Science Career Research Project

Real world applications of your learning make one of the biggest and most lasting impressions on your learning. During this project you will have a chance to express yourself artistically and in writing while pursuing a holistic view of a career related to science. This project will involve research, interviews, a job shadowing experience, an extensive paper, an exhibit, and informal presentation.

Goal / To integrate your research, writing, and creative abilities in an examination of a possible career. You will be building your interpersonal, professional, and inventive skills as well as your scientific and writing ones by researching and writing a paper and creating an exhibit.
Role / Researcher, Biographer, Author, Designer, and Salespersons
Audience / Classmates, parents, teachers, and community members.
Situation / You will examine a career path requiring a science background. After researching the profession, job outlook, and required training, you will conduct several interviews with someone currently employed in that position. These interviews will cover both occupational and biographical components. Compiling this information will allow you to compare what you learn from your research with what you learn through interviews. You will then evaluate the possibility of personally pursuing a career in the field you examined.
Products/
Performance / A paper that connects the science behind an occupation with the research gained through interviews and from additional sources to create a comprehensive view of the career and the motivation behind its pursuit. An exhibit that illustrates pertinent aspects of the profession.
Standards / The paper rubrics are attached. You will receive the exhibition rubric closer to the exhibition.

Procedure –

  1. Choose a career to investigate that requires a science background.
  2. Make initial contact (phone, e-mail, etc.) with a person in the profession you would like to research. You will need to explain that the interview questions include both occupational and biographical focus. (Some people will not be comfortable talking about their lives. In that case you will need to choose a different person.)
  3. Research the profession to answer the following questions:
  4. What types of things do people in this profession do?
  5. What is the range (low to high) of earnings or salaries?
  6. How many jobs in this profession are available locally and nationally?
  7. What is the future outlook for jobs in this profession?
  8. What kind of educational training is necessary?
  9. What are the top 10 schools that prepare people for this profession?
  10. What types of skills and personal strengths are required?
  11. What type of technology is used in this profession?
  12. Prepare a set of interview questions. Ask questions that will allow you to gain insight into the life choices and experiences that led this individual to his/her current science related occupation. Look into the answers to the questions you have already researched about the career. Also, explore the historical background of your subject’s job. How has it changed during the person’s employment? Where is the profession heading?
  13. Arrange interviews and schedule a time for the job shadow. It is suggested that you arrange your visits during breaks or after school instead of during regularly scheduled school activities.
  14. Complete your interviews and job shadowing experience. Please note that at least one interview and the job shadow will need to be done in person (they can occur on the same day). Additional interviews may be conducted via email or phone.
  15. Organize and sort your information. As you decide what to keep and omit, consider the following:
  16. Which information generates interest in the profession?
  17. Which information differs between the interview and research?
  18. Which information correlates the interview with the research?
  19. Which information is unnecessary or trivial?
  20. Which information highlights the role of science in the career?
  21. Which information highlights the role of personal choice in the career path?
  22. Paper content:
  23. Compare and contrast what you have discovered through your research. Incorporate your interview information with your background research in the body of your paper.
  24. After comparing the two sets of information, evaluate your personal interest in the profession. In the conclusion of the paper, clearly justify your reasons for pursuing this career or not.
  25. Prepare your exhibit to demonstrate what you have learned about this science career.

Interview Questions:

Biographical / There are a variety of reasons a person chooses an occupation, and many of them are related to life choices and experiences.
Examples: Are you comfortable talking about influences your family life?
Would you be willing to tell me about how your life experiences affected your current career choice?
My Question(s):
Hypothesis / When performing science, a person creates a testable question. This testable question is based on their own previous observations or the observations of others.
Examples: During your average work day, do you write down or record a testable question about things you observe at work?
Is it a part of your job to create a hypothesis for your team to study?
My Question(s):
Experiment / When performing science, a person develops a method to test their hypothesis. This test (or series of tests) will allow them to collect information that they will use to draw a conclusion about their hypothesis.
Examples: Is it part of your job to set up and conduct tests about a hypothesis that will allow you to collect data related to that
hypothesis?
Is it one of your professional duties to use specialized equipment to take measurements that are part of an
experiment?
My Question(s):
Collect Data / When performing science, a person makes and records observations about the results of their experiment as they perform the experiment.
Examples: During your average work day, do you write down or record a testable question about things you observe at work?
Is it a part of your job to create a hypothesis for your team to study?
My Question(s):
Analyze Data / When performing science, a person takes time to review the data they collected during the experiment. They look for patterns or relationships in their observations, and they may spend some time consulting other people about the meaning of their data.
Examples: Do you spend a part of your day reading and examining measurements or data collected by yourself or your
coworkers?
When you work with data, are you looking for patterns and try to explain their meaning?
Do you use the data you collect to create a diagnosis for your client?
My Question(s):
Conclusion / When performing science, a person uses the data they have collected to decide if their hypothesis was supported, contradicted, or not supported by their data. They make an effort to communicate the results of their experiment to other people. They use the results of their experiment to create a new hypothesis, leading to new research, or they use the results of their experiment to plan a course of action to solve an existing problem.
Examples: Do your professional responsibilities include creating formal presentations about the results of your experiments?
How do the results of one experiment affect what you do during the next experiment?
How do you communicate the results of your experience to other people?
My Question(s):

Initial Contact Science Content Interview Questions

Name: ______Date: ______

These are the due dates for the research, interview, paper and exhibit portions of the chemistry semester project. Make sure that you carefully read the list and also refer to the other handouts you have received for this project. The Pod teachers will soon announce due dates and we reserve the right to change due dates and/or the description of what is due if the need arises – please be diligent in writing down any changes.
This piece of paper is worth points – DO NOT misplace it.

Date / Description of what is due / Parent signature (must sign before teacher checks) / Teacher’s signature
Occupation approval
·  You must know what occupation you will research and have it approved.
·  Occupation: ______/ Cochran
Initial Contact(s) and Scientific Method Checklist
·  You must have contacted your subject by phone or email and have asked them the questions on the opposite side of this checklist.
·  Potential job shadow person must use all five elements of the scientific method in their occupation
o  If they do not then you must contact a different person and/or select a different occupation.
o  If you have not successfully contacted someone then you must speak to Mr. Cochran by ______. / Cochran
Research check
·  You must bring to class a bibliography that contains the following:
o  At least four sources
o  Only two sources can be from the internet.
o  Bibliography must be in correct MLA format. / Wheeler
Interview questions check
·  Your 30 questions will be divided into the following categories:
o  10 biographical questions
o  10 general career questions
o  10 scientific method questions / Wheeler
Brunet
Cochran
Job shadow and first interview
·  You must have completed your job shadow and first interview. / 3rd period teacher
Thesis check
·  You must have the thesis for your paper created and finalized. The thesis must be arguable, not self-evident. / Brunet
Outline check
·  You must have a complete outline of your paper (make sure your outline includes all the requirements). / Cochran
Second interview
·  You must have completed your second interview in person, via email or by phone. / Wheeler
First Draft
·  Bring one copy of your paper. It must be complete for credit. / Brunet
Second Draft
·  Email second draft to Brunet by 11:59 pm. Your school email is the most reliable one to use. / Brunet
Paper is due
·  Turn a hard copy of your paper in with the peer-edited first draft / Brunet
Exhibition Action Plan (completed in class)
·  You will sketch a picture of your project and explain materials being used to create it.
·  At this point you will reserve any special placement (electricity, round table, extra space, etc…) in the cafeteria for the night of the exhibit. / Wheeler
Thank you card and invitation – addressed to the person you job shadowed.
·  Handwritten thank you in a card including an invitation to the exhibition. / Brunet
Exhibition
·  6:00 PM through 8:00 PM in the cafeteria
·  Refer to the Exhibition Checklist. / Wheeler
Brunet

Language Arts Rubric Score ______/200

Element / Exceptional / Strong / Approaching / Needs Development
Introduction
____/25 / Hook is interesting. Paragraph structure flows elegantly and logically from the hook to the thesis statement. Thesis also holds an opinion of the career that can obviously be argued from research. / Hook is interesting. Paragraph structure leads logically from the hook to the thesis statement. Thesis also holds an opinion of the career that can obviously be argued from research. / Hook may be clichéd. Paragraph structure leads logically from the hook to the thesis statement. Thesis about the career is an opinion that can be argued by examples from research. / Hook is boring or non-existent. Paragraph structure does not logically follow to thesis. Does not have a clear thesis.
Supporting Paragraphs
____/65
/ Explains the career in detail. Use of transitions and commentary create a seamless interweaving of the interview information and the research information. Uses interesting and inventive introductory and summary sentences in the supporting paragraphs to support the thesis. Balance of Quotation and Explanation. / Explains the career with some detail. Transitions and commentary effectively connect interview information and research. Information supports the thesis. Fairly balanced ratio of Quotation and Explanation. / Explains the career. The information supports the thesis. The transitions between research and interview information may be inelegant. May need more focus on introductory and summary sentences in the supporting paragraphs. May have an imbalance of Quotation and Explanation. / Lists information instead of explaining. Lacking use of transitions or introductory and summary sentences in the supporting paragraphs. Lacks clear explanation. Lacks quotations from subject or research.
Conclusion
_____/25 / Sums up the career, gives the reader a specific decision about the viability of the job and possibility of the student pursuing the career. The conclusion is personal; the reasons for the choice are tied into the writer’s own experiences and there is a clear tie between the thesis and the decision in the conclusion. / Sums up the career and gives the reader a specific decision about the viability of the job and the possibility of the student pursuing the career. The reader feels a sense of closure. / Vague conclusion without a lot for the reader to connect with. Limited sense of closure. / Does NOT give the reader a specific decision about the viability of the job and/or the possibility of the student pursuing the career.
Narrative quality
____/35
/ This is not just a list of facts, but it tells the story of the career. There is a natural transitioning and integration between the subject’s experiences, the research, and the scientific method. The descriptive elements make the reader want to keep reading and help the reader feel the human connection. / Paper has good flow and gives a picture of the career including the subject’s experiences, research, and the scientific method. Paper is somewhat descriptive. / May sound encyclopedic. Uses stilted transitions between the subject’s experiences, the research, and the scientific method. Contains some descriptive elements. / Paper is cold – it lists facts without explanation or expansion. Lacks descriptive elements.
Biographical data
____/30 / The writer relates not only the information, but also examines the life choices associated with the career and how those choices affected the interviewee, giving a well-rounded picture of the person’s life and career. / Writer examines the life choices of the career and how it has affected the interviewee. / May not analyze in depth how the career and those choices associated with it affected the interviewee. / Does not analyze how the career and those choices associated with it affected the interviewee.
Conventions
_____/20
/ Practically perfect. / Contains a few conventions errors but they do not interfere with overall paper. / Contains many conventions errors that somewhat interfere with the paper’s meaning / Contains multiple conventions errors that interfere with the paper’s meaning.

Contemporary World Issues Rubric Score ______/200