IB Group 4 Project
The Group 4 Project is an interdisciplinary activity in which all IB Diploma Programme Science students must take part. The goal of the project is to help you appreciate the environmental, social and ethical implications of Science. It should also help you to understand the limitations of scientific study (e.g. lack of appropriate data and/or resources). The emphasis of the Group 4 project is on interdisciplinary cooperation and the processes involved in scientific investigation. The intention is that you investigate a problem using methods from all of the scientific disciplines.
Topic: We will be studying a beach in the South of Jeju Island. The beach is a rocky shore beach with a pier running through the middle of it. The beach faces south into the Korea Strait and is overlooked by Songaksan to the east. It is close to the Pacific Rim Peace Park should you wish to find it on Google maps. The beach is tidal, it has around 2 high tides during a 24 hour period and this is likely to have a profound effect on the organisms that live there. Low tide is expected at around 0900 on 03/06/2013 (UK date format dd/mm/yyyy) respectively. The tide will rise by around 2m in around 9 hours and this may have an impact on your planned investigation and the timing of your practical work. Exact tidal information can be found on a variety of websites.
Working in the groups we give you you will plan your own investigations. The only limitations on what you can investigate is that the topic you chose must fit into the overall theme, that of studying the beach, and you must ensure that you pay close attention to safety, ethical and environmental issues.
Some groups may wish to gather and analyse water samples from different parts of the beach, others may want to compare how the presence of the pier effects the organisms present at either end of the beach, yet more groups may wish to investigate how the tides affect the distribution of organisms and other items on the beach. The soil on and around the beach may provide you with source of data, as might the historical uses of the beach. The geologically minded amongst you may want to measure other features of the immediate area. A vast range of topics is available to you and your group members.
Project Stages
The Group 4 project needs to contain at least 10 to 15 hours of work and can be divided into four main stages: Planning, Definition of Activities, Action and Evaluation. We will be following ‘Model A: mixed subject groups and one topic’ from the Subject Guide. During all four stages you should liaise with a member of the Science faculty to ensure that you are working towards a realistic achievable goal.
Planning
This stage is vitally important for the project. If it is done correctly it will result in the smooth running of the rest of the project. The Planning stage will occur on the first Monday after half term, and is expected to take all day. During this time you should help each learn how to use the equipment, you may want to test your ideas out around the school, but please avoid distracting those lucky enough to be doing exams.
How the groups work together so that they do not overlap their efforts will need to be organised and could be done through the use of shared documents, a little overlap to check reliability of data is not completely out of the question, but the groups should work independently. You do not need to wait until the planning session to begin thinking about what to do during your investigation.
Definition of Activities
As a group you must draw up an action plan and assign specific tasks to your group’s members. This plan can be drawn up as part of your planning session, it must be completed before the end of school (1530) Monday. The action plan must describe how you will carry out your investigation and how each individual will participate; everyone in a group must share equally in the investigation. During the afternoon on Monday you should check with the Science teachers assigned to your group that your action plan is on track. It is probably a good idea to check that equipment does what you want it to do before you leave, this would good to do on Monday afternoon.
During the project you will make notes on your Definition of Activities sheet about what actually happened, this will be called your LOG.
Action
Most of this stage will take place at the beach on Tuesday. We aim to arrive at the beach a little after 9am and we will be there until 3pm. You may wish consider the implications of spending six hours outside, there is little shelter at the beach and a hat and sunscreen may be very useful. A bus will leave the beach at 12:30pm enabling those students who need to carry out laboratory work to get back to school to use the facilities there. During this stage you may want to make notes so your log can be kept up to date.
Evaluation
This stage will take place on Wednesday. During this stage you should prepare a presentation (ICT facilities will be available so you may wish to use PowerPoint or Prezi), to be given on Wednesday after lunch. This presentation should share your findings with those watching (Year 12 students), your findings may include both successes and failures but please remember that this is not a time to place blame on members of the group for anything that did not work.
Timeline
Monday 3rd June 2013
0840 – Meet in BLT for introduction
0915 – Move from BLT to 3rd floor, Groups 1 – 3 will be based in BS37, Groups 4 – 6 will be based in BS35 and Groups 7 – 10 will be based in BS33.
0930 – Physics talk in Mr McCleod’s room. Who will you send?
0930 – Chemistry talk in Mr Brannac’s room. Who will you send?
0930 – Biology talk in Mr Gulian’s room. Who will you send?
These talks may give you ideas of what sort of variables can be measured and what sort of equipment will be realistically useful.
1030 – 1100 BREAKTIME – By now you should have a good idea of which variables you are going to measure and a good idea of what you’re going to do.
1130 – 1300 – Draw up your action plan. Who is doing what? Why are they doing that way? This action plan will become your log, so leave gaps so you can annotate it (someone in your group will know how to set up double spacing). During this time you may want to check your equipment, take it outside and work out how to use it.
1300 – 1400 – LUNCHTIME
1400 – 1530 – Action plan needs finishing and checking by a teacher. Everyone should have a clearly defined role in your group.
Tuesday 4th June 2013
0830 – Gather Equipment from 3rd floor BS
0900 – Board Buses
0945 – Arrive at beach and start work
1200 – 1230 LUNCHTIME – Lunch is short there isn’t much to do at the site. You group may want to have a staggered lunch so that measurements can continue to be taken.
1230 – Bus leaves for school. This bus will take people back to school where they can work in labs if they need to. Students will not be taken back so they can sleep, that isn’t going to happen. Should your whole group go? If you divide how will you stay in contact?
1500 – Bus leaves for school. This bus will take everyone else back. You are responsible for the equipment you carry. TAKE ONLY PHOTOS, LEAVE ONLY FOOTPRINTS.
Wednesday 5th June 2013
Periods 1 - 6
· Data analysis - how do the different Sciences deal with data?
· Preparation of presentation
· Update your logs
Periods 7 – 9
· Presentations to be given in the PAC
Appendix
The Group 4 project is intended to clearly address aims 7,8 and 10 from the subject guide:
7. develop and apply the students’ information and communication technology skills in the study of Science – Shared docs, Spreadsheets, Presentations Software could be used to fulfil this.
8. raise awareness of the moral, ethical, social, economic and environmental implications of using science and technology – the impact of humans on the environment could be a focus in your investigation.
10. encourage an understanding of the relationships between scientific disciplines and the overarching nature of the scientific method. – this will be assessed as we go through according to the following criterion:
Levels/Marks / Aspect 1 / Aspect 2 / Aspect 3Self-motivation and perseverance / Working within a team / Self-reflection
Complete/2 / Approaches the project with self – motivation and follows it through to completion. / Collaborates and communicates in a group situation and integrates the views of others. / Shows a thorough awareness of their own strengths and weaknesses and gives thoughtful consideration to their learning experience.
Partial/1 / Completes the project but sometimes lacks self – motivation. / Exchanges some views but requires guidance to collaborate with others. / Shows limited awareness of their own strengths and weaknesses and gives some consideration to their learning experience.
Not at all/0 / Lacks perseverance and motivation. / Makes little or no attempt to collaborate in a group situation. / Shows no awareness of their own strengths and weaknesses and gives no consideration to their learning experience.