Science NIE ACTIVITY
is a series presented in
MATTERS!
… IN CONNECTICUT
Celina Deng
(Grade 10)
At Amity Regional High School in Woodbridge, CT, students have the opportunity to
participate in the school’s Authentic Science Research Program. In this class, students in
grades 9-12 each create an individual and uniquely innovative project in any field of science
they wish. Although first-year students have their own classes, the sophomores, juniors and
seniors are intermingled so as to provide ideas, feedback and help from many perspectives.
When I asked senior Evan Fox what three words came to mind when I said "Science Research,"
he immediately responded "independence, opportunity, and innovation." Our class embodies
all of those very well. Deborah Day, our teacher, allows us to independently work, which not
only builds upon our problem solving skills, but also forces us to think creatively
to solve problems that would not be easily fixed by conventional
means. Sophomore Arvene Golbazi agrees, saying that "I think
that the classroom environment that Ms. Day creates allows us
to not only think creatively about what interests us to research,
but also lets us think critically about how to achieve research
goals, which we set for ourselves." With merely deadlines and
individual goal setting to point us in the right direction,
Ms. Day has steered us on the right path
to conducting science research.
In order to acquaint students with the scientific method, Ms.
Day sometimes tasks the first year students with the “Recipe
Project.” Each student modifies a recipe in some way and
researches, hypothesizes, tests, and collects data on this new
recipe, comparing it to the original. This, of course, produced
lots of yummy cakes and cookies for us all to enjoy. Mostly,
we learned valuable skills that only hands on experiences
can provide.
In order to participate in the Science Research Program
at Amity there are a few qualifications, primarily an
interest in science, technology, engineering or math
(STEM). Additionally, some students show interest in psychology and/or behavioral
studies. Ms. Day, along with our Scientific Review Committee, selects students based on
an essay they write, which reflects leadership skills, motivation, and independent learning,
and describes why they would be a good Science Research student. Students must apply by
10th grade to enter the program and can take the class from one to four years.
Science Research Slang
Three of the most commonly heard words heard thrown around our room are:
Journacle: A summary of a scientific journal article relevant to the topic you are studying.
We must complete 10 by the end of the first semester.
SCISEF: Southern Connecticut Invitational Science & Engineering Fair. This year will be the
second year Amity is hosting this annual science fair (the weekend of February 9th), and Ms.
Day can often be heard using these words: “Volunteer!!!” and “Parents!!!” and “Register!!!”
Next Page: Jan 18th
Science Matters!
collaboration with the Connecticut Academy of
Science and Engineering and the Connecticut
Science Center.
For more information, visit www.cctcase.org
or call 860.241.3144.
Outreach
An inspirational effort by Amity Science Research students
to involve younger students within our district and the
New Haven area to become interested in STEM related
fields through inquiry based demonstrations!!
Skills and Knowledge:
The most successful students in the program are
those who enjoy independence and innovation.
Life-transferable skills, such as time management,
teamwork and collaboration, critical thinking,
technology fluency, communication, and literacy are all
of immeasurable importance. Fine-tuning these skills
produces projects such as sophomore Owais Khan’s “The Correlation Between
Childhood Asthma and Adulthood COPD”; sophomore Dana Chung’s “Determining
the Effects of Cyberknife Radiosurgery on Trigeminal Neuralgia”; and junior Jennifer
Zhu’s “Mental Rotation of 3D faces”.
WORDS TO KNOW
Authentic – not false or copied; genuine; real: an authentic
antique
Hypothesize - a tentative assumption made in order to
draw out and test its logical or empirical consequences
Innovation - the introduction of something new; a novel
idea, method, or device
Collaboration - to work together, especially in a joint
intellectual effort
STEM - Science, Technology, Engineering and Math
Meet Amity’s Student Science
Researchers:
Our students come from a variety of backgrounds, and as much as we all
love Science Research, our lives outside the projects are all very diverse!
Among our researchers we have singers, dancers, soccer players, football
players, video game players, musicians, painters, drawers, writers, readers,
runners and more! The diversity of our program also helps in project design
and problem solving, since everyone has a different view, ideas are easily
passed around and shared to develop into what could be the next big idea!
Sites To Visit
• Amity Science Research: https://sites.google.com/site/amityscienceresearch/
• Connecticut Junior Science and Humanities Symposium: http://ctjshs.uconn.edu/
• National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium: http://www.jshs.org
• Connecticut Science and Engineering Fair: http://www.ctsciencefair.org/
• Intel International Science and Engineering Fair: http://www.societyforscience.org/isef/about
• Intel Science Talent Search: http://www.societyforscience.org/STS
• Southern Connecticut Invitational Science and Engineering Fair: http://www.scisef.org/