For many upperclassmen, figuring out what career they want to pursue is high on their list of priorities. Students in the Independent Study and Mentorship Program (ISM) are learning more about the fields they’re interested in by researching an area of interest, and on Friday during 2nd, 3rd, and 4th periods, students will be presenting their first semester findings in the library to students and staff that stop by.
“[In ISM], students choose a topic and then they narrow down their research to discover some type of problem or some type of solution that’s lacking in their field of research,” ISM teacher Courtney Benson said. “And the ISM Gallery Walk is a chance for students to showcase all of their first semester research that they’ve been working on since they started ISM last fall – through developing an original work product – and then also present who their mentor is, if they have one at this point.”
When it comes to this project, all students are working towards a common goal: presenting their findings. However, the format in which they’ll present their work will vary based on the field they’re working with.
“So, we have different research assessments throughout the year, but writing a research paper for this, it’s your personal choice,” junior Prashubha Kamble said. “[Personally], I wrote a 20 page guideline for preventative measures for Canine Cancer.¨
Students in ISM are encouraged to collaborate with a mentor who specializes in their field while doing this project. The method of collaboration looks different for each student, but in Kamble´s case, she utilized the professional insight she got from weekly meetings with her mentor to craft her project.
“I found my mentor last year,¨ Kamble said. ¨So, I emailed her – we email a lot of people throughout the year and we interview them, and after 4 interviews we find one person. That’s usually around November or December. So my mentor, she has a lot of knowledge in the field of Canine Cancer, so she essentially teaches me – she dumps all her knowledge on me when we have a weekly meeting.”
The experience of presenting can be a beneficial one where students identify areas for self-improvement.
“It’s motivational for students to have other people come in and see them and give them feedback,” debate teacher Michelle Porter said. “[Plus], it gives them a great deal of practice and perhaps other ways of looking at things when they get feedback.”
But beyond presentation day, putting the project together is also valuable. Not only does it allow students to gain a greater understanding of the topics they’re passionate about, but it also allows them to acquire soft skills that make them a better communicator.
“Because they have the mentoring aspect and they’re able to meet with professionals, [they get] those soft skills that are so valuable,” Benson said. “They’re getting real world professional experience about time management, how to communicate over email, when to follow up when you don’t hear back from somebody. And again those soft skills that are very valuable for outside of school and going forward into life.”
