Guidelines for Submitting the Final Internal Assessment

Hello Students!

The official due date for the final draft of your Internal Assessment is Friday 3/8.  I am reading first drafts as fast as I can and most of you should have feedback to your lab by this Saturday 3/2.  Here are some instructions, as well as some general advice after reading many of your labs:

1. Please remove all identifying information from your lab before you submit (your name, other students' names, etc).  I will know it is your lab because it will come through your turnitin.com account.  IB has had this rule over the last few years because it doesn't want examiners to have any bias due to the name of the subject.
2. Please check your formatting before submitting.  Oftentimes the formatting gets changed when you submit.  I have been told that one way to avoid this is to turn your lab into a pdf file before you submit it.  Make sure your headings are in the right place, tables don't get squished, etc.
3. Make sure that you proofread your lab carefully and have somebody else read it too!  There are plenty of errors coming through in the first drafts that could be fixed with a careful reading of the lab.
4. This may seem silly, but give your paper an Investigation Topic, listed before the Research Question.  The IB rubric specifically asks for both, and I don't know how picky they will be about that.
5. Make sure that you discuss Safety, Ethical, or Environmental issues if you need to.  If you are using human subjects, animal subjects, or toxic/corrosive chemicals, you NEED to have this statement.
6. Make sure that you list and justify uncertainties for all quantities and include uncertainty bars on your graphs.  
7. Make sure that you discuss how this uncertainty impacts your results.
8. Make sure that you discuss STRENGTHS of your investigation as well as weaknesses.  For all weaknesses, you should have reasonable suggestions for improvement to the PROCEDURE.
9. In addition, you should suggest extensions for your investigation.
10. Also, please read the comments I put in turnitin.com for your lab.

If you have any questions before you submit, feel free to ask!  I probably won't even put the assignment up on turnitin.com until Monday 3/4 because I want to make sure that you see this and have time to adjust before you submit.

Group IV Project Wednesday, February 13th!

Many students are asking me when and where to meet for the Group IV Project tomorrow, so here is the information from the letter:

"We will be meeting at Smith Memorial Student Union Room 296/8 on the 2nd floor or 327/8 on the 3rd floor (1825 SW Broadway, just 10 blocks from Lincoln) at 8:20 am. After sharing results of individual research on sustainability, groups will decide what data to collect in downtown Portland. They must have their plan approved by their teacher leader before they leave the PSU Student Union. They will be restricted to the following borders: Burnside to the north, Willamette River to the east, end of PSU campus to the south, and 14th Street to the west."

Remember to bring a fully charged laptop if you can and be prepared to walk around outside for a couple of hours.  At this time, the weather is actually not looking bad!  (But don't count on it and be prepared).  Additionally, bring your lunch or money to buy it downtown.  You need to stay for the entire school day!

I'm not sure when the groups will be posted, but if we don't get them to you today, you will find out when you arrive at PSU tomorrow.