Science Fair FAQs by Teachers

1. What is the Project Approval Form and where can I get this?
2. Project Approval Form(PAF) is the packet of forms that needs to fill up and submit to you. There should be one PAF per project NOT per student. Rather than ask your students to go to the ISEF or SEFH websites, direct them to my webpage. If they click on the Science Fair folder, they will find the up-to-date downloadable PAF form there. They can fill it up and save it on their computer or H-Drive.
3. Do my students need all the forms in the PAF?
4. No. All projects will require Form 1, 1A, 1B (Per student), and the Research Plan. The rest of the forms may or may not be needed depending on the nature of the project. Rather than explain this to your students one-by-one, let them use the Intel ISEF Rules Wizard in the following website, http://www.societyforscience.org/isef/rulesandguidelines , to guide them and identify for them which forms they will need to use.
5. What is SRC and IRB?
6. SRC stands for Scientific Review Committee. Their role is to screen papers and makes sure that students have taken every consideration for safety in their planning of their projects even before they perform it. Mark Kinsey is our SRC person for Fortbend ISD.
7. IRB stands for Institutional Review Board. This is an “In-House” committee composed of a science teacher, a nurse or psychiatrist/psychologist, and a school administrator. Their role is to make sure students take the necessary steps to safeguard the safety of the human subjects that will take part in the student’s research.
8. How do I know projects require SRC or IRB?
9. Projects that require SRC are those that involve microorganisms, bodily tissues or potentially hazardous biological agents. Projects that require IRB are those that involve human subjects (even if its just doing a survey).
10. Do I need to separate projects requiring SRC from those requiring IRB?
11. No.
12. My students want to work in groups/teams. Can they do so?
13. Yes.
14. What other guideline do I need to tell my students working in groups?
15. a. There is a limit of 3 students per team.
16. b. 9^th Graders can only form teams with other 9^th Graders. Upperclassmen (10^th, 11^th, and 12^th) can form their own teams.
17. c. Only one Project Approval Form MUST be submitted per team. However, each team member must have their own Form 1B. All the Form 1B’s must be included in the Project Approval Form packet.
18. My student’s project was approved as an individual project. Can s/he accept another student later and work as a team?
19. No. Once the project is approved as individual. It remains individual. If it was approved as a team, it remains a team. Otherwise, a new PAF must be submitted.
20. My student’s project got approved but later, s/he realized that s/he will not be able to finish it in time. Can s/he change his/her project?
21. Yes with the submission of a new PAF. They will have to be aware of the due dates for SRC/IRB approval, though. Usually, students do this just for the grade or when one member of the team drops/transfers to another school.
22. Can my student in one section form teams with students from other sections or other teachers?
23. Quick answer is yes. Having said this, I need to emphasize that this is your discretion as their teacher. It will definitely be more difficult to manage projects if students are on different periods, let alone, from different teachers.
24. Is there a standardized grading system for science fair projects?
25. I’d say that this is the most controversial question of all. We have tried to standardize it last year, in part, due to the fact that we wanted to give more weight to the “Quality and Grade Appropriateness” of the project. I don’t think we were successful because judging the quality and grade appropriateness is somewhat discretionary (to the teacher). So, my answer to this question is another question, do we want to standardize the grading system with a rubric? If we do, what are the elements of the rubric that we will develop? If you can give me your answer ASAP, I will appreciate it.

If you have any other questions that I haven’t addressed, please feel free to ask them via email.