A message from the Wolf class:
All four projects meet the standards for a
Waiver of Informed Consent by the Intel Science and Engineering Fair (the
parent fair of the State Science and Technology Fair of Iowa). Regardless, we
felt it best to share the students’ plans and give all families the option to
deny consent for their child(ren) to participate.
Here are the four experiments:
1. Gender Stereotypes and Young Children - The student researcher is
interested in how age and gender
impact the development of gender stereotypes.
She will show a picture of an infant and ask each participant
to select six
adjectives from a provided list to describe the baby. Personal information,
other than age and
gender, will not be collected. Time needed: 3-5 min per
child.
2. Perception of Time - The
student researcher is testing if the level of enjoyment one feels while
completing an activity affects the amount of time the participant feels has
passed. Activities will include basic school tasks, such as math problems,
reading, drawing, or writing. Each participant will complete the activity, rate
their enjoyment, and predict the time spent. Personal information, other than
age and gender, will not be collected. Time needed: 10-15 min per child.
3. The Stroop Effect - The
student researcher is exploring how age and gender impact the Stroop Effect.
The Stroop Effect is tested with the well-known task using the names of colors
printed in colors that don’t match the name. You are required to say the color
of the word, not what the word says. For example, for the word RED, you should say
"Blue." Each participant would complete a computer-based task
designed to test the Stroop Effect. Personal information, other than age and
gender, will not be collected. Time needed: 3-5 min per child.
4. Sugar in Soft Drinks - The
student researcher is conducting a survey to measure children’s understanding
of sugar levels in soft drinks. She will display a variety of soft drinks and
ask participants to predict, using sugar cubes, how much sugar is contained in
the given volume of each drink. Personal information, other than age and
gender, will not be collected. Time needed: 3-5 min per child.
All experiments will take place at Willowwind
between February 13 – February 23, 2017.
Thank you for your consideration of these young
scientists’ project needs. Should you have further questions, please don’t
hesitate to contact me at racheld@willowwind.org. If you do not want your child to participate in any or all of
these experiments, please contact both your classroom teacher and me (e-mail is
sufficient) to withdraw by Friday, February 10. If you are comfortable
with your child participating, no response is required.
Many thanks for your support of our scientific
endeavors!
Rachel DeMaris, 5/6 teacher
and student researchers Claire, Miranda, Rosie,
and Ruby
