Emma Carcamo, junior, sadly looks at her Chromebook screen. She has requested her schedule for the 2024-2025 school year but suddenly has to remove one of the classes. Authentic Science Research (ASR) 3 will no longer be offered for the upcoming school year.
“I feel very sad. I do think ASR 3 is a very beneficial class because the teacher is able to provide actual feedback that year on your research which is good for kids before they go to college,” Carcamo said.
Carcamo has taken ASR 1 as a sophomore and ASR 2 currently. Students in ASR classes create their own research projects and learn about science research.
“ASR 1 we did microbiology so I learned how to use a microscope and then also it kind of taught me how to write scientific papers because those are very different than with English papers,” Carcamo said.
Associate Principal Dr. Mike Wegener said the scheduling of courses that can be available is dependent on students.
“The sign ups for ASR 3 were not high and we made the decision to offer an additional ASR 2 to meet the demand of students who signed up,” Dr. Wegener said. “Courses do not run in certain years based on student sign ups. I would say it is possible in advanced courses to not have them run every year, maybe every other year.”
That strategy would allow students to access courses such as ASR 3 as juniors or seniors.
Over the next year, if more students sign up for ASR 3, the class may be able to be consistently available in the list of science courses.
Drishya Manda, junior, is a current ASR 3 student, and is upset for students who want to take ASR 3 who are now only able to work outside of school due to the removal of the class.
“I think it’s important because of how much can be done with it because research can be built on existing research,” Manda said.
ASR classes allow students to impact the world through their research on an unanswered question or problem. However, the removal of ASR 3 disrupts students’ plans on continuing to do research in school where they can receive feedback and guidance.
Dr. Cathy Farrar, ASR teacher, said ASR classes help build necessary research skills that prepare students for higher education.
“The goal is for them to learn how to manage their time and be independent with little supervision,” Dr. Farrar said.
ASR 3 furthers students’ engagement in science literature and research which teaches students about critical thinking in research.
“All people research things in science. If you think about the number of times you go to WebMD or you read something about climate change or even something about your car, all of those fall into the realm of science,” Dr. Farrar said. “It is really important for you to be able to access that information and understand it and be able to judge its credibility.”
