Judging Tips for Elementary Projects

2012

Scott Ferguson, Ph.D.Atlantic Turf & Ornamental Consulting

Elementary DivisionDivided 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

Judging Areas

K-3rd 4th & 5th

Scientific Method Scientific Method

Subject Knowledge Subject Knowledge

Verbal Presentation Verbal Presentation

Backboard DisplayData Treatment

Backboard DisplayData TreatmentSupporting Documents

Scoring

Strongly Disagree

Disagree Agree Strongly Agree

0 1 2 3

Scoring

Strongly disagree

Disagree Agree Strongly agree

Total

Does it tell the story of the project?

0 1 2 3 2

Is it neat, legible, with no spelling or grammatical errors?

0 1 2 3 3

Total 5

Backboard Display – 6 points

Scientific Method

Scientific MethodIs 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?

Subject KnowledgeDo 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)

Verbal Presentation

Do the students speak clearly and refer to the display board?

4th & 5th only: can they effectively explain their research?

Backboard DisplayDoes 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)

Data TreatmentAre 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 systemNote: at the Elementary level we do not

expect statistical analysis, other than an average.

Supporting Documents

4th & 5th grades onlyIs 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

Final Points

Use simple termsEncourage the studentsTell them that they did wellEncourage their future pursuit of

science