NSF Award
9353674
This exploratory study will investigate ways to document what children learn from their participation in local science fairs. Students' understanding of the process and elements that make up a science fair project as well as direct learning of science content related to their science fair topic will be evaluated though several different methodologies. Comparative analysis will be made of indicators of children's learning yielded by these different approaches. This study will be conducted in fourth and fifth grade classrooms in both an urban and a suburban school district. From 75 to 100 students at each grade level will participate in the study. The sample will be balanced with equal numbers of boys and girls. The project is significant because it will utilize a variety of assessment strategies to assess what children have learned from participation in a local science fair including who benefits most. The project should also begin to describe the student who benefits most from science fair participation. The assessment strategies are more informative to the instructional and evaluative decisions that teachers must make regarding science learning and assessment for upper elementary school students.
