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Scientific Research and Design

Instructor: Dr. Steven Werden


Room D111
steven.werden@fortbendisd.com
281-327-8766
WerdenSRD.weebly.com
Tutoring:
request only.

Tuesday 2:50 -3:20 p.m. and Thursday 6:50 to 7:20 a.m. Other times by

Pre-requisites:
Completion of or co-enrollment in AP Chemistry, AP Physics, and AP Calculus BC will help
ensure success in this course. Also, permission from the instructor is required. You should
come to the class prepared to research a project in Math or Science that interests you and
ideally will already have alignment with a mentor in a company or university.
Course Description:
Students enrolled in this course will develop a professional relationship with a mentor that
has a STEM oriented. Expectations are that the student will find a mentor that will align
with the students research interests. Students must keep a Scientific journal documenting
all aspects of their research (preliminary research, readings, online resources, hypothesis
development, data collection, observations, notes on discussions with mentor including
times and date of each discussion and time log of all work on project/research.) Students
are expected to follow all safety and ethical guidelines appropriate for the field of study
when conducting their research. Students will be expected to present their progress and
findings periodically throughout each grading period.
Nine-Week Period

1st
Nine Weeks

2nd
Nine Weeks
3rd
Nine Weeks
4th
Nine Weeks

Unit Name
Introduction and Lab Safety
Introduction to research

Introduction and review of Scientific Method

Introduction to reading and analysis of research papers

Professional behavior and ethics

Field/classroom Investigations

Refine and improve project/Investigation

Experimentation and Data Collection

Estimated Time Frame


3 days

8 weeks,
2 days

9 weeks

Analysis and evaluation of research project/Investigation

2 weeks

Writing and review of project/investigation

7 weeks

Peer review presentation and publication

9 weeks

Supplies:
Pencils, pens, composition book to be used as a scientific journal and USB memory stick
(1G will easily suffice).
Class Procedures:
Respect yourself and the rights of others to learn and work.
Be prompt- be in class (i.e. at your job), seated, with materials, ready to work when the
bell rings.

Every day have the following materials: your legal, scientific notebook, a black pen, and a
calculator
Do NOT eat, drink or chew gum at the lab station unless given permission by the teacher.
Students may have water in a container with a tight-closing lid at their desks but not at
the lab stations.
BEHAVE in a safe and responsible manner at all times. Horseplay, practical jokes and
pranks are dangerous and prohibited.
Use all equipment correctly, safely, and as directed. If you do not understand something,
ask the teacher before proceeding.
All lab safety rules & procedures will be followed as instructed
Observe good HOUSEKEEPING practices. Work areas should be kept clean and tidy at all
times. Return all supplies/equipment to proper storage area.
Immediately inform the teacher of any injuries, no matter how small it may be.
Sit in your assigned seat, until dismissed by the teacher- not the bell
Power Down: Cell phones will be off and out of sight while this sign is posted. Confiscation
will occur otherwise.
Passes:
DHS policy is that no hall passes are permitted during the first 10 & last 10 minutes of
each class period
Please, do not interrupt instruction; be courteous & wait until instruction is finished before
you ask for a hall pass. Only one person is allowed out of the room at a timeno
exceptions
Assignments:
Turn in all completed assignments into the appropriate tray located by the door
Any assignments turned in late will be penalized according to the DHS Late Work Policy
Project:
Ideally, you will be independently researching a topic of interest to you. If you enter the
class without a project, we will attempt to identify areas of interest and shrink them down
to workable, testable hypotheses. If possible, we will identify a mentor whose resources
you can use to implement and investigate your project. If you enter the class with a
project in progress, I will be asking you for a progress update and I will closely follow your
progress as the year progresses. Consider me to be a sounding board for ideas and a
guide to help you progress. Do not expect me to hand you a canned project ready to go
with conclusions already drawn. You may wonder if you can do hands-on lab work in my
classroom for your project. The answer is YES but it depends on the nature of the work.
We obviously have limited capabilities to make sophisticated measurements and limited
ability to make stuff...molecules or engineered parts. Thats why connection to the mentor,
for both expertise and lab help, is so important.
Cheating or Plagiarism:
Will not be tolerated and violators will be penalized according to DHS policy.
Remember- honesty, is something you do when others are not looking.
Grading:

The district policy regarding grades, make-ups, and re-testing will be followed. I am
looking for the student to try hard, be studious, ask questions, and have a good attitude.
You will be graded on in-class assignments with labs, quizzes and tests. Numeric grades
will also derive from meeting project deadlines and producing products for grading along
the way. For example, you will identify an idea, shrink it to a workable size, write a testable
hypothesis, research the project, make changes as necessary, draw conclusions. There will

be deadlines for these milestones and a written product for each. A big part of the grade
for fall semester will be the submission of a THOROUGH literature review list for your
research project and a summary of whats in the papers and how it relates to your own
project. A big part of the semester grade will be the submission of a high quality, research
paper that details your project.

50% daily grades from handouts, worksheets, quizzes, lab, etc.


50% major from tests, projects, reports, etc.

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