When middle school students conduct real scientific research to answer their own questions, they develop an enthusiasm for science and a sense of their own potential as problem-solvers. Getting younger students ready for a successful science fair experience also raises new questions and challenges for teachers.

Intel ISEF Middle School Science Fair: A Guide for Teachers
offers a comprehensive curriculum and planning guide. It provides teachers with a detailed road map, outlining planning considerations and hands-on activities for the 30 weeks leading up to a fair. Downloadable files include the complete teaching guide, plus an accompanying set of transparencies.

Developed by Teachers

The guide has been developed by a team of experienced science teachers and used in middle school outreach efforts in connection with the Intel International Science and Engineer Fair (Intel ISEF).

In 2004 and 2005, with support from the Intel® Innovation in Education initiative and Intel Public Affairs, teachers piloted the curriculum with thousands of students in Oregon and Arizona. Through an outreach effort to engage traditionally underrepresented students in mathematics and science, participants included students at Native American tribal schools and in urban communities serving a high percentage of minority students. Many participating students have gone on to enter science fairs affiliated with Intel ISEF. The experience builds their interest in science and boosts their confidence as learners.

Formal and Informal Learning

The science fair curriculum is appropriate for both formal and informal learning. It includes suggestions for use in science classes, in interdisciplinary classes, and in after-school science clubs. In all settings, students gain experience in using the scientific process to generate questions, design investigations, collect data, and analyze results.

As a result of their guided science inquiry experience, students learn to:

• Ask a good question
• Design an investigation
• Create graphs to display data
• Write clearly about procedures
• Communicate their results

Classroom resources include the description of hands-on activities, which use inexpensive materials to launch students on inquiry learning. Suggested questions show teachers how to take students’ thinking deeper, preparing them to conduct their own investigations.

Supporting Resources

In addition, the guide outlines suggestions for working with volunteers and science coaches; describes how to set up a science club and recruit members; and provides an overview of the requirements for entering a science project in a fair affiliated with Intel ISEF.

The middle school science fair curriculum has been developed through the support of the Intel Innovation in Education initiative, which promotes math and science education for girls and traditionally underserved minorities. Saturday Academy*, an Oregon-based organization that engages young people in hands-on, in-depth scientific exploration, coordinated the production of this Guide for Teachers.

To learn more about Intel ISEF-affiliated science fairs for middle school students, visit Science Service*.