also have a problem identifying that the circles on the
transparencies represent actual constellations and/or realizing
that the word Stellar refers to stars. If one or
more groups fall behind and cannot solve the clue
within 15 to 20 min after the last group reported to the
judges with the right answer, we recommend assisting
the group in solving the clue but without providing the
exact answer. Clue #3, containing the fill-in-the-blank
names of the scientists, can be solved easily if students
are given access to the Internet and/or the word-bank
sheet from the goody bag. Once again, depending on
the age of the participants, we determine which option
(Internet or word-bank sheet) is given to the students.
Clue #4 containing the sound bites from science fiction
movies or television shows typically requires assistance
in the form of Internet access and/or a list of movies in
the goody bag. Otherwise, students may take too long
to solve this clue. Clue #5 is usually the “equalizer.”
We have seen that even the groups that were progressing
speedily through the previous clues sometimes get
“stuck” solving this one. Perhaps this is due to the fact
that this clue represents a much different format and
that no instructions are given. Also, we have seen some
groups that, even though they were able to locate the
mini answer sheet and read the answer, were not capable
of substituting the numbers for the correct answers
and make a coherent final answer. Interestingly, we often
end up with most of the groups working on the
same clue at around the same time. This is important
because while challenges and competitions are very engaging
for many students, we do not want to create
unhealthy anxiety or a sense of failure that will impede
future learning in the classroom. Therefore, we
prefer to provide rewards to all participants, if possible.
Sometimes, especially if you have a large or younger
group, it helps to have more than one facilitator. The
facilitator who is not checking answer sheets can walk
around the rooms to observe student behavior and perhaps
offer assistance to struggling groups. However, we
usually only provide assistance to those groups that really
fall behind in their solving of the clues while trying
to remain fair to the rest of the groups.