The teacher grades each portfolio component throughout the project, giving timely and actionable feedback to students, who can respond to the feedback by revising as necessary. Each student receives a copy of the comment codes (see Online Supplemental Materials), from which they can easily interpret feedback on their work or rubric. To streamline grading and feedback, a set of the most common comments for each section was developed and assigned codes. Students are also instructed on proper citation methods to help them assemble a works cited page. Students are assigned one paragraph each week to allow time for feedback, reflection, and revision. The research directory (see Online Supplemental Materials) provides grade-level appropriate resources to give students a reasonable starting point for their research. In addition, the Research Explanation Prompt worksheet (modeled after Creswell 2014) helps to clarify student thinking on this topic (see Online Supplemental Materials). That is why this component is supported with its own sub-schedule and supporting information (see Online Supplemental Materials). Few junior high students have ever had to write this type of paper before. The research paper is the most difficult part of the process for students and their parents. With this information, students can successfully complete a project proposal. Along with the Factors for Comparison worksheet (see Online Supplemental Materials), it helps students identify their independent and dependent variables, along with constants, controls, and any uncontrolled factors. The Transformations worksheet is specifically designed to turn students’ interests into an experimental design. These worksheets, along with the Transformations worksheet (see Online Supplemental Materials), help students identify their independent and dependent variables and discover how they will conduct their experiment. Students begin by generating five testable questions, and then narrowing down their interest using the Comparative Questions and Four Questions worksheets (see Online Supplemental Materials). It is important for students to be interested in the topic they choose, but it is equally important for their question to be practicably testable. The portfolio’s culminating works (a report and presentation) are authentic summative assessments, encapsulating student learning over a well-defined set of learning goals and performance objectives.įor two to three weeks, students identify their interests and develop their scientific questions. Portfolio component due dates can be aligned with a school district’s science project due dates so students have ample time to submit their work, receive feedback, and make any necessary revisions. After receiving feedback on an assignment, students can reflect on and revise their work. Because portfolios are broken down into components, it is much easier for students to complete assignments and for the teacher to provide feedback to students. Student support-including schedules, lessons, work examples, and templates-accompanies each step of the project as students explore and apply the science and engineering practices. Each student portfolio contains the same set of components, but each student develops their own experiment based on personal interest. This article describes our student project portfolio for seventh- and eighth-grade science that seeks to address these concerns with science fair projects. Plus, participation in a science fair does not increase students’ knowledge or understanding of science (Osborne 2012). The vast majority of students are not motivated by science fairs ( Fisanick 2010). Even supporters of traditional science fairs acknowledge that students should not work on the entire project by themselves ( McComas 2011). However, there are at least a few issues with science fair projects. A science fair project supposedly improves student motivation and ownership by giving students control of their learning ( McComas 2011).
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