Judging Tips for Elementary Projects 2012

1. Judging Tips for Elementary Projects2012 Scott Ferguson, Ph.D. Atlantic Turf & Ornamental Consulting

2. Elementary Division • Divided into 3 Divisions: • K-3rd • Class projects, usually 2 presenters/project • 4th Grade • 5th Grade • 4th graders compete with 4th graders, 5th with 5th • No subject categories • Different Judge Forms for K-3 and 4th & 5th

3. Judging Areas

4. Scoring

5. Scoring Backboard Display – 6 points

6. Scientific Method

7. Scientific Method • Is there a clear Problem Statement and Hypothesis? • Do the procedures help support or falsify the hypothesis? • Are there at least 3 replicates? • Was data collected? • Is there a clear conclusion and is it supported by the data?

8. Subject Knowledge • Do the students understand the project? • Did the students do the majority of the work? • Do they answer your questions effectively? • 4th & 5th only: Has a research paper been written (often this is exactly what is on the display board – which is OK)

9. Verbal Presentation • Do the students speak clearly and refer to the display board? • 4th & 5th only: can they effectively explain their research?

10. Backboard Display • Does it tell the story? • Is it neat, with no major grammatical or spelling errors? • Note: I have never deducted points for hand-drawn boards (versus computer generated)

11. Data Treatment • Are there graphs, tables and/or illustrations to show their data? • 4th & 5th only: does the data presented on the board agree with the data in the Log? • Highly suggest using the metric system • Note: at the Elementary level we do not expect statistical analysis, other than an average.

12. Supporting Documents • 4th & 5th grades only • Is there a Log that documents the project? • Does the data in the Log agree with the data on the board? • Note: Reprints are a plus

13. Final Points • Use simple terms • Encourage the students • Tell them that they did well • Encourage their future pursuit of science