Advanced Authentic Research
| Length | Year |
|---|---|
| Credit type | Unweighted |
| Teacher(s) | Mrs. Kaci |
Course description
The Advanced Authentic Research (AAR) Program is a unique opportunity for students in grades 10-12. It is designed for students with interest, passion, curiosity, and perseverance to investigate an authentic topic of their choosing. In this year-long course, students develop an original research question and devise a year-long project, culminating in a research paper and a community presentation. Students are supported by a process-oriented curriculum developed by the AAR team and are encouraged to develop a mentorship with an industry expert. The recursive nature of the research process allows students to go back and forth between the different stages of inquiry as they encounter new information. This course can satisfy the Career Technical Education graduation requirement. • Homework Expectation: 3-4 hours per week
Structure
The course is structured around 6 major milestones:
M1 (Aug-Sep): Problem statement and pre-proposal
M2 (Sep-Oct): Literature Review
M3 (Oct-Dec): Research Methodology
M4 (Jan-Feb): Data Collection
M5 (Feb-Mar): Data Analysis
M6 (Mar-May): Research Paper Completion and Presentation
These milestones make up a large portion of the grade, although class participation is also taken into account.
There is also a dual-enrollment option that involves a media assignment and a presentation at a research symposium at Foothill College in May. This DE option is weighted.
Should I take this course?
You should take this course if you want to investigate a topic more deeply than is covered in the standard school curriculum. The difficulty of the course will really depend on what topic you choose, but keep in mind that you are writing an original research paper; thus, the standards are much higher than for most of your academic classes. The teachers tend to be very flexible about your work time; however, it also means that you will have to do much of the work yourself.