The group 4 project IN IBDP What is Group 4 Project? The Group 4 Project is a student generated, student planned, student produced, interdisciplinary investigation. The Group 4 Project is a requirement for all diploma and certificate students enrolled in an IB science course. Student generated The students choose the topic to be studied. The topic needs to be : ● narrow enough to be planned and studied in 10-15 hours of work and ● broad enough so that all disciplines of science can be included. Student planned The students ● ● ● ● ● determine the research topic, state the problem, make a hypothesis, determine what specific investigations are going to be done within the research topic chosen, and plan the procedure, including determining materials and selecting variables. Student produced Group 4 students do ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ the research, investigation, and the final write-up, presentation, or documentation. INTERDISCIPLINARY investigation ● ● ● All of the sciences are involved. All of the IB students are involved. All members of a group will be investigating the same problem from different perspectives. Timing - Schedule in booklet Planning stage: 4th - 7th March Action stage: 7 th March - 7 th April th Evaluation stage: 7 April Handover to supervisor: 8th April Presentation: Monday 19th May Process for a group 4 Project: ● Step 1: Identify major topics: e.g., body, pollution, water, recycling, air, energy, nutrition, waste, agriculture. ● Step 2: concentrate on a few topics: Pollution, Agriculture, nutrition. ● Step 3: Narrow topic down to one: e.g., Agriculture Process for a group 4 Project (cont.): ● ● ● Step 4: Narrow it down to a focused question, e.g., How can agriculture help reduce pollution? Step 5: Students in each subject come up with issues in their own areas. ● and create a hypothesis Step 6: Students in each subject narrow these down to what they can collect in terms of data and investigations. TEAM WORK You will be working as part of a team of 5 students. This means that your personal skills will be tested. i.e. your ability to: ● · Work within a team, ● · Recognize the contribution of others, ● · Encourage the contribution of others. ● Teams Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Saudatu Elias Shehzad Wouter Jie Shen Selin Brane Anastasia Stephanie Nick Lovisa Ayo Misaki Diego Nene Group 4 Group 5 Supervisors: Lorenzo Elliot Ms Higgins Varun Samar Chemistry Emily Viktor Yi Ingrid Ms Sheard Abdel Micol Physics Team members • Have different roles • Have a common goal • Don’t choose each other Team skills • Communication • Co-operation • Motivation • Perseverance • Adaptability Broad Topic: Sick Building Syndrome Focused Question: How do the environmental conditions in a given building cause illness? • Biology issues: Survey of symptoms, research into existing medical data: studies of respiratory illnesses, research on organisms --cause/effect Broad Topic: Sick Building Syndrome • Chemistry Issues: Call Health Department to find out tests for sick building e.g. in humidity studies, harmful gases,, etc. CO, CO2, particulates, water analysis, investigations of Brownian motion; Rn detection, condensation patterns • Physics Issues: measurement of electromagnetic fields, air flow patterns, R factors, temperature of the buildings Examples of Group 4 Projects ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Natural & Synthetic Fibers The 400 m Running Race The School Swimming Pool Exercise Paper Recycling The effect of Caffeine on the Human Body Petroleum and the Automobile The Classroom Environment Transport to School Group 4 Projects (cont.) ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● School Garbage Agriculture How healthy is our School? Pollution in City X Alternate Energy Sources for the School Beer / Wine Driving Ice Storm The Weather The Science of Toys / Thrill Ride Project stages ● The 10 hours allocated to the group 4 project, can be divided into three stages: ● ● ● planning, action Presentation and evaluation. Planning (2 – 3 hours) ● Mixed-subject sessions: brainstorm the topic ● Develop a hypothesis ● Suggest data collection ● Sharing of information & ideas Definition of Activities ● Develop ● ● ● subject-specific questions to answer and A subject specific hypothesis Define specific tasks Action (6 - 9 hours) ● Separate subject investigations ● As individuals or groups ● During ‘Normal’ lessons and in own time ● 2 science subjects do 2 action phases Presentation - Monday 19th May ● The emphasis during this stage, is on ● students sharing their findings, both successes and failures, with other students. ● It will be discussed with ● the teachers, other IB students, Grade 9 and anyone else in the Marble Hall Assessment ● Everyday you will need to complete the following and hand them in to your supervisor before you can leave: -personal log -self reflection -self/peer assessment The supervisor will be interviewing your team and using all the above information to give you a Personal Skills grade for the IB. This is 6 marks out of 48 for your internal assessment; Internal assessment is worth 24% of your final IB grade. Planning Stage: 1st page in your booklet Define your research question Background information - Include a background to your research question (why is it worthy of investigation? What is the problem you are trying to solve?) - Explain your specific topic and the aspects you are focusing on (ESS, biology, chemistry or physics) - Outline the roles for your team members - Give any background theory required to understand the premise of your investigation Materials and method A list of apparatus A rough description/diagram of your procedure Variable identification - Independent, dependent and controlled variables should be listed