for designing a meaningful project. 

 

Bi-Weekly Activity/Time Logs

 

• All ISM students will be expected to keep an Activity/Time Log.  This should be incorporated into your project lab notebook.  This is the documentation needed to verify all activity and research time required for ISM credit.  The total time for the week is to be recorded on the Time Log sheet that you fill in and then have signed by your teacher facilitator during your bi-weekly meeting.  These will be kept in the classroom in your ISM folder.

• You are to be thorough in recording your daily activities (phone calls for appointments, presentation preparation time, writing papers, etc.).  Documentation is very important for researchers and professionals. 

• The time log sheet must be completed every 2 weeks.  The log notebook must be shown to the teacher facilitator to verify your times and obtain a signature.  Failure to bring the log notebook to the scheduled bi-weekly meeting will result in grade penalties.
• Failure to complete a bi-weekly Activity/Time Log will result in grade penalties and 3 missed meetings may result in removal from the ISM program.

 

Project Proposal and Literature Review

 

• You will submit a complete research plan containing background discussion on your topic, hypothesis, materials list, detailed procedure and a literature review in a binder.
• You will submit a minimum of 10 annotated sources in your literature review. 
• These can be interviews, magazines, books, newspaper articles, web pages, videos, etc.  However, a minimum of 4 must be from published sources.
• You must document all sources using proper APA format.  (Examples for APA citations and bibliography are included in this handbook). 
• To do the annotation, write sentences describing what it is that you have read.  Summarize the pertinent information and Reflect on how the source is relevant to your topic.  Assess the qualifications of the source and how valuable/reliable the source is.
• This comprehensive, annotated bibliography needs to be alphabetized or logically organized and in a 3-ring binder with dividers between each source.  This will be turned in during the first 9 weeks as part of your project proposal.
• A photocopy of all online sources should be included with the annotated bibliography.

• Please provide some type of verification from interviewee (business card, signature, copy of e-mail, etc.) if you are using them as a source.
• You will submit at least of these 5 sources (not annotated) as part of your SRC Research Plan in the 2^nd 9 weeks.
• You should refer to the Project Proposal Rubric and SRC Project Proposal Description in your packet.

 

 

 

Meetings with Teacher Facilitator

 

Class Meetings:

§         In order to discuss information that is applicable to research, presentations, and writing formats, ISM students will have mandatory group meetings throughout the year. A makeup meeting will be scheduled within one week and should be attended to gain credit for the meeting. Failure to attend the required meeting or makeup meeting will result in a grade penalty and may result in removal from the ISM program.

 

Individual Meetings:

§         Each ISM student is expected to meet with the teacher facilitator at least every two weeks to discuss the progress of his/her research. 

§         Dates and times for meetings will occur during the designated ISM class time. 

§         It is your responsibility to remember these meetings!  Failure to attend on-time will result in a grade penalty.  Failure to attend 3 meetings may result in removal from the ISM program.

 

Evaluation Forms

 

     Self-Evaluations Forms: (turned in every nine weeks)

§         You are expected to make an honest self-assessment of your progress.

§         After filling out the self-evaluation form, complete a brief section discussing your strengths and weaknesses as they apply to your field of study. 

§         For weaknesses, please provide a proposed growth plan to help you improve these areas.

§         A Final Self-Evaluation Form will be submitted during the 4^th nine weeks, but before May 3, 2010.

§         Failure to turn in self-evaluation form by the last week of the appropriate 9 weeks will result in grade penalties.

 

 

Final Science Fair Project Presentation

 

     Final Presentation:

§         One final project presentation will be given in the PreAP Chemistry class to your classmates and teacher the week we return from Christmas break.  The teacher will score the project and presentation at this time. Students should refer to the Science Fair Project Presentation Rubric for details.

§         If chosen to compete, your presentation will be presented at the Friendswood High School Science Fair.  Your project and presentation will be evaluated by several professionals in your chosen field during the judging phase of the fair.  The scores from the judges will be averaged and adjusted to the school’s grading scale in order to provide the second of the presentation scores.  Students should refer to a copy of the Judges Score Sheet.

§         The third grade on your project will be from an evaluation by your mentor or a school administrator.  Each ISM student will be required to prepare a longer, more in-depth presentation (20 minutes minimum) to be given during the ISM class period.  Any student who qualifies and competes at the regional science fair (SEFH) may waive this ISM Long Presentation.

§         The cumulative presentation grade will be the mean of these three scores, unless the third presentation is waived because of SEFH participation.

§         If a student’s project is not chosen to compete in the FHS Science Fair, then a remediation plan will be developed with the teacher facilitator and the remediated project will be presented to a local panel for the second presentation score using the ISM Final Presentation Rubric.  This must be completed no later than March 3, 2008.  The third score will be assessed during the ISM Long Presentation and must be completed by May 3, 2010.

 

     Presentation Visuals/Handouts:

§         You are required to prepare a project display board according to the display rules of the Science and Engineering Fair of Houston (SEFH) and the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).

§         You must have an abstract for your presentation to handout to the graders and judges.  This abstract must follow the guidelines of SEFH and ISEF.

 

Additional Science Fair Competitions:

§         If a project advances to a higher level Science Fair Competition, additional points will be added to the teacher’s final project grade. 

 

Final Self-Analysis Evaluation

 

§          After the final presentation is over and you have completed all of your Science Fair Competitions, you are to complete and turn in the final Self-Analysis Evaluation.  It must be in by May 3, 2010.

 

 

Final Summary Paper

 

§         The report should include 5 sections: Introduction, Project design and method, Results, Conclusions, and an Abstract.  This paper is due by 3/22/09.

§         The paper will be typed, 12 font, double-spaced on standard-sized paper with margins of 1 inch.  See the Final Summary Paper Rubric and summary paper discussion for more information

 

Thank-You Notes

 

§         You will need to write a thank-you note to your mentor (for his/her time and assistance). 

§         Write thank-you notes to anyone else that was helpful to your project.

 

Distinguished Achievement Plan (DAP)

 

§         The ISM research project may apply to the DAP if you earn a semester average of at least 80.

§         It is not necessary to be seeking the DAP in order to take this class.

§         Potential colleges and employers are very interested in students who participate in individual study programs such as this.

 

Responsibility

 

§         This course stands true to its name.  It is an individual study.  The teacher will act as a facilitator, only. 

§         The remembrance of all due dates for meetings and assignments is the full responsibility of the student.