For this event, students are allowed to bring in a resource notebook with any reference materials they can fit in the notebook. The reference notebook will the be the most beneficial to the students if the students have prepared it themselves, and if they have spent time studying and organizing the information in the notebook before the tournament. I have had students in the past that simply print off hundreds of pages of reference material, then simply stick it in the binder and never spend another minute looking through it before the test. Needless to say, they don't get much use out of their resources that way. It was noted that the reference material must be attached to the rings of the binder. This prohibits students from slipping books into their notebook. However, they did suggest that if your students have charts or diagrams that they do not want to hole-punch, they can slip into a clear sheet protector that is attached to the notebook.
During the astronomy presentation, our presenter said that the best way for the students to prepare for this event is by spending time on the websites that are listed at the bottom of the astronomy page in the event manual. He also mentioned that this is a year of eclipse for the variable star epsilon aurigae. I don't know a lot about astronomy, but our presenter said that this is a very big deal in the astronomy community and that there will most likely be questions about that on the tests, so make sure your students spend some time looking into that.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Amphibians and Reptiles
There is a lot of information available to help students prepare for this event. Karen Lancour, the woman who presented this event at the summer institute and is the head of the biology committee for the national science olympiad, has already posted a variety of resources on the national SO website. There is a very detailed training guide for students, a link to different internet resources, as well as a sample test. In addition to using these resources to prepare, Karen did present a few other tips that can help students to be successful in this event.
1. Make sure the students are familiar with the field guide they bring in to the test. The students are allowed to write in the field guides and use post-it notes as markers. But to be truly successful, they need to have looked through the field guide as many times as possible before the tournament. Karen said that the students who have never looked through their field guides before going in to take the test generally spend all of their time trying to look up specimens for identification, and do not have time to answer any of the questions about habitat, ecology, behavior, etc. Students who are very familiar with their field guide will be able to easily identify specimens, and then can use the field guides to help answer additional questions about the specimens.
2. Have the students look through as many different field guides or resources as possible. Different field guides will have different pictures of each animal. If students have only seen one picture of a certain family or genus of animals, they may have a hard time with identification on the test. Again, the national website has a list of resources that students can use as they prepare for this event.
3. Make sure your students know which of the organisms on the list can be found in your home state. It is very likely that these organisms will appear on the test!
1. Make sure the students are familiar with the field guide they bring in to the test. The students are allowed to write in the field guides and use post-it notes as markers. But to be truly successful, they need to have looked through the field guide as many times as possible before the tournament. Karen said that the students who have never looked through their field guides before going in to take the test generally spend all of their time trying to look up specimens for identification, and do not have time to answer any of the questions about habitat, ecology, behavior, etc. Students who are very familiar with their field guide will be able to easily identify specimens, and then can use the field guides to help answer additional questions about the specimens.
2. Have the students look through as many different field guides or resources as possible. Different field guides will have different pictures of each animal. If students have only seen one picture of a certain family or genus of animals, they may have a hard time with identification on the test. Again, the national website has a list of resources that students can use as they prepare for this event.
3. Make sure your students know which of the organisms on the list can be found in your home state. It is very likely that these organisms will appear on the test!
Monday, September 8, 2008
Science Olympiad Summer Institute
I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the Science Olympiad Summer Institute this year, and came away from it totally recharged and excited to get my team going this year. During the course of the week long institute, we were able to attend sessions for every event that will be a part of the Olympiad competition this year. During the next few weeks I plan to submit a post for each specific event with all of the helpful hints I gathered at the summer institute. Today I wanted to post some of the overall pieces of advice I brought home with me about setting up and preparing a successful team.
1. You do not have to be an expert in every subject to be a successful coach or set up a successful team. They really emphasized putting the burden on the students to find the information they need to prepare for an event. They suggested giving the students a few textbooks, along with the state and national science olympiad websites and letting them go from there to find what they need.
2. Have the students put together a folder of information they can use to prepare for an event, even if they will not be able to bring that folder with them at the competition. If the students are allowed to bring the folder of reference materials with them, they will be better equipped to use it if they have found the information and put it together themselves.
3. Have three or more students prepare for each event, even if only two will be allowed to compete in the event. This way, if you have scheduling conflicts, or students that are not able to compete at the last minute, you will still be able to compete.
4. Nothing can take the place of good old fashioned practice! In the past it has been hard for me to find things for my students to do to practice, but I came away from the summer institute with a lot of great activity ideas that you can even squeeze into a lunch time meeting. You can look forward to reading them as I post about each of the events!
Please feel free to email me if you have any specific questions about the summer institute or science olympiad in general.
Kristi Tolman
Chandler High School
chsscienceclub@gmail.com
1. You do not have to be an expert in every subject to be a successful coach or set up a successful team. They really emphasized putting the burden on the students to find the information they need to prepare for an event. They suggested giving the students a few textbooks, along with the state and national science olympiad websites and letting them go from there to find what they need.
2. Have the students put together a folder of information they can use to prepare for an event, even if they will not be able to bring that folder with them at the competition. If the students are allowed to bring the folder of reference materials with them, they will be better equipped to use it if they have found the information and put it together themselves.
3. Have three or more students prepare for each event, even if only two will be allowed to compete in the event. This way, if you have scheduling conflicts, or students that are not able to compete at the last minute, you will still be able to compete.
4. Nothing can take the place of good old fashioned practice! In the past it has been hard for me to find things for my students to do to practice, but I came away from the summer institute with a lot of great activity ideas that you can even squeeze into a lunch time meeting. You can look forward to reading them as I post about each of the events!
Please feel free to email me if you have any specific questions about the summer institute or science olympiad in general.
Kristi Tolman
Chandler High School
chsscienceclub@gmail.com
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Me and My Shadow
You veteran coaches know first hand what a great experience the Science Olympiad program is for students ... don't you want to see every interested youngster have the opportunity to participate? Here's a way you can help.
Bring a science teacher from another school to the state tournament. What better way is there for them to find out what the Science Olympiad is all about than by seeing it for themselves, talking to other coaches, and shadowing you for the day? Your colleague will receive a Science Olympiad tournament shirt as a memento and you will receive a gift card. Hopefully they will be inspired to bring a team from their school next year.
Bring a science teacher from another school to the state tournament. What better way is there for them to find out what the Science Olympiad is all about than by seeing it for themselves, talking to other coaches, and shadowing you for the day? Your colleague will receive a Science Olympiad tournament shirt as a memento and you will receive a gift card. Hopefully they will be inspired to bring a team from their school next year.
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