Research Project: Course Objectives & Syllabus
Lesli Adler AdlerWootton@gmail.com
Objectives: Through the communication with many scientists who have worked with Wootton students as mentors over the years Mrs. Adler has developed a series of skills you need to have to work in research:
1. Identify and pose relevant questions.
2. Formulate a testable hypothesis.
3. Research background material.
4. Design an experiment to collect, record and display data.
5. Analyze data using simple statistical tests.
6. Discuss data results and make conclusions.
7. Make effective oral and written presentations.
8. Read about science in books and lay publications.
9. Describe scientific research.
10. Read and write a scientific paper.
11. Differentiate between fact and opinion, identify bias.
Web Site: Where you can find lots of resources and most course documents:
Http://teacherweb.com/MD/WoottonHS/ResearchDesignExperimentation/index.html
Text: We recommend that you purchase the following book. This is a reference books and should become part of your professional library. They are widely available on Amazon, Alibris or eBay and, if you are diligent in searching, you should be able to get them for less than 25 dollars. You don’t need the most current edition.
· A Handbook for Biological Investigation, Ambrose, Hunter Textbooks. ISBN: 088725264
The main portion of this course is the research, planning, execution and presentation of a correctly designed scientific experiment. As a result you need to arrive on the first day with a general idea of what area you are interested in spending several intense weeks researching. Please keep in mind you are limited to the equipment we have or that you can acquire. The following books might provide some inspiration into the question you might be interested in studying.
· Why We Buy, the Science of Shopping, 1999, Underhill, Simon & Schuster: ISBN: 0-684-84914-3
· Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. 2005, Levitt & Dubner, ISBN: 006073132X
· Mindless Eating, 2006, Wansink, Bantam, ISBN: 0-553-80434-0
· Outside Lies Magic, 1999, Stilgoe, Walker & Co. ISBN: 0-8027-1340-8
· Traffic, Why We Drive the Way We Do and What It Says About Us. 2008, Vanderbilt, Random House, ISBN: 9780397264787
· Yes, 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive, Goldstein, Martin & Cialdini, Free Press, ISBN: 1416570969
Class Assignments: Because of the timing and because so much of science is discussing and analyzing others’ experiments, we have to be prepared for the class as quickly as possible. You need to do the following assignments related to your textbook: A Handbook for Biological Investigation.
First Assignments:
· Read chapters 1-8 and pages 50, 85, 78, 92, 95 and 96 before doing any other assignments.
· It is essential that you READ and REREAD this book to fully understand and implement the material.
· Assignment 1: Nature of Science: Elevating Science, Elevating Democracy, the Nature of Experimentation
· Assignment 2: Reread the book while my reading PowerPoint guide to understanding data. I'm not joking- this is essential to understanding the material.
· Assignment 3: Passion Assignment
Grading: Many assignments will also include a class participation component. Doing good science requires analyzing what classmates have done & sharing ideas and observations.
· Assignments to acquire the skills of experimental design.
· Model Experiments to practice the skills
o Scoring rubrics & checklists (on web site)
o Emulate good practices, avoid bad ones (exemplars on web site)
· Final Exam to demonstrate your knowledge of the skills: Lots of resources to assist with choosing topic & designing an experiment on website.
o Research Project Presentation
o Written Report of Experimental Project (includes quality of writing and quality of experimental design.)
o Lab Notebook
o Signed Science Fair Forms
