Research Checks In
January 24, 2025 2025-11-16 0:30Research Checks In
by: Samanyu Bhupalam
One of IA’s special graduation requirements is a research class taken in the junior year. Since the school values student choice and wants all students to conduct a project within their interests, the school offers many specialty research classes at the non-AP level, like Ms. Holland’s fine arts research.
She explains that the first semester was primarily teaching different aspects of research while helping students find their research projects, but in the second semester, her role is mainly guiding students and keeping them on track. The benefit her students have in fine arts research is her connections in the liberal arts world giving her students connections to mentors.
As of right now, most of her students are in the meat of their projects, making prototypes, gathering materials, and sending out surveys. Since the final deadline is months away, students tend to procrastinate, which I can attest to in my experience in research. The class really tests all students in many different aspects, especially in discipline so that the project isn’t rushed but has enough time to be truly nuanced. Since most students in college pursue some sort of research project, the class sets up the foundations and the skills that will help them in the future, all while letting them pursue a subject of interest.
Despite being a fine arts research class, projects aren’t required to be about fine arts and many of them have some sort of STEM aspect to them. Some projects include:
● Hannah Glaison and Katie Yang: designing and implementing online memory retentive vocabulary lessons for elementary schools. They’ve already contacted elementary schools to test it with elementary-age kids and plan on testing the effectiveness of the lesson with multiple-choice exams.
● Ian Droessler Wilson: researching the effectiveness of murals as a tool to spread awareness for conservation efforts. He’s currently in talks with the Chattahoochee Nature Center about making a mural on-site.
