MENTOR STEP 5
STEP 1
Preparation for Mentoring
STEP 2
School Visit #1
STEP 3
School Visit #2
STEP 4
School Visit #3
STEP 5
Attend Science Fair
Goals for STEP 5
- Attend SCIENCE FAIR
- Reflect on your own LEARNING
- Consider RECRUITING colleagues to be future Mentors
Scroll down for more information.
STEP 5 – Plan Ahead
- SCIENCE FAIR: attend
- LEARNING: reflect
- RECRUIT: colleagues as Mentors
STEP 5 is in Week 10 of School Implementation
STEP 5 – Information
Science Fair
A Science Fair provides a way for students to celebrate their learning. It is the FIFTH KEY ELEMENT of the MyScience Educational Model.
At the School Science Fair students will be actively engaged in presenting their findings using a range of resources such as: PowerPoint presentations, posters and written reports, often accompanied by hands-on equipment for visitors to use so that they can participate in the type of investigations that students have been conducting.
Resources:
- Science Fair provides information about the many benefits for students of participating in a Science Fair.
- Students Explaining is a video of some students explaining their results of an investigation into the impact of different types of motivation in sport at their school Science Fair.
- Actual Science Fair is a short video of a Science Fair set up in a School Hall.
Students’ projects may be assessed during the Science Fair for submission into other local, state and national award schemes. This provides further validation for all of the hard work that has gone into their science investigations.
Many MyScience projects have been winners at both state and national levels – the icing on the cake in some ways. Remember though that the main purpose of MyScience is to have students successfully complete a scientific investigation that is THEIRS – their choice, their ideas, their ownership.
Own Learning
The Science Fair brings closure to the learning cycle for students, and is a good time for you to reflect on your own learning through MyScience participation.
Hopefully you feel that your volunteered time and expertise has been valued by the school, the class teacher and your allocated students. If not, a note to the MyScience School Coordinator with suggestions for how this could be better demonstrated may be in order.
If you work in a STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) related field, your employer may be keen to hear about your experiences. It is in the primary years of schooling that students build their identities as learners. If they are to develop knowledge and understandings of what it means to Work and Think Scientifically, this needs to begin in the Early Years of our education system.
If you have any suggestions for how to improve implementation, streamline the website, or if you would like to send us feedback of any type, please do so via ‘Contact Us’ on the top menu bar.
We would love to profile you and your work as can be seen via Medical Entomologist Dr Cameron Webb’s WordPress Blog and article ‘5.4 Taking the Taste Test with MyScience’, who comments (in the last paragraph) on what he has learned through being a MyScience Mentor.
Recruit Other Mentors
If you work in an organisation where aspects of science, engineering, technology and mathematics are key elements of your work, it is likely that some of your colleagues may also be interested in mentoring. Why not invite them to join you?
An example of a Mentor Recruitment Poster is available through Resource ‘5.5 Mentor Recruitment Poster’.
Thank you for being part of MyScience.
