SIOUX CENTERA small group of high school students got their chance to pitch their science projects at the 2023 State Science Technology Fair of Iowa in Ames on Thursday and Friday.

Its all part of a new course called action research offered at Sioux Center High School.

Its individualized project-based learning, said science teacher Christine Brasser. The students need to create their own research project to do throughout the year. They start off with what are the things that I like, what are the things Im interested in, do I have any questions about those things? Then they build from there.

They then begin the work of applying the scientific method to those interests and budding questions by coming up with a question, hypothesis and a plan for how to gather the needed data. When a conclusion is eventually reached, they need to present that information.

I want them to be able to ask good questions, analyze data and come to their own conclusions. I think the biggest thing in this class is the ability to look at everyday things with a scientific perspective, Brasser said. Looking at data and knowing what makes for good data, good data sources and how its collected is important. During your life, you might not think of using the scientific method, but you can use it without really thinking about it.

The parameters the students have to work with when coming up with a project topic are simple enough: The question they investigate must be able to be tested and something based in typical life.

One of my students is testing supplements, what are in these supplements that are not regulated. Another one is about protein in corn. Its real-life questions that people might be interested in knowing the answer to, she said.

As part of the research, the students reach out to experts who can help provide data or guide their research. This helps the students learn communication skills as they send out e-mail, make phone calls and ask questions.

Those might seem simple for the average adult, but for high school kids, that can be very intimidating, she said. One student was on a Zoom call with a professor from South Dakota State University, and hed never met him in person. Its really good to see these kids grow by having to do these things.

Its also been an exercise in working with deadlines, with time frames for when students should develop their topic idea and hypothesis, conducting their studies and gathering data and so on.

For the end of the class, the students create a professional poster displaying and explaining their project in detail so it can be used in the state science fair competition.

Since this is a new class, its beginning small, with four students, which Brasser said has been a good number to start with.

Its a class Ive always wanted to offer but we didnt have the periods open, she said. With the addition of a fourth science teacher, we were able to offer this class. For next year, I think our enrollment will be closer to 10 or 12.

In the meantime, she has been excited to see her class get ready for the State Science Technology Fair of Iowa. Judges review the submitted projects, which are categorized into 12 different fields of biological or physical sciences. Topic areas include animal and plant science, biochemistry, microbiology, energy and transportation, chemistry and computer science, robotics and intelligent machines.

Im excited for them to compete, Brasser said, and that Sioux Center is able to add this to the list of the many great things we can offer for kids.

For the state science fair, Sioux Center students Everett Fedders and William Hurst won scholarship dollars for their work. Fedders won a $1,000 scholarship award to Loras College and $2,000 scholarship award to Northwestern College in Orange City for microbiology. Hurst won a $2,000 scholarship award to Northwestern for biochemistry.

As part of the concurrently held Iowa FFA AgriScience Fair, Fedders won second place in the food products and processing systems division and Hannah Woudstra won first place in the plant systems division of the concurrent Iowa FFA Agriscience Fair.

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High schoolers awarded for action research | Sioux Center News - nwestiowa.com