Day 10 7/23/10- LAST DAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Today campers had to finish up their boards from yesterday and then practice their presentations for today. Practice is key for avoiding all of the um's...ah's...likes... that people say while their brains are queuing the next part of the presentation.




After that we had lunch and then the students fill out the survey to get their opinions on the last two weeks, at first glance campers seemed to really enjoy the camp.









Then we had the students walk their schedules around the building, which they have been asking to do for the last two weeks.

Then all the parents came. I was happy to have the chance to talk to a few of you and I really had a great time the last two weeks. Well you know the rest of the story, so I won't bore you with a recap. If you want to watch Mrs. Sullivan's iMovie of camp you can go to the following link and see it off her website(http://web.mac.com/carol_sullivan/Site/SPeC_2010_Movie.html).

Mr. Tower and I want to thank all of the CIT's for their help. This camp would be bedlam without them. We also want to thank all of the parents for giving us the fun opportunity to work with these students these past two fun weeks.


As the song says, "We'll see you in September"

~Guerin

Day 9 Thursday 7/21/10- Putting Boards Together is More Work than I Thought

Since most groups were done collecting data, today the campers began working on their display boards. This is the part of the project where students never budget enough time for themselves, and they quickly realized how much is involved in putting together a solid board.

The first thing students worked on was typing up the different panels of their display boards. They really hard a difficult time with the style of writing required. Passive voice is really hard to write at first, while personal pronouns are hard to omit. They quickly realized this.

Writer's block?

After this we broke out the glue sticks, construction paper, and a paper cutter so they could begin to assemble their boards.

Those groups that finished, got time to work on practicing their presentations and get ready giving them in front of the whole group. I can't wait to see the final result tomorrow.

Day 8 Wednesday 7/21/10- Mini Projects Keep on Rollin'

As the campers came in today they got write to work and began to collect data. I love seeing self starters who want to get right to work. In the morning, campers began to collect data and this continued after lunch as well. We had students working all over the building. In closets, classrooms, offices, the gym, the media center, and the auditorium.

After data collection was done, they then went on to analyze their data and perform t-tests.

Some campers learned the frustration of how the new Excel is different from the old Excel. (Why does Microsoft do stuff like that??)

We then finished the day with a Wally Test. Some silly questions with silly answers (Q: In Minnesota, which side of a chicken has the most feathers? A: The Outside)

Looking forward to tomorrow and seeing their boards get put together.

Day 7 Tuesday 7/20/10- Mini-Projects Start!

Today started out with the campers being broken into groups for their mini-projects. The CITs started by helping them brainstorm ideas and then they went off and did research on their proposed topics.

Following that they began to gather equipment and start thinking about how they will actually carry out their experiments they devised. All of the groups are using different probes seem to be going in directions.

Its cool watching them formulate their ideas and try to work through their experiments. Some groups made more progress than others, but tomorrow should be a day where everyone is collecting data and beginning to analyze their data.

Day 6 2nd Monday 7/19/10- Research is the Launch Pad to a Good Project

Wow the second week is already here! Pretty soon these kids will be graduating!

We started the second Monday with a discussion led by Mr. Tower as to what makes a good hypothesis.

We then had the kids look at some science magazines and try and come up with hypotheses of their own. When they really could not develop a valid hypothesis we talked about the importance of research. So, off to the Media Center we went. Once there, after a password glitch, we got the students logged in. The school has access to a large amount databases that students can access from home and school which they can use to perform research . A solid project starts with thorough research and a strong knowledge of background material.

Only look at approved material. Facebook and YouTube are not allowed!

After lunch, we revisited and reviewed t-tests. I was quite pleased how students were able to recall how to do the analysis and what p-values meant. Even if they forget the specifics of this during the year they will quickly be able to recall how to perform this analysis next winter. Once again, they will be leaps and bounds ahead of their colleagues.

Then we did everyone's favorite activity of the camp: The Great Ice Cream Sundae Challenge. The campers were given a list of materials and had to write detailed instructions as to how they wanted to make the ice cream sundae of their choice. They got their sundaes as instructed. No mention of a bowl, no bowl. No mention of a spoon, no spoon. No mention of which way they want to the spoon in the bowl, handle first. Say you Sean Bradley sprayed with whipped cream, Sean Bradley gets sprayed with whipped cream.

After the sundaes, we talked about what makes a good project board and put some solid boards on display. Students got a chance to walk around and see that a good board takes time and creativity. It really is the one aspect of the project that students get to get their creative juices flowing.

Well, they know all the basics of the project and starting tomorrow they get to get work on their own mini-projects! I cannot wait to see what they come up with.