Criteria for Final Inquiry ProjectsPages1-5 Group Inquiry Project Presentations, Jessica Abrams

5-6 Inquiry Presentation Guide for Mr. Gilbert’s Science Class

6-8 Inquiry Presentations: Student Guide, Sarah Nehring

9 Guide: Students communicate their results to their classmates, Anita Bernahl

9-10 Brent’s Generic Student Guide for Inquiry Presentations

10 Discovery Walk, Steve Canale

10-11 Inquiry Project Presentations

11-12 RESEARCH POSTERS and PRESENTATIONS

12-13 Student Guide for Inquiry Presentation, Asia Ledbetter

13-14 Guideline for Science Presentation, Catie Hawkins

14 Guide to Presentation of Inquiry project, Tom Nowak

14-16 Mr. Brice’s Physics Guide for Student Inquiry Presentations

16-17 Inquiry Poster Presentations

17-18 Guide for inquiry presentations, Matt Coglon

19-20 Inquiry Activity – Presentation Board, Rebecca Dufek

20-21 Student Guide for Inquiry Projects Presentation/Final, Elizabeth Fried

Group Project PresentationsJessica Abrams

The culmination of our group projects will be to present them to the class. Since we have all centered our projects on the same topic, this will be an opportunity to describe to you classmates what your group found interesting about the topic and decided to explore. Requirements for this project presentation are listed below, along with how you will be graded.

You will have approximately 10 minutes to present your project and results. If you need more time, see me.

All group members need to participate in the preparation and presentation of your investigation.

Your project needs to include aspects of visual (drawings, poster, and props) and auditory (speaking) presentation. Try to gear your explanation toward your classmates. This means that you need to use your creativity to explain your project to them in a way that is meaningful and understandable.

Part of your presentation needs to include a demonstration of your methods. For example, if you measured sunlight and temperature, you would need to bring in the devices you used to do this, and demonstrate how you measured each variable.

A useful format for presentation could proceed as follows: The environment/setting you investigated What sparked your interest The questions that arose from your group’s observations Why you chose the question you did How you tested your question to get data (this is where you would

demonstrate your methods) The results of your tests and data analysis Your conclusion based on your initial question/hypothesis and data What you would do differently next time

Above is one option for the format of your presentation. All of the aspects listed above need to be included, but if you have an idea about how to re-arrange them, you have the freedom to do so.

You will be graded on the following criteria: (5)Did all group members participate equally in the presentation?(5)What was the environment that the student’s investigated?(5)How did they pick a question to investigate?(5)How did they test this question?

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(5) Did the students’ method of collecting data reflect prior consideration of the research question and background information collected?

(5) Were variables in the question measured and compared in such a way that the question could be answered?

(5) Did the conclusion take into account the initial question, data analysis, and background information?

(15) Was the presentation creative and thoughtful?

Total Points Possible: 50

Timeline for Project Presentations

Week 1

Monday: Get together with groups and discuss your experiment and what you learned. By the end of the class period you should have recorded answers to the following questions:

What environment/setting was investigated?What questions arose in observing this environment?What question did we decide to test and why?

Tuesday: Reassemble in your groups and refresh your memories from Monday’s class. Alter your answers if you feel it is necessary. Then, as a group answer the next set of questions:

How did we test our question?What variable did we test and why?How will we demonstrate our methods to the class?

Wednesday: Reassemble in your groups and refresh you memories from Monday and Tuesday’s classes. Then, as a group answer the following questions:

What are the results of our tests and the data we collected?Which results are meaningful in answering our question?What is our conclusion or answer to our question based on our initial question, background information and data collected?What could we do differently next time to make our experiment better?

Thursday: Today you will begin to plan your presentations. Please keep in mind that the presentations need to address the questions listed above and need to be creative.

cre·a·tive   adj.

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1. Having the ability or power to create: Human beings are creative animals.

2. Productive; creating. 3. Characterized by originality and expressiveness; imaginative: creative

writing. (From dictionary.com)

As the definition states, you have the power to create a project that reflects the work your group. This power gives you freedom to create a presentation that is meaningful to you. It should reflect the struggles and accomplishments of your group and in the end, tell a story of this project. I value you, your group and the way you think and understand things. Please make this thinking clear in your presentation.

Friday: You have the entire class period to assemble your project presentation. I will provide tools for you to work on you project including: a video camera, tools you used in your data collection, colored markers and poster board. If you need any other materials see me. Your presentation plan should be done by today. When your group feels that they have a plan for the presentation, please see me and describe it to me.

Week 2:

Monday: Today you will practice your group presentations for tomorrow. Please use your time wisely, making sure that your presentations address the questions listed in this handout. Today is also a day for you to collect materials that you will need for tomorrow. Please let me know if you have any last minute questions or needs.

Tuesday: Formal Group Presentations

Group 1, Group 3 and Group 5

Wednesday: Formal Group Presentations

Group 2, Group 4, and Group 6

Example Answers to questions above:

What environment/setting was investigated? Ravenna Park located south of our school. The park is approximately one square mile with dense trees and vegetation, jogging trails, and a stream, which extends from one end of the park to the other.What questions arose in observing this environment? During our observation, we recorded seeing two large flocks of crows in the

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northern most section of the park. We also noticed that this section is where the majority of people hang out when they come to the park. It was confusing to us because wild animals usually avoid people. One of us thought that the reason the crows gathered here was because there is a large grass lawn where they could feed on exposed worms. Another member of the group thought that the crows might be gathering here to eat the leftover food from the people that visit the park.What question did we decide to test and why? In deciding what questions to ask, we consider which question had things that we could measure. Our initial question was, “Why do crows favor the northern part of the park?” But this question didn’t have anything that we could measure. So we narrowed down our question to, “Are there more crows in the northern end of the park because there is more food there?” This question was going to be very difficult to answer because there are only five of us and it would be difficult to measure crows and food throughout the park. So finally, we decided to ask the questions, “Are crows in the northern end of the park eating more human food or worms?” How did we test our question? To test our question we went to the park on four different days at approximately the same time and counted the number of crows eating human food and the number of crows eating worms. If the crows ate both then we put them in the both category.What variable did we test and why? We decided to test what crows were eating because this might help us understand why they prefer the northern end of the park. By counting the number of crows eating human food vs. worms, we could determine if humans were having and effect on the location of the crows in the park.How will we demonstrate our methods to the class? To demonstrate our methods to the class we will bring in a map of the park and show where the crows were located. Then we will act out how we observed the crows feeding habits. We will use fake crows and food to do this.What are the results of our tests and the data we collected? To analyze our data, we made bar graphs of the number of crows who ate human food vs. the number of crows who ate worms vs. the number of crows who ate both. We made a graph for each of the days that we observed crows. From our graphs, it looks like the crows were eating more human food than worms by about 70% averaged over the four days we observed them.Which results are meaningful in answering our question? We think that all of the results above are meaningful.What is our conclusion or answer to our question based on our initial question, background information and data collected? We conclude that the crows in the northern most part of the park are primarily eating human food. Since crows are scavengers, we think that this

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part of the park is ideal for them to get food, because there are open garbage cans and people leave their food out without throwing it away sometimes.What could we do differently next time to make our experiment better? One of the problems with our experiment is that we counted the number of crows that ate human food and worms. This wasn’t entirely accurate since we didn’t keep track of how many crows there were. It could be that some of the crows’ preferred human food and others preferred worms. Next time, we would need to count the crows and keep track of as many as possible and what they eat.

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Inquiry Presentation Guide for Mr. Gilbert’s Science Class

Now that you’ve worked so hard to ask questions, design an experiment, and collect and analyze data, it’s time for the really fun stuff….

This presentation is your opportunity to tell your classmates about what you discovered. The presentation can come in any form that you see fit. Some examples:

oral presentation with posters or overheads video powerpoint presentation website anything else you can think of

If you choose a method not listed above please talk to me, Mr. Gilbert, about it before you start. Also let me know if you need any special equipment (projector, computer, etc.).

Here’s the important stuff à The purpose of this presentation is to show us what you discovered and how you did it. Make sure you have that in mind when you’re designing your presentation. Therefore, you will want to address the following questions:

1. What was my question?-- Why did I come up with that question? Why did I care about it?

2. What was the experimental design I used to answer that question?-- How did my background information influence the design or the question?

3. What data did I collect? (GRAPHS!!)-- What did this data show? What does it mean?

4. If I could do another inquiry with this same topic, what would I do differently or additionally?

The presentations should include at least 2 (maybe more like 4 or 5) visual aids to show your data and/or experimental design. The presentation will be 5-6 minutes long followed by 4-5

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minutes of questions from the audience. This brings us to the next very important part of this project. à

Guide for Audience Members

Your job as an audience member is to listen carefully and ask meaningful questions. Remember that your classmates all worked hard on this project and disruptions during presentation will not be tolerated. During the Question & Answer (Q&A) time, you are encouraged to share your questions and ideas in a respectful and constructive way. Some examples of some types of good questions and comments:

Clarification : “So what you’re saying is….” Speculation : “What do you think would happen if…?” Design : “Why did you do….in your experiment?”

These are just suggestions, there are many other ways that you, as an audience member can contribute to the presentations…come prepared to do so.

Your classmates and I are looking forward to hearing what you have to tell us about your inquiry projects!!

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Inquiry Presentations:Student Guide

Sarah Nehring

At the completion of your independent Inquiry investigations, each group will make a 3-5

minute presentation to the class.

Presentation requirements are as follows:

Length: 3-5 minutes

Format: You can choose from one of the following formats, or check with me if you want to

use a different presentation tool. At least one pre-prepared visual aid is required!

- power point

- overhead slides

- posterboard

Presentation must be polished:

- know what you are going to say, do NOT read off a sheet of paper

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- make eye contact, use a loud and clear voice

- know the time limit, do not run under or over time!!

- Be prepared for questions from your classmates about your project

Presentation must include the following elements:

1. A clear statement of your inquiry question

2. Your original hypothesis & prediction of results

3. Description of procedure you used to answer your inquiry question.

Think about:

a. Did your actual procedure differ from what you originally planned?

b. Did you run into any difficulties?

c. What was the purpose behind each step of your procedure?

4. Results (verbal discussion & visual presentation)

Think about:

a. Did your data support your prediction?

b. Were you surprised by any part of your results?

** Your presentation must include a visual representation of your data. This

can take the form of a graph, a chart, a diagram…

5. What further questions would you like to pursue about this topic?

Be an active audience memberA portion of your grade will depend upon your behavior as an audience member. A

worksheet will be provided on presentation day to assist you with taking notes on your

classmates’ presentations. Please take careful notes and try to come up with

challenging questions for your classmates.

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Presentation Evaluation Form

*turn this form in before you leave the classroom today!*

Name of presentors: __________________________________

Inquiry Question:

Hypothesis:

Conclusion:

What questions do I have about this study?

(please think about this during the presentation, and ask questions at the end!)

What else I would like to learn about this topic:

What were the strengths of this group’s presentation?

(for example, did you think they had particularly good eye contact?, etc…)

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Guide: Students communicate their results to their classmates

Anita Bernahl

(Side note: I am approaching this assignment as if the students have gone through a guide to help them create scientific testable questions and performed that experiment.

I was thinking of how this assignment continued the cones and rods color detection lab. I was going to base the guide on a separate experiment, but then I became confused as to how specific this lab should be. My other idea was for students to test varying abilities for camouflage and predator detection. Using a visual display, Tom demonstrated last quarter, students would detect differences in the ability to find camouflaged pieces of paper. This same idea could be done with students trying to find different colored beans or grains on the floor. The class could form and test their own questions. The guide I have created is general and could be used for any experiment performed.

They now sit with this guide to help them communicate their results to their peers. During this guide you will see my ideas in parenthesis to further explain my thought process.)

After your data has been collected, ask yourself the following questions in order to facilitate the presentation of your results.

1. What kind of data was collected in your experiment? (descriptive, correlative, or controlled experiment)

2. How could you best express your results in words? (written or spoken)

3. What kinds of visual displays would help your peers understand your results? (posters, 3-D models, in-class/video performance, charts, tables, pictures)

4. Does the combination of your verbal and visual methods clearly communicate your findings? Test your method on a peer and adjust presentation where questions arise.

5. How would you like to present your results for peer review? (in front of the class, science fair style, small group discussion)

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Brent’s Generic Student Guide for Inquiry Presentations1. Include the “wonderment question” that you were thinking about trying to answer when

you were first starting out.2. Include the “scientifically testable question” that you ended up with.3. Explain why or how you chose the question (inquiry) that you ended up with.4. Explain the process (the experiment) you used to test and get an answer to your question.

Did you modify this process or your inquiry question during the testing?5. What were your predictions about the answer to your questions before you started to test?6. What were your results? 7. Did anything about your results or about the testing process (experiment) surprise you?

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8. What new questions (if any) occurred to you during the testing process or after you got your results. What questions do you have now about this topic?

9. It is fine to use ordinary common English when you were originally asking your inquiry questions and designing your tests but I want you to use as much scientific terminology (including equations if applicable) and as much science vocabulary as possible when presenting your results. (This very much mimics the process professional scientists follow in the real world.)

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Discovery Walk Steve Canale

So that everyone in class can see what you’ve discovered, show us what you discovered in your inquiry on a poster.

Get basic materials for you poster from the student resources table

Write your question on the poster and what you discovered

Represent your data with tables, graphs, drawings or pictures

Tell us what the important steps were in your investigation

Show us your model of what happened

Tell us the most important thing to remember about what you found?

Put your poster up on the wall in an empty space

Answer questions about your discoveries when we do our discovery walk______________________________________________________________________________

Inquiry Project Presentations

As the Grande finale to our inquiry projects we are going to give group presentations to the class. You will be in groups of four (the same people you have been with the entire project). The actual presentations will have a unique setting-a game show. An example that you may use is Jeopardy, if you are interested in another game show please discuss it with me so we can organize the format. In the game Jeopardy, contestants pick answers from different categories and are required to give the associated question. However, for our purposes the question may be asked by the host and the answer given by anyone of the contestants. Game rules:

You are encouraged to use creativity- for example you could incorporate visuals: posters, power-point, video, etc.

You will be given 15-20 minutes to play the game. The host must participate as a contestant for some portion of the time or respond to

questions contestants miss

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There are several categories that you are required to cover: Claim-(What did you discover or confirm in your inquiry?) Background knowledge-(What information was necessary to know for your inquiry?) Models/Relationships-( Include initial and final models) Hypothesis/Question-(If you changed your hypothesis you can include both or all) Evidence/Justification Method-(How did you carry out your investigation? Any interesting measurements or

ways of finding/taking data?) Assumptions-(Was there anything you had to assume(something that you could not know

for sure)? Conclusion(s)

The following categories will involve the game show audience: Relevance to everyday life outside and beyond school Rebuttals(offer a contrary argument) Perspectives/Effects-does this effect more than one “group” of people or do others have a

differing opinion? (i.e. pollution effects everyone or logging is good for loggers but bad for environmentalists)

*Rebuttals and perspectives may overlapExample Game Board:

Claim Backgroundknowledge

Models/Relationships

Hypothesis/Questions

Method

100 100 100 100 100200 200 200 200 200300 300 300 300 300

You may have as many questions in each category as necessary but it is not necessary to include everything, only key points.

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RESEARCH POSTERS and PRESENTATIONSWalk around the hallways of any professional scientific laboratory in America and you are likely to find, hanging on the walls, many large posters describing the work of the scientists working there. When a scientist completes a research project, he or she creates a poster, for colleagues and visitors to read, that tells the project’s story. We will do the same.

I have attached two sample posters to help demonstrate possible ideas. Take a look at them. Don’t worry about the words or the data they show—instead, focus on how they use different sections to tell a story.Poster Requirements:

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Anna

1. All text on your poster must be TYPEWRITTEN.2. Your experiment’s TITLE must begin at the top left corner of the poster. Make it large enough to

see from a couple feet away.3. Your FULL NAME and AFFILIATION (school and location) must appear below the title, in a

smaller size. For example, I would write: Stephen J Schreiner, Bad Boy High School, 31 Tree Lane, Seattle, WA 98105

4. You must begin with a short INTRODUCTION. One paragraph is fine. This section provides a brief background to your experiment.

5. You must end with your RESULTS/CONCLUSIONS. Again, one paragraph is fine. This section tells what you discovered

6. You must include at least one PICTURE/DRAWING.7. You must include at least one GRAPH, TABLE, or CHART.8. The other sections (between two and six, up to you) must tell the story of your project. There are

many ways to tell a story, and each of you is telling a different story, so I’m leaving this aspect of the poster up to you. All I ask is that these sections be COHERENT. Someone unfamiliar with your project should be able to look at your poster and achieve a general idea of the experiment you performed. This is the most difficult section of the poster. If you have questions, or if you want me to see if your poster makes sense, come ask me.

The Presentation:On the first day of presentations, half of you will set up your posters around the room and then

stand nearby to tell other students the story of your project and answer any questions they might have. The other half of you will be free to walk around the room and look at your classmates’ projects. I’ll expect you to ask good questions. The second day, we’ll switch.

Grading:As long as you follow all the requirements above, you’ll get an “A” on your poster. I want this to

be a fun experience for you—design your poster however you want. Put cool colors on it, make it three-dimensional, make it out of tree bark, whatever. Your poster can look ugly, or it can look like a piece of art. As long as it’s LEGIBLE and COHERENT, I don’t care. Everybody can get an “A” on this project—but the pretty posters don’t get bonus points. What I want is good, logical information.

______________________________________________________________________________Asia Ledbetter

Student Guide for Inquiry Presentation

Presenters’ Guidelines

Your inquiry presentation must contain the following:o Visual representation(s) of some sorto Your group’s question (and how you arrived at the question)o Your hypothesiso Your methods/materialso Your data

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o Your conclusiono New questions you have as a result of your inquiry project

Each group member is responsible for contributing equally to creating the presentation AND to presenting the presentation.

Each group’s presentation must be no shorter than 10 minutes, but no longer than 20 minutes.

Audience’s Guidelines

Audience members are expected to listen respectfully during the presentation and hold all questions until the end.

A portion of your Inquiry Presentation grade is based on your contribution of questions to one or more of the groups presenting. Please ask at least one question of interest about at least one group’s presentation.

NOTE: This student guide would work potentially with a variety of presentation methods (posters, videos, powerpoint presentations, plays, etc.).

_______________________________________________________________________Catie Hawkins

Guideline for Science Presentation

Purpose/Goal: The purpose of this project is to share scientific knowledge with classmates in an entertaining fashion, to engage in scientific learning, and to get a better understanding of a scientific phenomenon, yourself.

Sub-goals: Develop team working skills, experience science in a real world application, and develop a greater curiosity and enthusiasm about scientific concept(s).

Format: Skit, Video, Theatrical Reading, Puppet Show, (or, if you have other format ideas please share them with me before beginning your project).

Project: You are asked to create an original work in one of the above formats using your imagination and interest in a scientific phenomenon. Please create a mystery where the solution to the mystery depends on the understanding of a scientific concept. The scientific concept must be explained in the presentation in a creative fashion other than by simply stating it, this in order to keep the interest of your classmates when presenting.

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Requirements: Choose groups of 3 or 4 people. Presentations should be 15 +/- 2 minutes. It should be obvious (or made obvious) that each group member has put substantial effort into the project.

Example of a Mysterious Twist: Evidence of PKU could be found at the scene of the crime. This could lead investigators to look for suspects that cannot digest phenylalanine. (Explain PKU and the implications for those that suffer from it.)

BUT YOU CAN COME UP WITH SOMETHING EVEN BETTER! HAVE FUN!

_____________________________________________________________________________ Tom Nowak

Guide to Presentation of Inquiry project

Procedure for conducting inquiry:

1) Brainstorm questions of interest.2) Identify variables that define parts of initial question that can be manipulated. 3) Identify methods and tools that are needed to quantify and measure variables.4) Define a timeframe that is appropriate to the class and can be completed in the allotted

time5) Gather the materials need for the test and write out a procedure to follow the test.6) Conduct the investigation and write observations as you go. 7) After the investigation, write down all data gathered and see how data might answer

initial question. From the procedure, write down any new questions that can continue the investigation. Also, write down any assumptions and sources of error that might limit the validity of the data.

8) From all your documentation, rewrite the whole project into a concise two page document that you will submit to the school or community newspaper. Met with the editor of the publication to see if the size and scope of the paper will be adequate for your audience before you start writing.

9) On the due date, clip out the final draft of the paper and present it in class in the form of an oral lecture on the topic. The format of your lecture should follow the mind-set that you followed in conducting the investigation starting with presenting the initial question to the class and brainstorming possible ways to investigate the question. You should conclude with asking the class what other questions they have in exploring the initial topic for further studies and what assumptions or sources of error might be found in the initial study.

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Mr. Brice’s PhysicsGuide for Student Inquiry Presentations

The following is a guide to use when planning your end of quarter presentations for your inquiry projects. This guide is meant to create a structure that you can work from but does not

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entail a detailed step-by-step process to go through to create a presentation. I do this because your presentations should reflect your inquiry and need not strictly follow a set pattern. Please use these guidelines to create an informative, creative and fun presentation that you and your peers will engage in and be able to take some conceptual knowledge away from.

The Presentation:

Time - You will be allowed 15 minutes to orally present to their peers the findings and processes used in your inquiry. Presentations will be spread over a few class periods at the end of the quarter and each student will be assigned into a 15 minute time slot. I will let you know during your presentation when you are close to the 15 minute allotment and you should be prepared to wrap-up your presentation within a few minutes from that time.

Technology – You may use PowerPoint or Overheads in order to present your findings. I will arrange a class period where students without computers or access to PowerPoint can visit the school library to work on their presentation. You will NOT be graded on the type of technology used so do not feel compelled to utilize a computer. I will be available to help create overheads.

Necessary Components – As stated in the opening paragraph your presentation should be formatted to fit your inquiry experience and question. The list below is a brief list of components that I feel are necessary in each of your presentations, if you are unsure about anything on this list or do not feel that it is a necessary component in your inquiry then please see me to discuss. The list below encompasses at a minimum 6 slides and I will be looking for evidence in your presentation that you covered these elements.

Inquiry Question: Your primary inquiry question in either, its wonderment form, its scientific form or preferably both.

Process Taken: At least one slide/overhead on the process you took to come to your experiment/question. This could include modifications you made, analysis about testing procedures, etc.

Experimental Setup: Your experimental setup from which you took data. This can be in the form of a picture, explanation or chart.

Results: A visual description that best shows your audience the results of your experiment(s).

Data Analysis: At least one slide dealing with how you determined whether or not your results verified your initial ideas.

Reflections: At least one slide listing some points of reflection about the inquiry process in general, and/or your specific project.

Advancement Ideas – The following is a list of ideas that you can think about including in your presentation. These are meant to enhance your presentation in order for your audience to better understand what processes you went through and what knowledge you gained from the process.

Visuals, photos, fun! Concentrate on the process that you went through more so than the actual results although

the results are important. Challenge your peers! List of slides with questions or group involvement make the

presentation more “real” for your audience. References to other science ideas, analogies, etc.

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AND FINALLY!

Grading – The following explains how your grades will be determined. Bear in mind I’m looking for the process you went through to be displayed along with how well your presentation enhances your audience’s knowledge of what you studied.

What I WILL be including in my grading criteria: Inclusion of the necessary components (see section above) How well your presented material captured your inquiry process Your reflection journal – To be turned in to Mr. Brice at time of your presentation

What I WILL NOT be including in my grading criteria: Overall presentation skills (some of you will be presenting for the first time, so do not worry

about how nervous you are because it does not matter in this case, do bear in mind that the better you know your material the better you will be able to present it and your audience knows less than you do in most cases!)

Technology used and total number of slides/overheads. (You only have 15 minutes and remember less is typically more!)

Anything else not covered in the WILL section above.

ABOVE ALL – SCIENTISTS CAN HAVE FUN

______________________________________________________________________________Inquiry Poster Presentations

One of the main activities of scientists is the sharing of investigation and research findings with the science community. This is done in many different ways from formal research reports published in a journal to live presentations at scientific lectures, fairs and symposiums. To share the findings of our own inquiry projects we will be holding our own science fair where we can share the stories of our inquiry projects. Each inquiry group will be required to create a visual display of their inquiry projects that must include a poster but may also include a demonstration, artifacts from your investigation, photographs or any other ways you would like to creatively share your group’s findings. Your group will also be responsible to present your findings in an informal way to our classroom science community.

POSTERS MUST INCLUDE

- A graphical representation of your initial model (the context of your inquiry)- An appropriate and creative way of graphically communicating your findings- A graphical representation of you final model (how your findings fit back into the

larger context)

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Your poster will serve as a guide and support to your presentation. For the presentation portion of this project your group must be able to respond to the following questions:

PRESENTATION QUESTIONS:

- Context of inquiry and background information- Your initial guiding question, hypothesis and model- Explanation of the experiment and experimental design- Verbal explanation of findings and how you analyzed your data- How your findings fit back into the larger context - Any new questions that have arisen from the experience or any other things you

have learned from your inquiry process

Presentations will be graded based on whether these requirements are met, how well they are met and how well the your overall presentation tells the story of your inquiry projects.

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Guide for inquiry presentations: Matt Coglon

Here are some things to think about while you are putting together your poster for your presentation. Posters are due the first day of presentations, even though we will be presenting over three days. Each of you will get a chance to stand by your poster and answer any questions your peers may have for you, and each of you will have two days in which to check out other people’s posters and research and ask them questions. You have to fill out a short evaluation for each poster, with at least one specific comment about what you really liked about a poster and one specific suggestion to make the poster easier to understand. Remember, since you have a chance to revise your posters after the presentation, good feedback will allow you and your colleagues to improve your posters.

Please read this guide all the way through before actually starting on your poster. It is important to make a “rough draft” of your poster to present to a friend, relative or neighbor to find the confusing parts of your presentation. Reducing the confusing parts makes it easier to present to your peers.

Posters should contain the following five parts:

Question:

Your question as a title clearly labeled at or near the top of the poster. This should be easy to understand and easy to read. You might have your parents or friends or even your bus driver or neighbor look at your question and see if it makes sense to them.

Hypothesis:

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Your hypothesis should be somewhere near your question. It should also be easy to understand after reading your investigative question. Ask your mailperson (or family member) if it makes sense to them. The feedback you get may help make your hypothesis easier to understand.

Method:

Make this a short and sweet as you can without writing a book about your procedures. It can be a step-by-step cookbook instruction on how you did your experiment or got your measurements. You can write it out in sentences if you prefer, but remember, you want it to be easy to read and in a big font, and long sentences may take up more room than you have, because the a more important part in a poster is presenting your --

Data and/or Results:

This is the part where you tell your audience what you found in your measurements or during your experiment. Is slug slime stickier than glue? Do you find more or less earthworms the deeper you dig in the soil? Choose a way to present your data that is easy to read. Will a bar graph work? Does your project have a variable that you change to see if something else changes with it? Data presentation should be in one or more clearly labeled and easy to read graphs or charts. This is the second most important part of your presentation after the hypothesis, because it tells the rest of us what happened in your study. Again, finding someone outside of class (or even me!) to see if your work is simple to understand can help you make the best presentation possible.

Conclusion:

The final part. Did your results match or conflict with your hypothesis? Why do you think this is or isn’t true? What can explain what happened in your experiment? This can be harder to write if the data don’t agree with your hypothesis, but sometimes it’s hard to know what the data are telling you. Try to think of at least two reasons or explanations for the data you got. Be honest, and put effort into this part. Often, when scientists read a scientific paper, they start with the very beginning and then skim the middle, looking over the data/results and conclusion (often called the discussion section in a scientific article).

Again, some advice before you bring this to class:

It’s a good idea to try presenting your poster to a friend or family member first, with a short explanation of your project and your results. Explain your conclusion and whether it supports or refutes your hypothesis. Your poster should have computer-drawn graphs, although neatly drawn graphs will suffice. Your data presentation should have a legend and be clearly labeled so that a person looking at it who did not do the experiment can understand what the data reveal -- either how the variables change, or how they change with respect to each other, or how did you describe the measurements you took. If you can do this with someone who isn’t in the same science class as you and they understand your study, you can be confident you are on the right track.

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Inquiry Activity – Presentation Board Rebecca Dufek

Note: Students will have a class period to review assigned board and discuss in small groups their evaluation of the inquiry project. Then they will submit the questions as an list to the teacher. Each anonymous list would then be distributed to each group and they will be expected to discuss the questions and gather their evidence in support of their claim. At the next session, each group will have an opportunity to present their answers and support their inquiry in a 5 minute answer session.

GUIDE

At the completion of your inquiry you will design and construct a presentation board to display your data and results.

Required Materials3 Panel 2 Ply Display Board, 48"x48", White (example provided in class) Boards can be purchased through any office supply store, Fred Meyer, or through the teacher for $4.50 each.

LayoutYour board will be divided into sections.

Large Center Section should include the following:1. The title of your inquiry project2. Your question/hypothesis (what did you want to answer scientifically through your

inquiry? What did you want to know of find out about your topic?)3. Outline your method (include 2 sections – your materials used to implement your

experiment/inquiry and the steps in your procedure)4. Your results and data in the form of graphical representation by using charts, bar or line

graphs, tables, and diagrams. You may also include a written summary but there must be at least one graphical representation. It can either be formatted on a computer using publisher, excel, or word software or hand drawn.

Left panel of the board should include:1. Your initial theory or model for your inquiry project (What was your original thinking

about how the process worked or what happened?)2. The background information contributed by the group (What information did you

gather to try and learn more about your topic, what questions to ask, and how to implement your inquiry strategy?)

3. Your predictions of what will happen in the experiment/inquiry.4. Your final model (Include how and why you changed it in a brief summary. Utilize any

diagrams or relationships to help illustrate your model.)

Right panel of the board should include:

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1. The evidence to support your claim based on the information gathered and the data you collected from your inquiry

2. The assumptions you used to support your claim but did not have the evidence to back it up (either you were unable to collect further data or could not test in lab)

3. Final Claim: What did you finally claim after viewing the results of your data and gathering evidence?

4. Overall conclusion: Please address the following questions in this section:a. How successful did you feel you were in answering your hypothesis through your

inquiry? b. Would you change anything or do it differently? c. Would you add anything to the inquiry/experiment? (further anaylsis)d. What are you ideas for further study?e. What did you learn from the inquiry project?

On a final note, feel free to use any additional materials to design your board as long as you follow the specified format (meaning you can be creative and use cloth, crayons, markers, 3-D attachments. Cutouts, photos of your experiment, magazine pictures related to the project, stamps, printed or colored paper, foil, etc.)Also, it is highly recommended that you have fun doing this and try your best. Your peers will anonymously evaluate completeness of your project and most importantly your group’s ability to implement a thorough inquiry that adequately supports your claim through sufficient evidence. After peer evaluation, you will be given a list of questions from your peers that you will have 5 minutes to address and support evidence as a group in front of the class.

Please see me as soon as possible if you have any questions. Once we finish the inquiries, you will have one week to complete your presentation boards.

______________________________________________________________________________Elizabeth FriedStudent Guide for Inquiry Projects Presentation/Final

Students, the time has come for you to create a final presentation of your project that you’ve been working on. There are several different choices for you as ways that you can choose to present your independent research. All students are responsible for writing a 5-8 page research paper and for a short presentation (5 minutes) of their research project. Here are some examples of ways to display and share your research with the class:Diorama

A diorama is a three-dimensional model which shows a situation, such as an historical event or animals in their natural surroundings, in a way that looks real because the height, length and width of what is being shown are accurately represented in comparison with each other. This would be great idea for some biology and earth science research projects that could be easily made into a 3-D display.

To accompany your diorama, you will need to bring your 5-8 page research paper and be ready to explain your diorama in a 5 minute presentation to the class.TV Show/ Radio Show

You can create a science show modeled after a show on the Discovery Channel or a science show like Bill Nye the Science Guy, which investigates your research question through

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inquiry. Have guest scientists interviewed, travel to laboratories, video the procedure that you used to conduct your research.

Alternatively, you could make a radio show and tape in on an audio tape, CD, or VHS tape. You could talk about the breaking news story and then cut to your research results and have yourself as an expert on the radio show.

To accompany your creative TV/radio show, you will need to turn in a 5-8 page research paper and be able to present your reasoning behind the creation of your TV/radio show. This would be the “director’s commentary” on the project.Short Science Fiction Story

Including the results of your science project, you could devise a story of the future/ today that shows how your research could help society or how the knowledge of your project could be used for some devious government plot. For example, if your experiment was on the effects of microwave radiation on plants, you could write a short story (10-15 pages) that would be about a government plot to use microwave ray guns to kill enemy plant food sources.

Along with your creative writing, you must include your research paper and be able to briefly explain to the class how your short story relates to your findings in your inquiry project.Billboard Display of Research

You can choose to make a billboard of your science project to share with the class. You may include photos of your research, and/ or bring in some of the apparatus from your research. You must include your title, introduction, materials, procedures, hypothesis, results, conclusion, and data/ graphs on your billboard/ poster. Along with your poster/ billboard, you must include your 5-8 page research paper and be able to present your billboard to the class in a 5 minute presentation.

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