美国学生如何系统地准备英特尔国际科学工程大赛

作者介绍

Barnas Monteith

Barnas Monteith 马萨诸塞州科学与工程节（MSSEF) 主席。该机构是美国最早的科技教育组织，也是美国麻州最早的基于探究学习的科学教育非营利组织，由麻省理工学院和美国科学与艺术学会（美国中科院）创办，迄今已有70年历史。早在高中时，他就在MIT学习人工智能，他的研究在MIT多媒体实验室获得了MIT 50k及哈佛商学院的商业计划学术活动等多个最高奖项。此外，Barnas 13次获得各类国际科学工程大赛冠军，其中包括2次获得国际科学工程大赛( ISEF) 一等奖特等奖， 欧洲青年科学交流奖、Nynex 科技奖、爱迪生奖、海军科学研究奖等等…… 他还是 MSSEF 历史上最成功的科学节参加者，其中4次斩获 MSSEF 第1名，4次获得区域胜利第1名……

除了担任马萨诸塞州科学与工程节主席之外，他还

• 帮助麻州州长成立麻州科技教育委员会，并担任首任主席
• 主持参与编写麻州科技教育大纲，此大纲是NGSS基础
• 创办了新英格兰地区各州科学节会议
• 推出了科学探究教育标准
• 在国际科学工程节（ISEF）上持续多年举办国际教育学院
• 创立Tumblehome Learning出版社，在过去十多年多次获得美国科学教师协会（NSTA）推荐大奖，出版发行很多科普读物和科技教程教具
• 此外，他还是几家半导体企业的创始人

他和他的团队率先推出了科技教师培训项目 Curious Mind，他们的教程在各个学区包括大学推行，并在美国科学艺术协会支持下举办专项工作室，培训老师及学生，以及波士顿科学博物馆、图书馆相关人员。

什么是科学大赛?

What is science fair?

A science fair experiment is generally a competition where contestants present their science project, results in the form of a report, display board, and/or models that they have created. In USA, science fairs allow students in elementary, middle and high schools to compete in science and technology activities. The main motive of a science fair is for students to answer a question or task, not from a textbook but found out themselves by conducting a range of experiments and ongoing research in the short amount of time allocated to them.

科学大赛通常是一种学术活动，参赛者可以通过报告，展示板和/或他们创建的模型来展示他们的科学项目。在美国，科学大赛允许小学，初中和高中的学生参加科学技术活动。举办科学大赛的主要目的是让学生自己通过在短时间内进行一系列实验和持续研究来回答一个问题或完成一个任务，而不是从教科书中学到这些。

写在最前

I recently gave a talk at the Massachusetts STEM Summit, held at the Foxboro MA Patriots stadium, focused on STEM and innovation/entrepreneurship.One of the key focuses of the talk was the upcoming Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), following the US-wide adoption of the Common Core Math and English standards.  26 of the 50 states have agreed to be part in the drafting and adoption of these standards, and more are expected to participate as well.

我最近在麻州Foxboro Patriots体育场举行的马萨诸塞州STEM峰会上发表了演讲，重点关注STEM教育、创新与创业。在美国范围采用了共同核心数学和英语标准之后，下一个重点是下一代科学标准（NGSS）。50个州中有26个同意参与这些标准的起草和通过，估计有更多的州将会参与进来。

So, in the coming years, science departments across the US will be looking to find new ways to align their curriculum with these new standards, which include more rigorous and deep science content as well as logic processes/methods.  One such method we all know very well in the science fair community is the scientific method.

因此，在未来的几年里，美国各地的科学部门将寻求新的方法来使他们的课程与这些新标准保持一致，其中包括更严格和更深入的科学内容以及逻辑过程/方法。我们科学界公认的一种方法就是“科学方法”。

However, the term “scientific method” appears to have been replaced by the term “practices”, which encompass the very same processes promoted widely by science fairs for the past nearly 70 years.  However, by incorporating the “practices” more concretely into a national set of science standards, we may soon begin to see science fairs institutionalized in the American educational landscape.  Half a century ago, science fairs were ingrained in the US formal school culture, but due to a variety of factors (decreased funding in education across the board, more focus on a smaller subset of frameworks to improve standardized testing scores nationally, fewer school hours and less lab time, etc…) science fairs have become less of a national priority, despite the best efforts of the current administration to highlight the very best STEM students in the US.

然而，“科学方法”一词似乎已经被“实践”一词所取代，“实践”涵盖了过去近70年来科学大赛广泛推广的相同过程。然而，通过将“实践”更具体地纳入国家科学标准，我们可能很快就会开始看到科学大赛在美国教育领域制度化。半个世纪以前，科学大赛在美国正规学校文化中根深蒂固，但由于各种因素（全面教育资金减少，更多关注大纲局部细节以提高全国标准化考试成绩，减少上学时间和实验投入），虽然现任政府尽最大努力突出美国最优秀的STEM学生，但科学大赛已不再是国家的优先事项。

Currently, it is thought that less than a quarter of all US students participate in a science fair of one kind or another — however, thanks to NGSS, this number may soon be on the rise as science departments grapple with a way to fulfill the practice standard requirements.The science fair, was once seen as an innovative way to offer real world experiences to students in the sciences, and perhaps inspire them to become scientists or engineers.  Now, the science fair has re-emerged as an innovative way to educate.

目前，据估计不到四分之一的美国学生参加了这样或那样的科学大赛 — 但是，由于NGSS，随着科学部门努力实现“实践”这一目标，这个数字可能会很快上升。科学大赛曾被视为向喜欢科学的学生提供现实世界体验的创新途径，也许可以激励他们成为科学家或工程师。现在，科学大赛已经重新成为一种创新科学教育方式。

Looks like for US science teachers and public school students alike, the next few years will be the time to pick up their old science fair curriculum resources and practice, practice, practice!

对于美国科学教师和公立学校学生来说，未来几年将是他们拿起旧的科学大赛课程和资源并且实践，实践，再实践的时候了！

如何开始

Getting Started

Here’s the first tip:  Start early.

By starting your project early (maybe even during the summer), you will have time to really examine your topic and know your information Inside & Out.  By starting early, you will have time to decide whether or not your topic is too broad or too narrow and adjust your topic accordingly.  By starting early, you will have time to recover from mistakes, adjust your procedure, if necessary, or get advice from a mentor or additional equipment, if needed.  So start early.  Do a little each day. If you start early, time is on your side.

第一个提示：尽早开始。通过尽早开始你的项目（甚至可能在前一年夏季开始），你将有时间真正检查你的主题并了解你所关注的信息。通过提前开始，你将有时间决定你的主题是否过于宽泛或过于狭窄，并相应地调整你的主题。通过提前开始，你将有时间发现并纠正错误，必要时调整你的程序，或者可以从导师或其他设备中获得建议。所以尽早开始。每天做一点。如果你早点开始，时间就站在对你有利的这边。

I will provide you with lots of information about “Getting Started.”Step 1: Pick a topic: this is always the most difficult.

Step 2: Figure out if your science project will use the “Scientific Method” or the “Engineering Method.” Unless you’re in elementary school and have specifically been assigned to do a demonstration project, you won’t bring home a prize if you do a demonstration project. Learn the difference below.

Step 3: Time to start to do research. Whether you’re doing an experiment or creating a design, you need to research your topic to find out more about it and other experiments that may have been done on the subject.

在这里，我再就关于“如何开始”多说一些。第1步：选择一个主题：这一直是最困难的一步。

第2步：弄清楚你的科学项目将使用“科学方法”还是“工程方法”。除非你现在还在小学，并且专门被指定做一个演示项目，否则你不会因为一个演示项目而获奖。在下面我会介绍他们的不同之处。

第3步：订下开始研究的时间。无论你是在进行实验还是设计创作，你都需要研究你的主题，以了解有关它的更多信息，以及可能已针对该主题进行的其他实验。

The second tip: Pick a topic that interests you.Unless your teacher insists that you do a science fair project about a particular topic or subject matter, you’re going to have more fun, do a better job and get a better grade if you select a topic that interests you.

第二个提示：挑选一个让你感兴趣的话题。除非你的老师坚持要你做一个关于特定主题的科学大赛项目，因为如果你选择了一个你感兴趣的主题，你将会有更多的乐趣，做得更好，并获得更好的成绩。

Let’s say you’re interested in the space program and the Curiosity Rover that’s on Mars. This topic can involve many subjects including Astronomy, Physics, Math, Geology and Earth Science, Engineering, Chemistry and more.

假设你对太空计划和火星上的好奇号感兴趣，这个主题可以涉及许多科目，包括天文学，物理学，数学，地质学和地球科学，工程学，化学等。

If you’re interested in the ocean, ponds or lakes you can do a project about Botany which is the study of plant life or about Marine Biology and learn about the animals and fish that live in various bodies of water. If you’re interested in hockey, you can do a Physics or Materials Science experiment about the various materials and construction of a hockey puck which might affect a player’s ability to control it.

如果你对海洋，池塘或湖泊感兴趣，你可以做一个关于植物学的项目，这是植物生命或海洋生物学的研究，并了解生活在各种水体中的动物和鱼类。如果你对冰球感兴趣，你可以进行物理或材料科学实验，了解冰球的各种材料和构造，这可能会影响球员控制它的能力。

There are three types of science projects: Demonstration, Science Fair, and Engineering.

有三种类型的科学项目：演示项目，科学项目和工程项目。

Demonstration Project: Students in the lower elementary grades are the only ones who are usually allowed do a demonstration project.  They’re typically not allowed at middle school or high school science fairs.  While they’re fun, you don’t learn about “real science” by doing a demonstration. For instance, you can demonstrate how a volcano works, or can build your own planetarium. Or, you can explain static electricity through several activities such as making an aluminum foil ball.

演示项目：小学低年级的学生是通常唯一被允许做演示项目的学生。这些项目通常不允许进入中学或高中科学大赛的范畴。虽然它们很有趣，但你不会通过演示来了解“真正的科学”。例如，你可以展示火山是如何工作的，或者可以建造自己的天文馆。或者，你可以通过多种活动来解释静电，例如制作铝箔球。

Science Fair Project: This is a traditional project in which you describe a problem or come up with a question just like a real scientist, and then design research and perform an experiment using The Scientific Method to answer the question or to solve the problem in an organized way. There are endless possibilities in Biology, Chemistry, Medicine & Health, Microbiology, Bio-Chemistry and other subjects. Do you sing in a chorus? You could do a science fair project to determine if cold water or warm water has a better affect on your voice and ability to reach high notes or low notes. If your parents enjoy drinking tea, you can do an experiment to determine how the brewing time of tea affects the strength of the tea using a device that measures light absorption; is tea that’s brewed for four minutes twice as strong as tea that’s brewed for 2 minutes?

科学大赛项目：这是一个传统项目，你可以在其中描述问题或像真正的科学家一样提出问题，然后使用科学方法设计研究并进行实验，最终回答或解决问题。生物学，化学，医学与健康，微生物学，生物化学和其他学科都有无限的可能性。你是合唱队的一员吗？你可以做一个科学大赛的项目来确定冷水或温水对你的声音达到高音或低音的能力有何影响。如果你的父母喜欢喝茶，你可以使用测量光吸收的装置进行实验，以确定茶的泡制时间如何影响茶的浓度;  煮了4分钟的茶比煮2分钟的茶要浓两倍吗？

Engineering Project: The objective of an engineering project is to apply The Engineering Method with science and math to identify a need and to determine how you will solve that need by producing useful devices for people. You’re still trying to solve a problem, but you do it by building and testing prototypes and by working on various design processes. For instance, if you’re in a band, you could do an engineering project on the effects of dry wall thickness or various sound-absorption materials on sound transmission in your basement or garage so your neighbors won’t complain about the noise when you practice. Or, if you run track, you can build a working model of a body temperature monitor to see how much your temperature increases after running for 20, 30 or 40 minutes, or at various speeds.

工程项目：工程项目的目标是将工程方法与科学和数学结合起来以确定需求，并通过为人们生产有用的设备来确定如何解决这一需求。你同样在尝试解决问题，但你可以通过构建和测试原型以及处理各种设计流程来达成目标。例如，如果你是某乐队的成员，你可以做一个关于干壁厚度或各种吸音材料对地下室或车库声音传播的影响的工程项目，这样你的邻居就不会在你们乐队练习的时候抱怨你们的噪音了。或者，如果你在跑道上跑步，你可以构建体温监测器的工作模型，以查看你在跑20分钟，30分钟，40分钟或以不同速度跑步时体温的升高幅度。

So, what’s your topic going to be? One way to figure it out is to make a list of ten activities or topics that most interest you. Then, write up a question about each of these that you’ve always wondered about, and narrow the list down to the top two or three that seem the most interesting. Then you might want to talk the list over with your parents or a teacher to have them help you make your final choice based on material needs and costs, and the length of time it might take you to complete your project.

那么，你的主题是什么？一种方法是列出你最感兴趣的十个活动或主题。然后，就每个主题写一个你一直想知道的问题，将列表缩小到最有趣的前两个或三个。然后，你可能希望与你的父母或老师讨论，让他们根据材料需求和成本以及完成项目所需的时间帮你做出最终选择。

研究和实验/设计

Research and Experimentation/Design

With this step in the science fair project process, it really doesn’t matter whether you’re doing a science project and are applying the Scientific Method with an experiment, or an engineering project and are applying the Engineering Method to create a design, you still have to start with research.

谈到科学大赛项目流程中的这一步骤，无论你是在将科学方法应用于实验进行科学项目，还是用工程方法设计一个东西进行工程项目，你都要从研究开始。

Research is all about finding out more about your topic. To conduct research, you need to go to the library and read books and magazines, browse the internet, visit locations that might have background material like a zoo or museum or lab, and talk with your teachers, scientists and/or professionals. The more you learn about your topic, the better your project will come out and the better prepared you’ll be to answer the questions by the judges.

研究就是要了解更多有关你的主题的信息。要进行研究，你需要去图书馆阅读书籍和杂志，浏览互联网，访问可能有背景材料的地点，如动物园、博物馆或实验室等，并与你的老师、科学家或专业人士交谈。你对自己的主题了解得越多，你做出来的项目就会越好，并且你将更好地准备回答评委提出的问题。

Let’s see what happens when you put the following phrase into an internet search engine: “compare natural sponges and synthetic sponges.”  Here are some of the results:

让我们看看当你将以下短语放入互联网搜索引擎时会出现什么：“比较天然海绵和合成海绵。”以下是一些结果：

• Natural sea sponges versus synthetic sponges for skin cleaning
• Real or artificial sponges – which is better for the environment
• Oracle “Think Quest” – Synthetic vs Natural
• Difference Between Natural & Artificial sponges
• Wikipedia – sponge material
• Why buy a natural sea sponge
• The Soap Café: Natural VS Synthetic sponges
• The American Window Cleaner magazine – natural vs synthetic sponges

With just a little bit of research you realize that there are different types of uses for sponges. Were you surprised to see that window cleaners really care about this topic?

只需进行一点研究，你就会发现海绵有不同类型的用途。你是否惊讶地发现窗户清洁工真的非常关心这个话题？

So, this means you would need to narrow down your search – will you do your project on using different types of sponges for cleaning the house, or for cleaning your body? Make sure you use your science journal to record your background research and any books or internet sites you have visited. You may end up realizing that you can use the information in your report or on your display board.

因此，这意味着你需要缩小搜索范围 – 你做这个项目是为了使用不同类型的海绵清洁房屋还是清洁身体？确保使用科学笔记本记录你的背景研究，以及你访问过的任何书籍或网站。你可能最终意识到你可以使用它们做为报告或展示板上的信息。

Can you think of other people who might think sponge absorption is an important topic? How about restaurants or hotels? Maybe you can talk with window cleaners, or restaurant owners or hotel managers in your neighborhood about this subject. Maybe after a few conversations or more research, you might decide to alter the project to determine which types of sponges hold more germs or less germs.

你能想到其他可能认为海绵吸收是一个重要话题的人吗？餐馆或酒店怎么样呢？也许你可以与附近的窗户清洁工、餐馆老板或酒店经理讨论此主题。也许经过几次对话或更多的研究后，你可能会决定改变项目，改成确定哪种类型的海绵可以容纳更多的细菌或更少的细菌。

After researching your topic, you should now be ready to come up with your Hypothesis. The hypothesis is an “educated guess” about the question you’re trying to answer. The hypothesis is presented as a statement – it’s not a question. To prove or disprove your hypothesis, you conduct an Experiment. There are many ways to test your hypothesis, there is no one right way to do this. Your hypothesis for the sponge test might read, “If I test artificial and natural sponges, I believe natural sponges will hold more water.”

在研究了你的主题之后，你现在应该准备好提出你的假设了。假设是一个关于你想要回答的问题“根据经验所做的猜测”。假设是作为陈述的形式呈现而不是一个问题。为证明或反驳你的假设，你需要进行实验。有很多方法可以检验你的假设，没有一种正确的方法可以做到这一点。你对海绵试验的假设可能是：“如果我测试人造和天然海绵，我相信天然海绵会吸收更多的水。”

Now it’s time to plan your procedures and conduct your Experiment. What are you going to do to test your hypothesis? What materials are needed, and is the cost of buying materials a factor in your decision? What exactly is being tested? What parts of your experiment will stay the same? What data are you going to collect?

现在是时候规划你的实验步骤并进行实验了。你打算怎么做来检验你的假设？需要哪些材料，购买材料的成本是决定因素之一吗？实验到底在测试什么？你的实验的哪些部分将保持不变？你需要收集哪些数据？

There are two parts to an experiment: the controls and the variables. A control is the part of the experiment that stays constant so your experiment can be repeated with the same results.  If your experiment involves testing sponges, a control would be to always use the same bowl. Also make sure the same amount of water is used in each trial.

实验分为两部分：控制和变量。控制是实验中保持不变的部分，因此可以使用相同的结果重复实验。如果你的实验涉及测试海绵，其中一个控制可以是始终使用相同的碗。还要确保每次试验中使用相同量的水。

Variables are the parts of the experiment you change to test specific conditions.  Using the same sponge example, a variable may be to use three types of synthetic and three types of natural sponges to see which holds the largest amount of water.

变量是你为了测试特定条件而更改的实验部分。以相同的海绵实验为例，变量可以是使用三种类型的合成海绵和三种类型的天然海绵来看哪些海绵能吸收最多的水。

In the experiment with the sponge, here are some materials you might need：

• Different types of synthetic and natural sponges,
• A bowl or large measuring cup of water, ensuring that you’ll always start with the same amount of water, and
• A way to determine how much water each sponge holds, such as a beaker or measuring cup

在海绵实验中，你可能需要以下材料：

• 不同类型的合成海绵和天然海绵
• 一碗或一大杯（有刻度）水，确保你始终以相同的水量开始
• 一种可以确定每种海绵吸收多少水的方法，例如烧杯或量杯

The experiment itself should be simple and repeatable.  It’s very important that the experiment be repeatable.  Also, remember that judges like lots and lots of data and charts and graphs, so design your experiment with lots of repetitions.  You can’t run an experiment once and use that data; run a simple experiment 10-15 times and take an average (the sum of the experimental data divided by the number of trials).

实验本身应该简单且可重复。重复实验是非常重要的。另外，请记住评委喜欢看到大量的数据和图表，因此请设计大量重复的实验。你不能只进行一次实验并使用那个数据；一个简单的实验一般要进行10-15次并取平均值（实验数据的总和除以实验次数）。

Experiments should always have at least three trials. It’s important to conduct your experiment several times because if you get different results on one of the three times, maybe it’s because an error was made. Or, if you’re doing a plant experiment and are using seeds to grow something, maybe one of the seeds was bad.

实验应始终至少进行三次。多次进行实验很重要，因为如果你在三次实验中的一次得到不同的结果，也许是因为发生了错误。或者，如果你正在进行植物实验并使用种子来种植某些东西，那么其中一颗种子可能很糟糕。

Make observations frequently and consistently. If your cat knocks over the original bowl of water, make sure you note this and that as a result you had to start over. In your science journal, make sure you not only record the details of your procedure, but also your observations.

要经常并持续地做观察。如果你的猫撞倒了原来的一碗水，请确保你注意到了这一点，那么你必须重新开始。在你的科学笔记中，请确保不仅要记录实验步骤的详细信息，还要记录观察结果。

When you present your science fair project to judges, they might ask you about other applications for your research. They’ll also ask you what you’ve done in your experiment that’s different from other similar experiments, so you should plan to refer to the results of other experiments you’ve learned or read about.

当你向裁判展示你的科学大赛项目时，他们可能会询问你研究项目其他方面的应用。他们还会问你在实验中所做的与其他类似实验有什么不同，所以你应该想好如何参考你已经学过或读过的其他类似实验的结果。