Interested in AAR Next Academic Year?
The Advanced Authentic Research (AAR) Program is in its inaugural year in 2015-16 and is gearing up for next year! AAR is a unique opportunity for students in grades 10-12 to do original research in an area of their choosing, while enrolled in the Exploratory Experience-AAR Course. The students will be paired with mentors/advisors who are experts in the field of each student's choosing. It is possible for more than one student to work on a given project. The mentor will support and facilitate the student's work in the mentor's lab, office, or other appropriate environment. Students’ research will be supported by the process- oriented curriculum developed by the AAR team. The expectation is that students will spend about 60 hours per semester (3-4 hours per week) on their projects. The program is offered as a Pass/Fail option and students will earn 5 credits per semester.
Students interested in participating in the program in 2016-17 should register for the Exploratory Experience-AAR course during the normal course registration time frame in February. Upon registration, students will be asked to complete a letter of intent that will help us match students with mentors based on students’ interest and passion. If students already have a mentor they wish to work with, there will be a place on the form to indicate this. In the coming months, we will be working behind the scenes to match students with mentors. As is standard procedure for course selections, students will receive their next year’s courses in May. Students unable to be matched with a mentor will be placed in their alternate course if we are unable to match with a mentor since participation in the program can be subject to mentor availability.
AAR Schedule Summary for Next Year
Dec: Mentor Recruiting Continues
Feb: Register for Exploratory Experience-AAR Course
Mar & Apr: Internal Mentor Matching Process
May: Course Schedules Finalized for Students
The AAR program strives to fulfill our mission of nurturing student interest and igniting student passion through real-world, hands-on research. We invite all students, regardless of their previous academic background, to consider exploring areas of interest that matter to them. Please visit our project page to learn more about the research areas in which students could participate during 2016-2017 academic year.
Project page link: http://aar.pausd.org/projects
Thank you for your interest!
From AAR Team