NOMINATION AND JUDGING INFORMATION

Who can be a nominator?

Nominators can include teachers; chief judges of regional science and technology fairs, CREST Assessors, Bright Sparks Judges or any other national competition with a focus on science and technology specifically for secondary school students. Up to five nominations can be made by teachers, programmes or competitions.

Information for Secondary School Teachers

If you know of a student In Yr9-Yr13 that has carried out an outstanding piece of science research or technological development then you can nominate that student for Realise the Dream.

Contents

Nomination Form | DVD Guidelines | Selection Panel | Judging Process | Animal and Human Ethics | Conflicts of Interest | Disagreements, Enquiries and Protests

Realise the Dream Nomination Form

Click on the link below to download a PDF of the nomination form. The form will open in a new window.

Realise the Dream Nomination Form

Nominated Student Form

What the nomination package must include

1. Completed Nomination Form
2. Up to 10 pages of the students research. This should also include a 1 page summary.
3. relevant log book information.
4. A 3-5 minute DVD of the student talking about their research. The Realise the Dream judging panel should be able to get a good understanding of the piece of research or technological development by watching the DVD. Teachers and nominators can also have the option of interviewing the student and presenting questions about their research in the DVD.
5. Student Information Form (to be completed by the student and included in the nomination package.)

ONLINE APPLICATIONS

If you wish to send in your material online then you are welcome to do so. Please send all material to Debbie.woodhall@royalsociety.org.nz

Closing Date:

All nominations must be received by Debbie Woodhall, Royal Society of New Zealand, PO Box 598, 4 Halswell Street, Wellington or Debbie.woodhall@royalsociety.org.nz by 12 October 2010.

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Exemplar Nomination Interviews

Daniel Hodder

Hollie Andrewes

Peter Smallfield

DVD Guidelines

The DVD that is sent to the Realise the Dream selection panel needs to be of good quality. Arrange to film in quiet and well lit surroundings. There should be no background noise.

It is compulsory for the students to be involved in the DVD either by way of the nominator interviewing the student or the student presenting the whole of the DVD themselves.

It is important to provide information about why this project is regarded as being of an excellent standard. For example explain the methodology clearly including replicates, controls, data collected, interpretation, statistical methods and the significance of the results. If focusing on technological development, please explain clearly the basis of the work, the process the student went through, trialling, modifications and the significance of the resultant product or system. The student should also include what they have learnt from carrying out this research and what they could have possibly done better.

Be succinct in your description or interview; the DVD is to be no longer than 5 minutes.

Clearly show the strengths of the research and weaknesses if any

Include one copy of the DVD together with the paperwork required as part of the nomination process.

Some ideas of what could be included in the DVD.

• Explain why this project was initiated
• What is the existing knowledge already? Discuss results of other people's findings
• What is the purpose?
• Did you have a plan?
• Have you used appropriate equipment and materials to carry out your research?
• Have you verified your results?
• If you have used statistics have you used them effectively?
• A clear relationship is made between the discussion and research question/proposal
• That the results do answer the question
• Was the projects purpose achieved? If not, then why?
• What would be the next step?
• What have you learnt from this?
• What were some difficulties that you had to overcome?
• Has this project made a significant contribution to the advancement of knowledge?

Realise the Dream Selection Panel

There is a Realise the Dream Selection Panel which consists of a Chief Judge and several other experienced selection panel members who read and discuss all nominations thoroughly. All judges have a broad range of knowledge, experience and qualifications, as the task requires relative evaluations across a very wide range of topic areas. Every judge is able to contribute comment on most aspects of every project. However, each judge has fields of special expertise and these are given appropriate weight.
Every judge is very familiar with the Realise the Dream criteria outlined below, as well as the principles of scientific method, technology development, research practice, and ethical considerations. The judging panel includes representatives well experienced in the relevant aspects of the NCEA Framework as they affect the production of projects.
Most judges have significant direct judging experience in other national or regional science and technology fairs. Occasionally judges may be selected for other forms of expertise.
The Royal Society of New Zealand (RSNZ) provides an organising official for Realise the Dream, who will attend the panel, to support its work. Furthermore, the relevant RSNZ Manager may attend at any time, and is available for consultation by the panel.
The panel is not open to the public or contributing organisations, except by invitation of RSNZ.

Projects selected for Realise the Dream represent excellence across many categories including:

• Science - including physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, astronomy, mathematics, psychology, environmental science ...
• Social Science - including history, geography, environmental issues .
• Engineering and Technology, including Biotechnology, Information and communication technology, Electronics and control technology, Food technology, Materials technology, Structures and/or Mechanisms

It is expected that all nominators will apply to the robust selection criteria outlined on the nomination form and submit those projects they consider most worthy from class or event. The Realise the Dream judging panel has no control over the range of projects nominated in a given year. As a result, most categories will be represented most years, but it will be unusual to have all the categories (above) represented in any one year.

JUDGING PROCESS & EVALUATION

Below we list the criteria that will be used by the Realise the Dream selection panel. That panel will be able to apply the criteria only to the written material and DVDs presented by the students and their nominators. Exceptionally the selection panel may contact the nominator OR the student to help answer questions raised in the evaluation process. We strongly recommend that nominators and nominees take note of these criteria when preparing nominations.

The criteria are organised under five main headings.

1. CONTEXT OF THE PROJECT
2. DESIGN PROCESS
3. EXECUTION OF DESIGN PROCESS
4. SOUNDNESS OF INTERPRETATION
5. APPLICATION OF RESULTS

In addition there is a set of criteria used that are common to all of the above five headings. Projects need to:

• Maintain an appropriate focus on the project's aims.
• Show an appropriate level of originality and ownership of the work by the student while acknowledging assistance received.
• Include appropriate consideration of the suitability/reliability of the methods, results and conclusions.
• Meet all ethical criteria (compulsory and moral).

1 CONTEXT OF PROJECT

• Explains why this project was initiated.
• Reviews existing knowledge (Literature reviews/what has been done or made before etc.)
• Has a clear statement of purpose/question to be addressed.
• Discusses results or outputs in the context of other people's findings in the same or closely related fields.

2 DESIGN PROCESS

There are three broad approaches to research work. Each of these approaches generally comprise of a number of steps as in the table below.

The selection panel will expect to see clear and appropriate use of the following steps within the project design.

Experimental Research	Technology Development/Research	Research to increase knowledge for environmental or social systems (where controlled experiments are not possible)
Hypothesis Prediction Controlled experiments Experiments/observations that involve controlled treatments and/or an attempt to falsify hypothesis by obtaining further experimental measurements Theory to explain phenomena	Define the problem Generate ideas Gather information Develop an approach Design various prototypes Produce the preferred solution Evaluate responses to identify the best solution May continue to prepare improved prototypes	A proposal or idea can be tested by evaluating options by gathering and analyzing data instead of controlled experiments (e.g. surveys) The research may include: Hypothesis Prediction Observations that do not involve controlled treatments Adjunct experiments that do involve controlled treatments Theory to explain phenomena

NB The selection panel and judges will need to be aware that some projects may use more than one of the approaches.

3 EXECUTION OF DESIGN PROCESS

• Follows the specified plan.
• Achieves an appropriate level of completeness.
• Includes appropriate choice of equipment and materials, and specifically addresses the reliability and accuracy of the instruments and tools used.
• Achieves the levels of accuracy and precision required to meet the project aim (this will include appropriate levels of replication and repeatability).
• Attempts to verify its results (e.g. conducts some further test experiments or practically tests prototype products).
• Indicates that any choices made to deviate from the plan were appropriate.

4 SOUNDNESS OF INTERPRETATION (of results/outputs/proposals)

• Understands the limitations of the experiments/data/process.
• Uses statistics effectively (including assessment of errors) where appropriate.
• Logical data processing steps are used to achieve an appropriate level of analysis.
• A clear relationship is made between the discussion and the research question/proposal.
• Alternative interpretations are considered.
• The results answer the question or address the projects purpose.

5 APPLICATION OF PROJECT

• Was the project's purpose achieved? If not, then why?
• What should be the next step(s) along this line of investigation/development - or perhaps is there a recommendation that this line of work should not be pursued?
• Any new directions that are suggested by the results? This may include spin-off discoveries.
• Wider implications - is there value in the results that goes beyond the original project's aims or context?
• Has the project made a significant contribution to advancement of knowledge - for the students involved or anyone else? This can include knowledge gained deliberately through for example testing an hypothesis, or unexpectedly through a chance observation.

Animal Ethics

Any research carried out by a student being nominated for Realise the Dream in which a live animal [mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish (bony or cartilagineous), octopus, squid, crab (including half crab), lobster, crayfish (including freshwater crayfish), mammalian, avian or reptilian foetus in the last half of gestation or development, or marsupial pouched young as defined in the Animal Welfare Act 1999] is used for research requires ethical approval.
Please go to www.nzase.org.nz for Animal Ethics Guidelines

Human Ethics

If your research involves people (other students, family, members of the community), then the guidelines provided by the Ministry of Education on the New Zealand Association of Educators website will be expected to be adhered to. Please go to www.nzase.org.nz for Human Ethics Guidelines.

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Conflicts of Interest

All judges are expected to act impartially at all times.

To avoid conflict of interest in such a situation, the judge involved is required to state their conflict of interest and take a purely observational role: answering direct questions about the project, but not offering opinion or influencing the decision or consensus, which is made by the other panel members.

Disagreements, Enquiries and Protests

If an interested party disagrees with a decision of one of the judging panels (re. selection to Realise the Dream or allocation of an award), and wishes to follow up the matter, then

• in most cases, the first approach is via an informal Enquiry to the RSNZ, usually by telephone call or by email. The RSNZ official and/or the Chief Judge will respond with an explanation, and the matter is usually resolved quickly through informal discussion by phone and email. If necessary other members of the judging panels may be included in the discussion.
• Should the affected party remain unsatisfied, then a formal Protest may be made, in writing, to the RSNZ. Such a protest must include the reasons for disagreeing with the judges' decision. The RSNZ will use an independent mediator to review the protest, hold discussions with both parties, and report, in writing, with recommendations. This process should be conducted as speedily as possible. A copy of the report should be made available to both parties. The independent mediator may be a past Chief Judge of Realise the Dream, of a contributing National event, of a Regional Science and Technology Science Fair, a senior academic or a RSNZ official with experience and demonstrated interest in secondary school level education.