Research in Science and Engineering
Cherry Hill High School East
"A caring community of scholars with a lifestyle of kindness and gratitude, striving for excellence in all that we do."
Overview
Critical thinking, investigation and problem solving are the most important skills necessary for a student to succeed in the 21st century. We are in a period of time appropriately dubbed "The Age of Information." Modern media technologies allow us to access most information within seconds. Being "smart" is no longer correlated with the amount of information that someone knows, but the way in which someone can use information to investigate and develop solutions to problems. Here, at Cherry Hill High School East (CHE), teachers understand the competitive nature of the industrial world and strive to supply our students with the necessary prerequisites to succeed in life after high school.
Appropriately enough, our Research in Science (RIS) program is geared to prepare our students for a successful life in the 21st century. Students will gain and develop critical thinking, investigative and problem solving skills while performing authentic and novel research intended to generate new knowledge and provide solutions to modern problems.
Advisor
Mr. Wright is a third-year teacher at CHE. He graduated from Rutgers University with a B.S. in Ecology & Natural Resources and an M.Ed. in Biological Science Education. During his undergraduate coursework, he completed a research project aimed at modelling the mysterious photosynthetic mechanism of marine phytoplankton--the ocean's primary producers. During this experience, he learned how research is conducted in a modern research environment.
Class Details
RIS is offered jointly by the Biological Science and Physical Science Departments at CHE. RIS students must be largely independent, since there is no scheduled time to perform research during the school day. RIS students regularly meet with the instructor to ensure that they maintain progress throughout the school year. Students will be required to meet very specific (and strict) project deadlines throughout the year, which ultimately concludes with a series of science fairs. At each fair, students will present their research with a formal research paper and a research poster. The first science fair is the Coriell Science Fair, which is annually held at Camden County College. If students are successful at Coriell, they will progress to the Deleware Valley Science Fair. The most brilliant projects at "Del Val" then go on to compete at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.
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