Intro

An Expo project helps students with a wide variety of skills- setting project goals/ executive functioning skills, public speaking, learning to research as well as pursuing a topic the student is particularly interested in.  Since there is no rubric to follow, the Expo gives students the opportunity to learn via intrinsic motivation, rather than extrinsic.  Well, that is the hope.

Expo projects should be something that can't be done in one week or a few hours.  A project that takes some effort is the goal, something that produces pride in the final product.  In fact, the Expo is considered part of our coop's science curriculum- our aim is for at least 30 minutes of science daily each week.  At Home activities, reading library books and the Expo help fill out that time frame.  

With those parameters set, the sky is the limit.  Research a scientist.  Go on a fieldtrip and write a report.  Conduct an experiment and display the results.  When we studied Anatomy, we went to the hospital and toured where our friend, Prabhat, worked in anesthesia.  Using the pictures taken, Ian created a display and wrote a report.  Last year, one student tested the effect of different temperatures on bubble production in Sprite.  Of course, drinking the Sprite was the motivation for that experiment....  (Also, the results were a bit odd, so sometimes scientists fail.  Often.)  Has your student had any unanswered questions from class?  If so, finding out the answers could be a great path toward an Expo project.    

If you have any questions, feel free to connect with me.

-Liesl