For Teachers

Supervising Projects
Ethics information for teachers

TEACHERS – THE COMMITTEE IS IN NEED OF MORE PEOPLE TO HELP WITH ORGANISING THE FAIR. IF YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE PLEASE CONTACT US.

The Organising Committee is very appreciative of the efforts made by teachers and caregivers in helping their students to enter this event and we have listed below information to help you (and us).

All entries are to be completed online by the school’s Science Fair Coordinator, and must be completed by the date listed in the Fair Information (the entry form will be available from Term 2).  Changes will be able to be made to your school’s entries up until that date. After this date, all exhibit details will be finalised and no further changes will be able to be made. At this point, entries will be compiled, with confirmation of entries and invoices then sent to schools; and the final list of exhibits will be prepared to be used for Fair organisation and to produce the Fair programme provided to judges. Please be aware that this is a firm date.

The Organising Committee requests that schools with a large number of entries (more than 10) provide a suitably qualified judge as a condition of entry. Further details can be found on the entries page and in the entry forms. In the unlikely event that the venue cannot accommodate all entered exhibits, you may be contacted after the closing date if your school has entered a large number of exhibits, in order for you to choose the best exhibits to send to the Fair. However, all possible arrangements will be made in an effort to ensure this is not necessary.

After the Fair judging is complete, the list of prize-winners will be compiled. Please note, this does take some time, and notifications will be sent as soon as possible. School coordinators will be advised by email of students who have won prizes and who need to attend the prize-giving ceremony.  An email will also be sent to all school coordinators confirming that this process is complete. Please make sure you check your emails, as students will not be notified directly.

Suggestions:

• Refer to the Fair Information page for the key dates and event information.
• Plan your school’s fair well in advance of the Canterbury-Westland Schools’ Science and Technology Fair.
• Coordinate the  school fair with all the other science and technology teachers at your school and time it so as to best suit the teaching programme.
• Attempt to obtain judges from outside the school and preferably with prior expertise in judging Science and Technology Fair exhibits.
• Attempt to get sponsorship for prizes from your local community.

Useful information for teachers:

• Supervising projects
• Ethics information for teachers
• Entry information and forms
• What is the difference between science and technology?
• Do I need ethics committee approval for my investigation?
• Safety requirements
• What are science and technology fair judges looking for?

• The Links page gives a number of sites which can assist teachers in suggesting a range of topics for investigation.
• You may wish to incorporate Science Badges into your school science fair activities.