What does a high school student gain from generating a science fair project that is beyond what they get from class? I asked this of my Twitter Professional Learning Community and these are the types of responses I received:
“Students doing science fair projects gain experience on whole project lifecycle, from planning to publishing results” @amoroso
“It helps them see that good research doesn't mean your hypothesis is "right". And after doing projects, students have no trouble identifying variables. Also see that doing on experiment leads to more ??'s They learn how to solve problems scientifically. Another perk: they can study a branch of science that may not be covered in the current year's curriculum.” @janellewilson
“Learning how to actually come up with a testable hypothesis. I've seen too many high school students who can't do it.” @sumrtime
“Ownership of learning. Problem solving skills.” @AltEdAdventures
“They can learn how to find their own answers to things they wonder about and how the scientific method works.” @flyingjenny
"Confidence that who they really are is OK. Like the girl I wrote about who doesn't like sports, music or clubs - but LOVES spiders." @jerrybattiste
Alternatively, this type of remark was also received:And the following when I asked about the pros and cons of science fairs at the high school level:
“Sci. Fair- the politics of science, science as competition, style over substance. Sorry if I sound cynical. I'd rather be doing "good" science in class rather than "good looking" science for a competition.” @jeffmason
“I have never met a 7-12 science teach who ever liked science fairs.” @SciTeach3
“Con: kids with more money sometimes have unfair advantages which can affect self worth in some children. Pro: allows for connection between education and creativity. The children who actually do try get the experience.” @cbcurtisTTL
“Con: 2 much focus on fictional "scientific method". Pro: kids doing self-selected projects.” @science_4_all
“Con: parents often still doing the work!” @berrendsciMany of the comments can be summed up by this:
“Can’t you convince your admin that your students 'do science' as part of your classes? If so, may be less waste of time on lame fairs.” @chrisludwigDoes holding a science fair demonstrate that good science is being taught? In my opinion there is very little real creativity in many science fair projects as a quick google search will result in countless already-created projects. So if we cannot convince the overlords that our students “do science” in class, and they insist upon a science fair show,
- How can we ensure that the students’ time is spent effectively?
- How do we make sure the “pros” outweigh the “cons”?
- How do we remove focus from the fictional “scientific method”?
- How can we ensure the science fair is at the high school level of inquiry, and not embarrassingly elementary or middle schoolish?
The thing to do is make sure we, the educators, give the students the guidance they deserve. Careful thought needs to go into the direction and documents we give them. As high school science educators we must ensure that our science teaching does not drift into the fictional or easy.
Figures in this post are from the document A Miniature Guide to Scientific Thinking by Dr. Richard Paul and Dr. Linda Elder.