An Annual Science Literacy Project and Event for Honors Students
As students move through their high school, college, and professional lives they will need to become increasingly competent at reading, writing and speaking. Professional scientists and engineers share their ideas and discoveries through peer-reviewed magazine (journal) articles and professional conferences. The goal of the Earth Science Symposium is to expose students to such articles and to help them develop their ability to digest the articles and use them to synthesize key information. Students will also learn to identify the societal implications of the science described in the articles. All students will grow their confidence as public speakers. As part of the Honors Earth Science course, each student will be required to present a research project at the LHS Earth Science Symposium on March 23rd, 2024!
Components of the Symposium
Article:
Each student will select an Earth science topic approved by his or her teacher. The student will then use library and internet resources to find at least 3 general magazine articles and 3 scientific articles about that topic. The student will then write an original, two-page magazine article summarizing the scientific methods and results reported in those references. The student article will include 3 photos, figures or graphs with captions and a discussion of the societal implications of the research. Students will also include a list of references and use parenthetical citations throughout the article. The teacher will provide a template for the format of the two-page student magazine article and all student articles will be published on the Symposium Website. pRESENTATION:
Each student will create a 6 to 8 minute oral presentation with a 10 to 20-slide visual slide show that presents the information in the student’s magazine article. Like the article, the presentation will describe a geoscience problem, compare and contrast the methods that have been used by scientists to study the problem and summarize the conclusions those scientists have reported. The student will also present their own analysis and discussion of the problem, methods and data. Finally, the student will describe the implications of the impact of this problem on society and their recommendations. The slideshow presentation will be given at the LHS Earth Science Symposium in March in front of a panel of judges. At the end of the slideshow the judge panel will ask a series of questions and encourage the student to clarify and expand upon the points of the presentation. The presentation will be open to the public including other students, families, community members and faculty. Each judge panel will select the best presentations in their room and medals will be awarded at the end of the symposium. pOSTER:
Each student will create a display poster on standard 20”x 30” foam core poster board that summarizes and expands upon the magazine article that they wrote. The poster will summarize the main findings of the peer-reviewed research, and communicate the scientific ideas in ways that can be understood by a general audience. The posters will be published on the Symposium Website and displayed for public viewing at the March symposium. Awards will be presented for the best posters. |