Group Project Information

You will be assigned to a group. As a group you will pick a topic and

· prepare a poster presentation,

· write a research paper, and

· prepare 5 fill-in-the-blank questions that can be answered from the information on your poster.

The object is to present something about astronomy that you find interesting and would like more information about. You have a wide range of things to choose from, but avoid choosing a topic that is too broad. I must approve your topic before you can proceed. Each group must have a unique topic. In case of duplication the first group approved gets the topic.

Poster specifications

· One piece of 20” x 30” craft board, or 22' x 28" heavy poster board (poster must be able to stand by itself when propped against a wall). If poster is too large, 10% will be deducted from your grade. (It isn't fair for your group to have more space to display information when the others followed the directions.)

· Any text must be legible from 5 feet away (i.e., minimum 16-pt font).

· Your poster should present clearly and concisely the main ideas from your report through text, photos, and/or artwork. This is the only method we are using to convey your information to the rest of the class, so be as thorough as you can.

· The names of the group members should be written on the back of the poster in alphabetical order, not on the front.

· The questions themselves should not appear on the poster.

A poster session will be held during lab on Tuesday, Students will circulate, examining the posters for the answers to the questions that have been provided by each group. This exercise will be the lab grade for that day.

Sources of information

· Books (in addition to your text)

· Newspapers

· Journals and magazines: Sky and Telescope, Science, Journal of the American Astronomical Society, etc., etc., etc. There are search programs on the UCA library web site that can help you find appropriate articles.

· Internet (evaluate these carefully!!)

Report specifications

Title page

Title

Date

Authors (in alphabetical order)

Text

Your report must be at least five pages to as many page as it takes (probably 8-10), double-spaced, (not counting title page, any figures, or bibliography)

12-pt font (no larger, no smaller), 1” margins

You may use any style form that you like.

Sources cited within the text need only refer to a source in the bibliography. You don't need to have footnotes on each page.

Plagiarism will result in an automatic zero for the entire project.

Bibliography

You must have at least one reference from each of the categories listed under sources of information above.

Staple report at upper left-hand corner. No covers, please.

Questions

Each group is to prepare five (5) fill-in-the-blank questions that can be answered by your fellow students when they view your poster. The questions and answers will be turned in on a separate sheet of paper, which must have the title of the project and the authors at the top of the page. The answers to the questions should be found fairly easily on your poster (but not too easily, because the object is to get your fellow students to read the info presented). The questions themselves should not be written on your poster.

Deadlines tentative, may be modified

10/7 Project explained. Groups assigned. Groups brainstorm to come up with topics they want to research. List is approved for topics to research.

10/7-10/28 Each student does independent research on topics of interest.

10/28 Share results of preliminary research. Make final decision on topic and get approval. Work with group to do preliminary outline, plan poster and decide on further research.

10/28-11/10 Work on project (do not count on being able to work on project again in lab)

Monday, 11/10 Written reports, posters and questions due

Tuesday, 11/11 Poster session

Grading tentative and subject to modification

Preliminary work 10%

Poster 40%

Report 50%