Advanced Independent Science Research I

Independent Science Research (ISR) is a three- and-a-half-year program starting in freshman year, where students independently design and conduct original scientific research with the guidance of a professional scientist mentor. This research is usually conducted over the summer, or it may be conducted during the school year. Areas of potential study include the biological, behavioral, environmental, or physical sciences; astronomy, engineering, computer science, computational biology or bioinformatics,or mathematics. The results are communicated in the following year of ISR through a research paper, local and national science competitions, and/or professional science conferences.

ISR has an in-class component and out-of-class component. In class, students learn how to effectively communicate scientific ideas through slideshow and poster presentations, conduct independent literature searches on their research topic, and network with potential mentors for their summer research. Outside of class, students collaborate with their teacher to design independent learning goals that are achieved every two weeks. At the end of these two weeks, students meet with the teacher to discuss their learnings, areas for improvement, and design their next set of goals.