1 *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. Copyright © 2012 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, Intel Education and

1

*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

Copyright © 2012 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel , Intel Education and the Intel logoare trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.

Copyright © 2010 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.

Science Fair Competition: Lessons Learned for Inquiry Based Learning

Jon K. Price, Ph. D.Program Manager, Research & EvaluationIntel Corporation

May, 15, 2012

2 *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.


Research & Evaluation

Continuous improvement of education reform for sustainable education transformation.



Understanding Terms

Monitoring = the systematic tracking of components of an intervention to measure quality.

Evaluation = the systematic investigation of the merit, worth, or significance of any “object”. - Michael Scriven

Assessment = the systematic measurements of individual knowledge and competencies.

Research = the systematic investigation -- including research development, testing and evaluation -- designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge.



A Bridge between Research & Practice

• “…the field of education needs more ‘conduits’ who take the research, comprehend how the research could be useful in practice, and educate teachers, policy-makers, and leaders on the practical implications of research in the activities in which they are involved. In other words, the bridge from research to practice is not well traveled.“

- Jane McDonald, education scholar/consult



Evaluation & Intel ISEF

Students

+ Teachers & Judges

Educator AcademyLocal Environment



Students: Evaluation & Intel ISEF

• Evaluating students’ satisfaction, academic experiences,

• Investigate how Intel ISEF programs impacted their career and academic selection,

• Assess whether Intel ISEF participation motivated students to pursue science, math and engineering careers.

• Self report survey data was collected from:

• H.S. Student Finalists completing an on-line survey located in the e-lounge at Intel ISEF. o Online Student Survey, N = 610 (43.3%) & Interviews, N = 78 (18 Intl)

• H.S. Teachers completing an on-line survey distributed to e-mail dis list provided by Science Service following Intel ISEF. Teachers were asked to respond to perception of student behavior & their own experiences. o Teacher Online Survey, N = 398 (41.9%) & Focus Group, N = 9



Findings:

• The findings provide data that supports assumptions that Intel ISEF accomplishes its stated goals.

1) To encourage and reward excel-lence in student-based research;

Teacher respondents agreed that Intel ISEF • Encourages students to pursue excellence (98.5%) • Rewards excellence in research (98.2%)

Student Respondents to the online survey rated the following ‘very important’ or ‘important’:

• Enjoyment of science (94.4)• Future career opportunities (86.2)• Potential to win awards and scholarships (83.9%)• Opportunity to attend Intel ISEF (78.8%)



Findings, p.2• The findings provide data that supports assumptions that

Intel ISEF accomplishes its stated goals.

2) to motivate students to pursue science, math and engineering careers;

Almost all teacher respondents agreed that Intel ISEF encourages students to pursue STEM careers (97.2%).

Student Respondents to the online survey agreed that their work leading to Intel ISEF made them more interested in;

• science (95.4%)• a career with inquiry (90.3%) • a STEM career (89.8%)

3) to promote inquiry and project-based science teaching and learning in the schools

The 1,000+ projects on display were observed to be Inquiry based projects.

Many teacher respondents indicated they ‘strongly agreed’ or ‘agreed’ with the following, in their schools:

• Intel ISEF promoted inquiry (90.5%) • Intel ISEF promoted project-based learning (87.2%)



Findings p.3

• A significant majority of respondents agreed that Intel ISEF encourages and rewards excellence in research and has a positive impact on the classroom/the way they teach.

44% of the students indicated that their schools had science research classes.

Teacher Respondents Agreed or Strongly Agreed that:• external competitions had a positive impact on their teaching (91.7%)• the existence of only affiliated fairs, but no Intel ISEF would affect their

school’s science education programs (51.8%)• no science fairs at all would affect their schools’ science education

programs (69.3%)

• Half of the teacher respondents indicated their science education programs would change without Intel ISEF, (51.8%). Compared to 69.3% who indicated their programs would change without any science fair competitions.



• Revisit students’ satisfaction, academic experiences, & participation in inquiry and project-based science.

• Investigate Teacher perspectives how Intel ISEF encourages and rewards excellence in student-based research, motivates students in pursuing science, math and engineering careers.

• Identifying judges perception of ‘Attributes of Success’ .

+Teachers & Judges: Evaluation & Intel ISEF

Data Source Survey Interview Focus Gp

Students X (412) X (60)

Teachers X (394) X (35)

Judges X (715) X (4)

Regional Fair Directors X (21)



Key Findings - Student

1. Student demographic.• Balance of urban, suburban,

rural & public schools• Balance between after

school/science fair program v. in school

• 81% of finalists who come from household with college degrees.

2. Mentorships are important• 72% of finalists with mentors• more significant factor to

successful science fair competition than access to outside laboratories.

• Mentors often assist in access to laboratories.

Parents or guardians remain the key factor in influencing participation

• These are not considered ‘mentor’ relationships

31.4

35.3

15.8 17.5

Project Development

After School Research Pro-gramResearch Class

Both

Standard Science Class

N = 412

Factors Mean (SD)

Very Importa

nt

Very Important Important

Parents or Guardians

3.11 46.2% 73.0%

Current Teachers 2.99 48.9% 66.9%

Mentors 2.83 42.6% 63.3%

Past Teachers 2.47 25.5% 48.4%

Adult Researchers 2.43 27.5% 48.4%

Mentors



Student Motivation & Benefits

3. The opportunity to attend Intel ISEF remains in the top four motivating factors for science fair competition.

4. Benefits attributed to Science Fair competition include:



Teacher Perceptions:What resources help them succeed? What are potential problems?

21st Century Skills:1. Skills and knowledge of science (8)2. Problem solving (6)3. Technology* Communication* (5)

School Support:• Importance of teachers in a successful

school (15)• Importance of a school’s support (10)

– school’s administration – school’s culture– support of other teachers

Student Engagement: • students have to be willing to work

hard• they have to be well trained in science• it helps if they can see top projects• they have to have initiative

Task Very DifficultStatistical analyses 35.8%Choosing a problem 32.2%Completing paperwork 22.1%Analyzing data 15.0%Getting accurate measurements 9.6%Consulting literature 9.4%Obtaining adequate controls 7.4%Forming conclusions 6.9%Finishing the project 6.6%Developing hypotheses 5.8%Identifying variables 5.6%Preparing to explain their projects to judges 5.6%Collecting data 2.8%Creating display boards 2.0%

N=35 Interviews N=394 Surveys



Judges Perceptions

1. High quality projects were mostdependent on factors relating to aspects of the scientific method and data collection,

• methodology/collection of the data,

• the quality of data,

• the analysis of data

2. Two factors relate to the use of the research beyond the project,

3. Four factors relate to the presentation of the project

4. There is high satisfaction with the judging process.

5. There is high confidence in the quality of projects – but noted range between good & poor projects.

Importance of Differentiating Project Factors Very Very Important

Important & ImportantMethodology 53.8% 93.8%Quality of Data 49.7% 91.5% Data Analysis 45.7% 89.9%Oral Presentation 37.6% 80.3% Hypothesis 35.4% 81.8%Problem Selected 33.1% 77.6%Expanded scientific knowledge 32.0% 73.1%Potential of results to be used by others 27.1% 61.6%Visual Display 12.9% 56.7%Written Report 12.2% 56.5%Access to Mentor 11.2% 46.3%Access to Lab 11.3% 40.7%Skill in English 7.0% 34.4%Parents in Science 5.0% 25.1%

Judge Surveys



N=715



Attributes for Success

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

73.3

66.6 6764.1

36.5 35.9

28

96.1 95 94.1 94.792

8377.8

ImportantImportant & Very

Judge Surveys

17

“Most Intel ISEF finalists could make their projects better by…” • Improve Methodology

– Bigger sample– Multiple trials

• Increase Clarity of Presentation– Easy to Read– All the Relevant Information

• Communication Skills– Ability to Answer Questions and Talk Informally About the Project

• In-depth Understanding of Topic– Allows More Focused, Planned Research

• Unique/Creative– Catches the Imagination

• Student Initiated– Authentic Student Interest and Passion

Judge Interviews



“The one thing that separates the best projects from the others is…”



Participants:

• Investigation of the Intel Educator Academy, participant characteristics and factors that enable success in the local environment.

Educator Academy : Evaluation & Intel ISEF

Evaluation Goals

Data

Sou

rces

Init

ial E

AG

In

terv

iew

s

Init

ial E

A C

oord

inato

r In

terv

iew

Sect

ion

A O

nlin

e S

urv

ey:

Ab

ou

t th

e E

du

cato

r

Sect

ion

B O

nlin

e S

urv

ey:

Perc

eiv

ed

Ab

iliti

es

Sect

ion

C O

nlin

e S

urv

ey:

In

tel S

up

port

Sect

ion

D O

nlin

e S

urv

ey:

Levels

of

Su

ccess

Sect

ion

E O

nlin

e S

urv

ey:

Loca

l En

vir

on

men

ts

Sect

ion

F P

ers

pect

ives

on

th

e E

A

Ob

serv

ati

on

s of

EA

Inte

rvie

ws

wit

h E

AIS

1 The EA x x x x x x

2 Perceived Role of Intel x x x

3 Improving Intel Support x x x x x

4 Successful EAGs x x x x x x

5 Local Environment Success x x x x



Sources of Support for Science FairsItem Strongly Agree SA or A Mean SD

The leaders in my organization support science fairs.

39.0% 45.6% 84.6% 3.25 .71

Intel’s support of science fairs at my region has been effective.

42.6% 40.4% 83.0% 3.23 .85

The leaders in my organization support inquiry and project-based learning.

33.8% 48.5% 82.4% 3.16 .73

Without our school system support our science fairs would be much weaker.

28.7% 52.9% 81.6% 3.10 .71

Without other businesses or community organization's support our science fairs would be much weaker.

22.1% 50.7% 72.8% 2.91 .82

Teachers’ support of science fairs at my region has been effective.

11.0% 57.4% 68.4% 2.78 .65

The overall level of support is consistent from year-to-year.

5.1% 63.2% 68.3% 2.72 .59

My school system’s support of science fairs at my region has been effective.

19.1% 47.8% 66.9% 2.79 .83

Parents’ support of science fairs at my region has been effective.

5.9% 47.1% 53.0% 2.53 .70

The overall support increases from year to year.

6.6% 45.6% 52.@% 2.58 .68

N=136



Resources to Support Science Fairs

Beyond organizational support, technology resources, mentors, and access to outside laboratories are important for science fairs .



Additional Training to Support Science Fairs

1. Mentoring - many of the projectswere mentored by people with great expertise outside of the school environment.

2. Teacher Support - getting other teachers as allies in the process.

3. Judges - the quality of judges at the local and regional fair.

4. Volunteer - recruitment and use.

5. School Support - principal and administrative support.

6. Promotional/Media Support - the need to raise interest in science fairs through media and posters.



Teachers Perceived Benefits of the Educator Academy

0%

30%

60%

90%

90% 89% 85%

31%



• Case studies of three successful programs exploring science fairs as the catalyst that enable student inquiry.

Local Environment: Evaluation & Intel ISEF

• Common school barriers to full-inquiry experiences include a) concern about the loss of instructional

time for project work and b) logistics in having students do unique and

extended research in school classrooms.

• To work around these barriers, a common strategy for getting large numbers of students to do extended science research is to assign out-of-school projects.



Lessons Learned for Inquiry Based Learning

Three country case study approach considering global exemplars for student participation in research and science fair participation, affiliated with the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).

Case study analyses of science research programs in:

• Costa Rica,

• Ireland, and

• Massachusetts Science Fairs & Inquiry

Learning

NationalAgenda

ProgramAgenda District

Agenda



Costa Rica – National AgendaCosta Rica is steeped in science fair tradition originating in the 1960s with localized events. The University of Costa Rica ran the first National Science Fair in 1987 with between 30 to 50 schools participating. The University continues to run the National Fair today.

• Costa Rica stands out because their science fair system became national law, voted by the parliament in 1990s as Law 7169.

• Stakeholders:• National Program of Science and

Technology Fairs Committee• Ministry of Science and Technology• Ministry of Public Education,• University of Costa Rica, n Intel in Costa Rica, n Regional Advisors• National Board for Scientific and Technological Research• Other public universities (Universidad Nacional, InstitutoTecnologico and

Universidad Estatal a Distancia)



Figure 1. The SciFest process from school competitions to Intel ISEF.

Ireland, SciFest – Programmatic Agenda

Established in 2006, as an alternative to the University College Dublin Young Scientist Event.

• Utilizing the institutes of technology, post-secondary education options that offer undergraduate and graduate degrees located throughout the country, the institutes serve as venues for regional, one-day science fairs, with the institute’s faculty volunteers handling all the logistics and implementation.

• “The aim of SciFest is to encourage a love of science through active, collaborative, inquiry-based learning and to provide a forum for students at local/regional level to present and display their scientific investigations…”

• Today there are 15 institutes of technology involved, distributed around the country for easy student and teacher access. This year, 338 teachers were involved with SciFest.



Marlborough, MA, USA: A District VisionThere are two things that make the Marlborough science research program special:

1. all students in all science classes are required to do science research projects and

2. teachers provide ample support to the student researchers.

• The seven main categories of support are as follows:

1) Deadlines for components are clearly communicated;

2) Some class time is used for the science research process;

3) Teachers review submitted components and provide feedback to students;

4) If needed, students are given help coming up with projects; 5) Special science materials for the projects are ordered and paid by the

school; 6) Teachers spend time outside of class helping students with their projects;

and 7) Research Packet guides the process.

Figure 4. Paths for science fair winners from Marlborough High School.



Key Components

• Students conducting authentic science research should be part of all science education.

• Science fairs can help meet this need by providing a venue for students to communicate their results and motivation to work at higher levels.

• Expanding student research and science fairs is enhanced when four components are present:

a) the right team,

b) inspired planning time,

c) an action plan, and

d) a strong leader.

• The Intel Educator Academy is a program that brings these elements together for the advancement of science research and science fairs.



Thank You

29

For more information:

• Contact: [email protected]

• Web Resources:

• Intel Education Initiatives: www.intel.com/education

• Evaluation reports: www.intel.com/education/evidenceofimpact

• Education Transformation: http://www.intel.com/about/corporateresponsibility/education/transformation/index.htm

• Teachers Engage: engage.intel.com/index.jspa



Back Up Materials

30

http://engage.intel.com/community/evaluate/resources • 2004 Intel ISEF Student Evaluation• 2005 Intel ISEF Student, Teacher, Judges

Evaluation• 2006 Intel ISEF Educator Academy Evaluation• Journal Article, “Inside the Science Fair: The

Judges Perspective”. The Science Teacher, Nov. 2011.

• 2011 Case Studies: Catalyzing Student Research: A Look Across Three Success Cases



Documents

1 *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. Copyright © 2012 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. Intel, Intel Education and