PJAS+Regionals

2018 Date: Saturday, February 24
7:45am - 12pm

Official Website - see drop down menu for PJAS

PREPARING YOUR PRESENTATION :
Quick Directions: Prepare a slide presentation - convert to pdf - upload to pjas site PJAS recommends microsoft, but google slides convert to pdf as well. Back-Ups: Save presentation to a flash drive **(email yourself a back up)** - bring flash drive to Science Fair - Load at Site. Convert your powerpoint/slides to pdf and upload to pjas site.
 * []
 * file must be less than 10MB
 * No graphics or animations; no hyperlinks

CLICK HERE FOR 2016 PRESENTATION GUIDELINES [|Quick Overview of Judging Points] 2017 Schedule of Day's Events Updated Information is located at www.mcsta.org - pjas dropdown menu
 * OLD LINKS THAT ARE STILL RELEVANT:**

Souderton High School
625 Lower Road, Souderton, PA 18964 Click Here For Directions

LOGISTICS
Dress very nicely! Shirt and tie (perhaps jacket) for males, dress/skirt/suit for females Bring your flashdrive with presentation but have at least 2 back-ups (email; google drive) Bring the comment sheets that you will receive prior to the date (extra copy here):

Arrival

 * Plan to arrive by 7:30am
 * It is very obvious where them main entrance is.
 * When you enter, there will be hundreds of students milling around. Eventually you will be asked to go into the auditorium where Mr. Robert Helm, the regional director, will welcome you and give you instructions for the day.
 * You will find your way to your room

Presentation Room
You will be assigned to a room by category. 7-9th or 9-12th grades are separated. The younger grades are scheduled first and the older students go last (see classroom for your room assignment) You are expected to sit and listen to all presentations - only those with legitimate conflicts are allowed to leave. The judges will call each presenter in the order listed on their sheet There will be a technician in the room in charge of time: they will tell you when to start, hold a card up for 2 min, 1 min, 30 sec, and STOP (this will be updated in the auditorium if different) Please be respectful of all participants - no phones, etc
 * The judges should ask if anyone requires an early dismissal and therefore must go first - this would be when you ask to go first
 * PSTS juniors/seniors may opt to volunteer to go early so that you finish your interview in timely manner

Your Presentation : We are all digital this year and will run from the pjas uploader site
Have **BACK-UPS** : bring a flashdrive, EMAIL YOUR FILE TO YOURSELF AND HAVE A COPY ON GOOGLE DRIVE.

See this power point for advised slides When it is your turn, be sure to introduce yourself, your name, school, grade and project title as you begin. RELAX!! Don't forget to breathe! Proceed through your slides - be sure to finish; the judges can (and will) ask you to return to any slide they would like to discuss. The most important thing is **NOT TO GO OVER 10 MINUTES!!!** The time penalty is a huge deduction. If you see the 30 sec card from the technician, be sure to wrap it up. Even one second over is an automatic low score in the presentation category.
 * MAKING YOUR PRESENTATION**

**Here are the official PJAS presentation GUIDELINES:**
http://www.pjas.net/presentation-guidelines Be sure to create slides that address these points Below is a generic overview of what your slides should contain - remember - # of slides does not matter; depending on your topic you could merge some of what I have listed below. Likewise, you may have a few slides per any single row below. **CLEAR presentation of information WITHIN 10 MINUTES is what matters!** (could be just alternative; could be null and alternative depending on your statistics) || This slide is usually fast unless you've combined it with another slide || You MUST formally state this; if you do not it is an automatic low score || Be thorough but stay on point || your depth of knowledge and understanding. Here is where we get a sense of your scientific understanding || your dependent variable, and your control. Likewise, show you knew what constants to control. This will vary per presentation - some students like to lead with it, some like to summarize with it || How will your methodology answer your question? Show you know why you chose this IV and this DV. THE CONTROL GROUP. Automatic low score if you miss this. || Some students have a very detailed procedure, some only highlight the main points || NEVER read verbatim, especially if it's a detailed procedure. You should be comfortable with your own work to give an informal overview || Logical procedure; External variables are controlled; METRIC (automatic low score if not). Ideally, your methodology is clever. Sample size. || No matter what, be certain to have tables of numbers and that the averages are clear. || Review what your dependent variable was - be certain to convey that you know where your data come from. Review also why this DV/data is answering your hypothesis Be certain your column headings, unit, and averages are clear. Be sure to draw attention to the experimental vs the control data. Linger a little on pointing out some initial trends in the numbers. You might also choose to highlight outliers. Have titles!!! || Your ability to ANALYZE! By showing raw data as well as the averaged data, the judges more appreciate you analytical ability and can better comprehend the scope of your experiment. Tables show the judges your ability to group the data appropriately. It shows your organizational abilities. || No. of graphs vary per experiment. You may choose to graph raw data if appropriate, but most everyone should have graphs of their averages with standard error bars. (don't forget: clear titles, units, etc) You may also include more formal statistical analyses here (ANOVA, chi-squared, etc) || **Discuss the trends in your data**. Be sure to explain the relevance of whatever statistics you used - what do your stats mean?? The most common one for everyone will be standard deviation or error. You need to state whether your data is meaningful or not based on the width of the error bars in relation to each other. End by drawing your conclusion (answer your hypothesis) while the graph is still up. || Did you draw the correct conclusion? Do you organize information appropriately?
 * = **SLIDE** ||= **CONTENT** ||= **WHAT TO DISCUSS** ||= **What the Judges are Looking For** ||
 * Intro || your name, grade, school, title of project and perhaps image ||  || They're getting settled in; starting a new notes page; give them the few seconds they need before you formally start the main slides ||
 * Why study? || Your curiosity/ formal question. || Why did you pick this project?
 * What relevance does it have to the real world?** || Novel ideas; creativity; love of science ||
 * Hypothesis || Your formal hypothesis
 * Background || Formal introductory research - make sure slides are readable; NO PROSE!! || Why will your I.V. CAUSE your D.V ?
 * Experimental Overview || At some point, be certain you clearly list your independent variable,
 * Emphasize your control group** (and stress what it controls for). || Clear understanding of your experiment.
 * Procedure || Clear materials; clear procedure (numbered)
 * Data || Depending on your experiment, it may be helpful to have a slide of raw, tabled data as well as a table of clearer averaged data.
 * Data Analysis || Graphed Data
 * Do NOT use the word //significant// if you did not run a real statistical test!!!** You open yourself up to a barrage of questioning that will not end well.

(The judges will likely ask to bring this slide back up during the question session because it summarizes your whole experiment) || Perhaps an overview of errors and science (bullet points) || Try to relax and deliver your conclusion in a conversational tone. Summarize your experiment and explain if you got the results you expected or not. || Clear acceptance/rejecting of your hyp || No matter what, don't go over the 10 minute mark. You can always go back to any of the above slides during the Q&A session. Even if a judge specifically does not ask to see a slide again, use them anyway as your field questions if you didn't get the chance.
 * Conclusions || Accept or Reject your Hypothesis
 * Science* || Avoid prose, but here is where you talk about the science in depth. Bullet point main ideas || Here is where you state the 'textbook' points regarding your subject matter. WHY did you get these results? **How did your IV = your DV?** || Depth of understanding; ability to decipher cause and effect ||
 * Errors* || What specifically went wrong to affect your data? || State the procedural point that could have been changed. If you didn't do something "wrong", then say how the procedure could be improved. Was there an issue with concentrations? technique? was your data difficult to interpret? Specifically state HOW you would fix it and WHY that would change things || Nobody's perfect - every experiment can stand improvement - the judges are looking for you to analyze ||
 * Future *Directions || What other variables could be introduced or controlled? How could this be amended to apply to more closely to the real world? || Here is where you recognize things that could be improved - and WHY they would matter. **Avoid blaming others** - my teacher wasn't available, I wasn't allowed to do this, I didn't learn this yet...that just puts a sour note on your presentation and reflects poorly on your troubleshooting abilities. || If your experiment was too simple, here is last chance to show your sophistication as a scientist. ||
 * * || any of these can be combined depending on presentation ||  ||   ||
 * Summary || Why the real world should care? || Recap the relevance of your experiment and what field of real world science it applies to; what would the average person gain from your data? If your experiment was too boring or simple, focus instead on where to go next with this information ||  ||