Eager NC parents, teachers, students, and community members gathered in the Freshman Academy to watch Magnet seniors present their ASR projects on Saturday, January 26. Seniors began their research as juniors in the fall of 2017 in their Advanced Science Research classes, writing research papers, conducting surveys, and practicing their public speaking in anticipation for their long-awaited senior presentations.

“If people understand how to interpret research, both reporters and consumers of that knowledge, then we have a better idea of how to take that into account in our daily lives. From seeing a political poll to something about your well-being— research matters. It shapes our attitudes and our expectations and it drives our consumer preferences,” AP Macroeconomics teacher Pamela Roach said.

Dr. Roach began teaching this round of seniors in the fall of 2018, and the year-long Macroeconomics class allows time for presentation practice. In her class, they learned to appreciate the value of taking errors into account when researching and how to better explain their research to a new set of eyes.

“In macroeconomics, we look at how the economy is doing overall, and so much of that is based on calculations of variables. Our seniors deal with their ASR [projects] the same way. How do you sample when you’re trying to get accurate information on what it is you’re trying to measure? Does the way you collect your research actually reflect what you are trying to reflect? These overall problems of research are consistent throughout our world as we try to examine the perennial issues and improve upon them,” Dr. Roach said.

With free reign in all aspects of the project, including their area of focus, topic, research question, and methods, presentations varied greatly from room to room.

Showing the range of projects, one senior, Danielle Farmer, presented in the Education room and explored the relationship between marijuana use and the likeliness of developing depression.

“It was somewhat stressful, and we spent most of our time [in the class] just setting up our study. It was very interesting to me, so that took away a lot of the stress associated with it. When you’re passionate about something, it’s easier to continue with it and you’re more motivated to make a good project,” Farmer said.

Other students, like senior Rebekah Geil, took a more scientific approach to her research. Exploring the relationship between subjective visual vertical (S.V.V), one’s ability to perceive verticality, and age and ethnicity, Geil delved into aerospace dynamics on a more relatable plane.

“My project was about visual vertical, so the way that people perceive upright. I came up with it because I was interested in how astronauts have trouble balancing when they come back down to gravity. I was looking at doing a test that they had done on astronauts, but on a baseline of the general public and looking at how age affects the way people perceive upright,” Geil said.

Geil used her ASR project as an opportunity to explore her passion for science. After graduating, she plans to attend Georgia Tech to study aerospace engineering and continue exploring the field.

“I saw the seniors grow because they started to understand more how research is applied in our daily lives. When you read any stories in the news, let’s say, ‘consuming blueberries makes you live longer,’ well does it? Or was the research done poorly? If it was an incomplete sample not representative of the population, maybe that little segment gets that benefit, but it’s not going to apply to everyone. How well research is done drives our markets in the real world,” Dr. Roach said.

Seniors can finally breathe a sigh of relief as they let go of the stress of ASR presentations and prepare for the life that lies beyond high school.