2017-2018 Science Fair

Assess how you conducted your experiment.

● Please move this document to your ​shared Biology folder.

● To complete this, you will need to refer to your project proposal.
● After you answer all the questions, remember to ​submit the document in Canvas​.

Sample size
1. Below, put what you planned for sample size and/or repeated measures (#9 in experimental proposal).
6 dogs

2. Below, put the actual sample size and/or repeated measures you completed by the deadline (February
12).
2 4th grade classes - testing each class twice

Did not do this by the deadline, but with extended time, this is what will be completed in the long run. I
have an extended due date after communication with teacher, and I will get this sample size done as soon
as possible.

3. If there are differences between your initial plan and what you completed by the deadline, explain
a) why they are different, and
They are different because I had to switch the overall view of my project into a more reliable and less
time consuming experiment
b) what you could have done differently to reach your goal on time.
I believe that if I had a longer time and more thorough plans, then my dog training idea would work.
Another issue was that dogs were a lot more difficult to collect precise, accurate data from rather than
children.
Procedure
4. Below, paste a copy of your planned steps from your project proposal (#15).
1. Get to the house of the dog’s owner
2. Take the dog into a room that they are familiar with
3. Make sure nothing around them is distracting
- For example: Other people or animals, objects they play with, etc
4. Begin by getting dog’s attention and making sure they are focused on you
5. Initially, tell the dog to “sit” to further obtain their attention
6. Verbally tell the dog to “roll over” in addition with a hand motion
-Hand Motion: Point your index finger and move it in circles
-The dog will not previously know this command
7. If the dog complies either give a treat or play with the dog for a few seconds as a reward (depends on if
it is a treat or play based reward)
- If giving treat, make sure to give it to the dog and don’t let them take it from you
8.If the dog does not comply, wait for them to do it (maybe physically move them and tell reward them)
9. Continue to give the dog the same verbal commands as well as hand motions and repeat reward 10
times (For training the dog)
10. End on a successful command (with dog complying)
11. When finished training, test dog 5 times by doing the verbal and motion commands
12. Record the data of compliance
13. Walk the dog out of the room
14. Repeat the whole process next time with different dog them
- In the same location, with same instructions

5. Carefully look over your initial plans. In a numbered or bullet-pointed list below,
a) identify in detail things you actually did differently, and
b) explain why you made each change.
I changed the entire thing because my experiment was a completely different test and project base
(children rather than dogs)

Variables
6. In your proposal, find your standardized (#8) and extraneous variables (#10) and list them in the table
below.
Standardized variables Extraneous variables

Knowledge of Dog Emotional State of dog

Condition and Surroundings Breed of Dog

(Individual dogs)

Conditions and Surroundings (All dogs)

Breed of Dog

Physical State of Dog

Length of Training

7. Standardized variable review:

Did you successfully standardize all the variables you planned to?
If not, explain why not.
Again, it was a different project so I had none of the same variables.

8. Extraneous variable review:

Were there other factors (that you did not originally list) that you think could have affected your results?
Identify them and explain your answer.
Because I never made an original list for my new experiment with children, I think that some extraneous
variables could have been:
Emotional state of child
Previous times of exercise in the day
Effort of kid
Impact on Results
9. Think about all the ways the implementation of your experiment differed from your initial plans (your
answers to questions above).
Discuss how these changes may make your project stronger and/or make it weaker (i.e. make your
results more reliable or less reliable).
I think that changing the idea of my experiment and switching to something else with make it much
stronger and precise in the long run. With the dogs, I feel as if there would have been a lot of issues with
trying to figure out how to constantly keep the same process with every dog and still make sure it is
successful. In addition to that, with the graded assessments that I am giving the children, it is very exact
to the point where I can see even the smallest changes in before and after activity, whereas for dogs I
didn't have that precision, and it was either they did what I asked or didn’t do it.

Reflection on learning
In August, y’all shared your thoughts on what the point of school is. Many of your responses involved
building skills. You may recognize some of them in this list below, which has a few of my top priorities for
skills to build in this class.

10. Read over the skills and indicate (with an X or a comment) where you feel you are with each, at this
point in the year.

I think I have I’m making progress. I’m struggling: I see This is a very weak
very strong I feel pretty good some improvement area for me. I don’t feel
skills in this about it. but it’s really hard. I’ve improved at all.

Design x
experiments

Manage​ time & x x

long term work

Work​ ​well x
independently:
with focus,
self-reliance, &
initiative

Own ​your own x

learning: take
responsibility for
your work;
know when you
need help and
ask for it.