Rules for the Symposium
All Student Participants
Three students from each participating high school will be accepted for attendance and participation in the symposium. The TN-JSHS will provide support in for travel and lodging for all students accepted for the symposium. Additional students will be accepted as space and the TN-JSHS budget permits.
Every student, whether a presenter or non-presenting participant, MUST be accompanied by a teacher nominated by the school principal. If a teacher cannot attend the Symposium, a teacher from another school who is approved by the student's school principal may accompany the student. A parent may accompany a student only as a last resort, since the student represents the school, and must be approved by the school principal.
Students are expected to attend and participate in all symposium activities.
Students Submitting Research Papers
All students wishing to present their research must prepare an abstract and a written research paper prepared strictly according to the guidelines outlined on this site.
Both the paper and the abstract must accompany the student nomination form and need to be received by the January 15, 2010 deadline.
Mentor-Sponsored Research Projects
If research was conducted with a laboratory mentor, a letter from this mentor describing the student’s specific participation and contribution to the project must be completed and submitted with the research paper.
Continuing Projects
Some student research projects are the culmination of more than one year of work (Science has a way of being that way!). In the case of continuing projects (i.e., projects that were part of the JSHS competition from a previous year), the student is advised to present in clear detail how the project has been advanced during the previous year, and should focus on the current year's work. Data and results from previous related research may be included, but the year(s) during which data were collected must be clearly indicated. Continuing research must document a significant expansion of the experiment.
Team Projects
When students are part of a larger group project that cannot be divided into individual projects, one student should be selected by the group to be the TEAM PRESENTER. The research paper should properly acknowledge the contributions of the presenter and each student member of the team, as well as their mentors and teachers.
Oral and Poster Presentation Formats
Upon receipt, all research papers will be reviewed and judged by a panel of faculty judges. Students will be invited to present their work either as:
- an Oral Presentation; or
- as a Poster Presentation.
Students will be contacted early in February regarding selection for either an Oral or Poster Presentation.
The top five papers based on the evaluation of the written and oral presentations will be recognized in an awards ceremony at the end of the symposium.