These are my articles that directly address student research.
Journals Designed to Publish HS Research: Submitting student research papers to scientific journals designed for students is a wonderful way to provide a full research experience. A rigorous scientific review process allows students to become published before graduating high school! Article highlights two journals currently catering to middle and high school student researchers.
Why Do We Judge at Student Research Events? Let's have a discussion of why we judge student research. Who should be judges? How do these events mirror what real scientists do? Sample rubrics for judging are provided.
Emphasizing Student-Student Interaction at science fair/symposium events. The best part of STEM research symposiums (or science fairs) is the wonderful opportunity students have to mingle with other student researchers. However, I'm always amazed that teachers don't "push" their students as much as they should to really engage in conversation about research! This post provides tips for teachers in how to foster an environment where they feel comfortable approaching students from other schools and talking with them about their research.
Starting Student Research: Encouragement for teachers and parents wanting to add student research as part of their curriculum.
Science Fair Tips: Preparing a poster or oral presentation at a science fair or symposium? These tips will increase your confidence.
Improving Student Observations: Here I help define observation, discuss the two types (quantitative and qualitative), tips on recording observations (lab notebooks), list questions you can use to help student researchers hone their observation skills, and spend some time distinguishing between recording inferences and facts.
Note: If you are considering implementing student research components to your curriculum, or wanting to beef-up your current student research experience, visit the reader forum to connect with other educators on this topic!
