Junior students in the Science, Medicine, and Research University Program (UPSMR), take a specialized Science Research class where they learn and conduct scientific research and data analysis. For the first half of the year, the students learn about the research process, listen to guest speakers, and practice data collection and analysis. For the second half of the year, the students conduct their own research projects and write a research report and presentation of their results.
The topic of the research projects had few restrictions, allowing students to explore any area of interest. Mrs. Murphy states, “I’ve noticed that it helps students dive into what really goes into research and learn how to troubleshoot problems on a larger scale.”
Students were required to collaborate as a team, assume leadership positions, develop independence from their instructors, and overcome obstacles with creative and adaptive solutions. Junior UPSMR student James Sabino stated, “I really did enjoy Science Research this year,” he continued. “What stood out to me was the amount of freedom we had when choosing a research topic.” James faced numerous challenges in his research project this year. Initially, he and his research partner, Andrew Jabaly, were planning on conducting their research project on neural decoding using machine learning algorithms, but the limited time constraints made this unfeasible. Their group had to dissolve, leading them to join different groups and tackle different projects.
Other UP Juniors also had to overcome obstacles with their research projects. Julia Lupean, Grace Dietrich, Alexa Baltateanu, and the new addition of James had to tackle difficulties in their research on the fertilization benefits of using milk as an alternative to water in gardening.
These projects not only offered the students a window into the reality of science research as a career but also provided them with numerous problem-solving skills that they can use in their senior year and beyond. When asked what the Science Research class taught him, James Sabino stated that “Besides learning about how to carry out an effective research project, I learned what lies behind statistics. Because of this class, I feel comfortable analyzing statistics and I no longer feel comfortable blindly trusting statistics, as they are often used to mislead viewers.”
