Competition Guidelines and Rules

Registration

STEM XLR8R is open to any U.S.-based school that wishes to participate.

Registering teachers must select the correct group for their students:

  • Elementary (Grade 5 students)
  • 6th graders (Grade 6 students)
  • 7th graders (Grade 7 students)
  • 8th graders (Grade 8 students)
  • High School (Grade 9 students)

Additionally, the teacher must select the most appropriate category from the provided list. Where a project could be in more than one category, teachers should select the most appropriate category.

The following categories apply to STEM XLR8R:

  • Health and Wellbeing
  • Earth and Environment
  • Science and Society

Schools can register up to three groups of students. Upon successful registration, teachers will receive login credentials via email to participate in STEM XLR8R.

One set of credentials will be provided per group, regardless of the number of participating students or teachers. The provided materials can be used by teachers in class to help students complete the challenges STEM XLR8R and the final project.

Registered teachers will join a class forum for their grade level, along with other participating teachers, and must complete three stages and three specific challenges.

Assigned Tasks

The first task of the teacher(s) and class is to review the provided materials, choose the unit(s) they will use, and define their science project.

Each teacher must introduce their school and group in the Class Forum, confirm the materials they will use, and provide a brief description of their project. Teachers will be able to view everything posted by other teachers in the Class Forum, including the schools participating, the materials chosen, and project descriptions.

Selected materials must be used in class following the 5E Instructional Model, with the teacher acting as a facilitator for student learning. Teachers are expected to provide students with “time and prompts” to encourage them to make sense of the world around them. A Best Practices PDF will be provided to guide teachers, detailing roles and responsibilities for using the 5E Instructional Model.

Challenges

Challenge 1: Engage Lesson

Teacher(s) must use the selected Engage Lesson to elicit students’ prior knowledge and motivate students to resolve the problem presented in the Lesson. Teacher(s) must record the class, and update the forum with a short description of the session, including the questions covered, and may upload images or short, edited video footage of the class to their Google Folder.

Challenge 2: Explore Lesson

Teacher(s) and students must use the selected Explore Lesson in one or more classes to make sense of the learning objective. Through discussion, experimentation, and Claim-Evidence-Reasoning, students will gain an understanding of the science concept presented in the lesson.

Students must actively participate and work with the teacher(s) to ask the right questions. By the end of the lesson, with guidance from the teacher(s), they will have gained a clear understanding of the learning objective. Teacher(s) must record the class(es) and update the forum with a description of their class activities, the conclusions reached, and may upload images or short, edited video footage of the class to their Google Folder.

Challenge 3: Elaborate Lesson and Science Project

In the next class(es), teacher(s) and students must review and complete or adapt the Elaborate Lesson as needed. The final challenge involves creating a science project based on a question or need identified in the Engage, Explore, or Elaborate Lessons, using scientific methods.

Teacher(s) and students may review and adapt the provided Elaborate Lesson to fit their needs and the science project.

The final scope of the science project shall be determined by the teacher(s) and students but must relate to the chosen unit(s) and the category selected during registration.

All three challenges are mandatory, and the Class Forum must be updated within the designated timeframes. Photos or audiovisual recordings of the classes are encouraged. Failure to complete a step will result in disqualification.

Additional Support for Teachers

Science Bits will provide an optional mentoring webinar after Challenge 2: Explore for teachers who need assistance completing their projects in the classroom.

More information on the timeline for each challenge is available here.

All challenges must be completed on time

At the end of each challenge, teachers must complete the required tasks by the stipulated dates. For Challenge 3: Elaborate teachers must submit a final document and a Presentation Video that explains their project by March 14, 2025.

Final Presentation

The Final Presentation must be created using Google Slides or Microsoft Powerpoint and saved as a PDF. It should include 10 slides total, including a cover slide and an end slide as described below.

Presentations that exceed 10 slides will not be considered. The document must include a summary of the completed project and include the following information:

  • Introduction with Project Overview and Objectives
  • Science Bits or Math Bits materials used
  • Description of Methods used during the project
  • Project Results and Final Conclusions
  • Next steps and future applications (if applicable)
  • Bibliography

The Final Presentation must be clearly structured and well designed with supporting photos, images, data, and include:

Cover slide: with Project Title, Category, Student Group (Elementary, 6th graders, 7th graders, 8th graders, High School), School Name, School State.

End slide: credits (Students and Teachers who worked on the project, with roles and responsibilities).

Presentation Video

The Presentation Video must be between 90 seconds and 3 minutes in length, summarizing the project in a clear and organized way. One student may present, but footage of all participating students must be included, either through group shots during work sessions or a static group image of the team before the end credits.

Creativity is encouraged, but the video must communicate the essential ideas and motivation of the science project. Did you identify a need? Did you solve a problem? Why is it relevant? What does it mean? The video should be understandable, accessible, and suitable for inclusion in local news reports.

The video must include credits at the end, listing student names, teacher(s), bibliographic sources, and the units referenced.

Videos must be submitted in MP4 format through the shared Google Drive folder, following this filename structure: School.State.ProjectName.ScienceBits.mp4

A text version of the Presentation Video script must also be uploaded in .doc or .txt format.

Schools can also upload Presentation Videos to YouTube and must tag @ScienceBits and include the #STEMXLR8R tag in the video description.

Selection of Winning Projects

A jury of experts and educators will select the winning projects. Some may be presented at the closing event, which will be broadcast live on YouTube.

Winning schools will receive prize kits that include subscriptions to Science Bits and Math Bits, as well as laboratory equipment.

The jury will evaluate projects based on the following criteria:

  • Originality (see note below regarding AI use)
  • Presentation
  • Scientific rigor
  • Local impact
  • Creativity
  • Innovation
  • Collaboration

The jury’s decision is final, and no correspondence will be entered into.

Science Bits will publish the winning works via press note, social media and materials submitted and the names of participating schools and extracts from the materials submitted may also be used for the purpose of promoting STEM XLR8R and successive editions.

Original Work and Use of AI

All submitted work must be original, created by students, and supervised by the teacher(s). The use of AI tools to create the texts of the Final Presentation is not permitted. AI tools may be used to create the video, but all content must be original and created by the students.

Prizes

Two prizes will be awarded per category, with a maximum of 6 prizes available. Each category will have the following awards:

  • Gold: Overall winner (Main prize)
  • Silver: Runner up (Runner-up prize)

The jury may also exceptionally award

  • Bronze: Honorable mention (no prize awarded)

where a school is not judged winner, but the jury wishes to commend students and teacher(s) for outstanding effort or achievement in a specific aspect of their project.

Other

Where prohibited by law, participation is void. No purchase is necessary to participate. Schools will receive student access to a selection of Science Bits educational materials for the purpose of completing their projects. This access is limited to participating groups and is only for the development of their STEM XLR8R projects.

Provided materials may not be copied or used for any other purposes. Teachers who complete all challenges will receive a complimentary, non-transferable, fully functional Teacher account for Science Bits, valid until June 30, 2025.

Any materials submitted may be used in promotional materials for STEM XLR8R. As these materials may include images of students or minors, the teacher(s) and school, by submitting materials, explicitly confirm that they have obtained the necessary permissions from the student and parent or guardian.

These rules may be updated, and we reserve the right to modify, cancel, or otherwise adapt STEM XLR8R as required by law or due to extenuating circumstances. It is the responsibility of the participant to consult the latest available information.

All decisions are final, and no correspondence will be entered into. No cash alternatives will be offered or made available. By participating in STEM XLR8R, you as a teacher, your students, their parents, and your school agree to be fully bound by these rules.

Last revision: December 12, 2024.

Register here