The Edvocate

  • Lynch Educational Consulting
  • Dr. Lynch’s Personal Website
  • Write For Us
  • The Tech Edvocate Product Guide
  • The Edvocate Podcast
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Assistive Technology
  • Best PreK-12 Schools in America
  • Child Development
  • Classroom Management
  • Early Childhood
  • EdTech & Innovation
  • Education Leadership
  • First Year Teachers
  • Gifted and Talented Education
  • Special Education
  • Parental Involvement
  • Policy & Reform
  • Best Colleges and Universities
  • Best College and University Programs
  • HBCU’s
  • Higher Education EdTech
  • Higher Education
  • International Education
  • The Awards Process
  • Finalists and Winners of The 2022 Tech Edvocate Awards
  • Finalists and Winners of The 2021 Tech Edvocate Awards
  • Finalists and Winners of The 2020 Tech Edvocate Awards
  • Finalists and Winners of The 2019 Tech Edvocate Awards
  • Finalists and Winners of The 2018 Tech Edvocate Awards
  • Finalists and Winners of The 2017 Tech Edvocate Awards
  • Award Seals
  • GPA Calculator for College
  • GPA Calculator for High School
  • Cumulative GPA Calculator
  • Grade Calculator
  • Weighted Grade Calculator
  • Final Grade Calculator
  • The Tech Edvocate
  • AI Powered Personal Tutor

You Are (Not?) Special: Self-Esteem Curriculum

Ways industry & education can prepare students for the workforce, principal hotline: do i have to be facebook friends with coworkers, free read alouds: story time from space – a cosmic adventure for kids, texas fines ets over staar testing snafus, struggling with teacher buy-in ask yourself these questions, st. jude children’s research hospital: how schools can help, let’s face it, many of your staff meetings could probably be handled with an email, is it ok to visit classrooms informally principals weigh in, how teaching saved me after my husband’s death, how to implement the news article analysis teaching strategy in your classroom.

article analysis high school

Description

Utilize this teaching method to help learners identify and analyze the key characteristics of the three most common types of news articles: straight news, feature, and opinion. This method helps learners develop their news literacy and critical thinking skills, and it can be used with any article that fits into one of these categories.

Implementation

It may be an excellent idea to review the characteristics of the three major types of news articles before asking learners to answer the guiding questions below.

  • Straight News Article:  Straight news articles provide essential information to readers on current events. They usually follow an inverted pyramid format.
  • Feature Article:  Feature articles cover a topic or person in more depth. They also offer writers more freedom to utilize storytelling strategies or literary devices, and they are often supplemented by visual aids such as photos or illustrations.
  • Opinion Article:  Unlike the other two areas, which strive to be non-biased, opinion articles allow the writer to take a stance on a particular issue or debate. They are often written by someone outside the field of journalism but an expert on the topic. You may also want to share examples of each type of news article with learners. In small groups, ask learners to identify the category of each piece. Then facilitate a class discussion on how they made their decisions. The questions below provide a format for learners to analyze the key features of each type of news article. You can select which questions learners must answer based on the article you assign.

General Questions:

  • What type of news piece is this? What features help you identify it?
  • What info does the headline embody? If there are any graphics or illustrations, what information do they give?
  • What are the key concepts in the article?
  • What is the tone of the article? How do the sentence format, ideas, and writing style add to the sound?
  • What kinds of evidence does the author give in the article? In what ways does the evidence support the author’s conclusions?
  • How effective is the author’s use of supporting evidence?

Feature Article Questions:

  • Describe the setting of the article?
  • What details does the author use to describe the setting, storyline, or other themes of the article?
  • Do you notice any graphics? How do these visuals enhance the storyline or the author’s point of view?

Opinion Article Questions:

  • Who is the author of the article? Is the author credible?
  • What are the central contentions of the article?
  • Are there any weaknesses in the author’s argument?
  • What counter-arguments would you offer to some of the author’s central claims?

What’s Next? Questions: Use this checklist to help learners determine the significance and perspective of the article. Learners must ask the following questions:

  • What questions does this article raise?
  • Where can we go to get answers or more information?
  • Where can we go to get the other side of the argument?

Why Your Young Learners Love E-learning

Literacy: what you should know.

' src=

Matthew Lynch

Related articles more from author.

article analysis high school

Online Petition Calls for Amazon Prime Discount for Teachers

article analysis high school

30 of the Best Quotes About Learning

article analysis high school

Idioms and Expressions for the Word “Time”

article analysis high school

Importance of Effective Educational Leadership

pass or fail

The Best Teacher Retirement Gifts

article analysis high school

How to Develop Fluent Readers

Bright Hub Education

Lesson Plan on Writing an Article Review: Includes Rubric

Most students do not know how to write an article review, an important skill for writing research papers. This simple lesson plan helps build this vital skill. A good article review contains a summary of the article with a personal response supported by evidence and reason.

Description

When critiquing an article, students should demonstrate their awareness of any bias or prejudice, identify pros and cons of the writer’s position, and discuss if they would recommend the article to others. They can also practice research skills by writing a bibliographic citation.

Instructions

  • Take students to the library and have them choose articles (option 1).
  • Choose articles of varying difficulty for students (option 2).
  • Give several examples .
  • Have students point out bias and comment on the author’s position.

Quality Checklist

  • Have I organized the article review in a logical fashion with ideas clearly and concisely stated?
  • Does all information follow correct bibliographic format?
  • Does the summary include a brief explanation of the article which includes the author’s point of view?
  • Does the critique of the article include evidence of bias, my own or the author’s, identify the pros and cons of the article, and indicate my recommendation?
  • Have I summarized my personal response in a concluding statement?

‘‘A’ REVIEW

  • Organization: The article is organized and ideas are clearly stated
  • Bibliographic Information: All the information follows the bibliographic format given.
  • Summary: Examples are clear and accurate. There are reasons and/or details to support personal reaction.
  • Critique: Concluding statement creatively and clearly summarizes the personal response.
  • Organization: Ideas are clearly stated, but the review lacks solid organization.
  • Bibliographic Information: Information exists but the format is not followed.
  • Summary: Examples are accurate. There are reasons and/or details to support personal reaction.
  • Critique: Concluding statement clearly summarizes the personal response.
  • Organization: Ideas are clear but article takes too long to make a point. Article lacks organization.
  • Bibliographic Information: Some required information is missing.
  • Summary: Inaccurate examples. There are reasons and/or details to support personal reaction.
  • Critique: Concluding statement does not clearly summarize the personal response.
  • Organization: Ideas are not clear. Article rambles.
  • Bibliographic information: not provided.
  • Summary: There are few or no examples to support personal response.
  • Critique: Contains no concluding statement or one that does not summarize the personal response.

This post is part of the series: Writing Lesson Plans

Teach writing with these writing lesson plans.

  • Lesson Plan: How to Write a Cause and Effect Essay
  • Writing a Mystery Lesson Plan
  • Lesson Plan: How to Write a Tall Tale
  • Lesson Plan: Writing Effective Dialogue
  • Lesson Plan: How to Write an Article Review

Trending Post : 12 Powerful Discussion Strategies to Engage Students

Reading and Writing Haven; English Teaching Ideas

10 of the Best Literary Analysis Activities to Elevate Thinking

Inside this Post: Ready to elevate your literary analysis lessons? This post is full of engaging and effective activities to help students master literary analysis topics.

Literary analysis has become the beating heart of English classes around the world. When students read a text, we want them to peel back the layers one by one, appreciating the deeper meaning that lies within each sentence. As English teachers, many of us connect with texts easily and persevere through complex literature naturally. For our students, this process is not always as enjoyable.

In this post, you’ll find suggestions for elevating thinking with middle and high school students. These ideas can be used with paired or individual texts and can be differentiated to reach a variety of learners.

Engaging and Effective Literary Analysis Activities

Literary analysis elements are best when they are engaging and elevate thinking without frustrating students. I’ve played around with different approaches, and these are the key elements that resonate most with students.

Model literary analysis for middle and high school students with think alouds #MiddleSchoolELA #HighSchoolELA #LiteraryAnalysis

1. Thinking Aloud

One of the best feelings as a teacher is knowing you have an entire class full of teenagers engaged. It’s amazing how every single student in a classroom is in tune with think alouds. Something about making thinking transparent challenges students of all readiness levels. With literary analysis lessons, I love providing think alouds with the whole class. Whether we do this via face to face instruction or by creating a short video for virtual classrooms, we have to model our thinking.

Here’s an example with “All the world’s a stage” from William Shakespeare’s As You Like It …

This speech, at first, seems complicated. But, Shakespeare is talking about the world being a stage, and I think there is something deeper to what he is saying. Let’s go back again and look for clues. The men and women are players on the stage. He writes that they have their exits and entrances. I’m trying to visualize that in my head now. The world is a stage, the people are actors, and when they walk on and off the stage, that is their theatrical entrance and exit. Now that I understand he is using this speech as an extended metaphor, I wonder why would Shakespeare is choosing to compare these two things?

When modeling literary analysis, we can break down our thought process. If we write a written response, we can scaffold by color coding our thoughts in order to highlight the necessary critical thinking steps.

  • First, acknowledge what is confusing or uncertain about the text. What might we be missing as readers?
  • Second, make observations.
  • Third, apply reading strategies (in this case, I used visualizing).
  • Last, teach students to ask questions that probe at the deeper meaning and reason for the writing.

2. Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers are one of my go-to strategies for elevating thinking . We can use them to differentiate and to guide students as we work in small groups. I like to keep a variety of literary analysis graphic organizers for any text on hand so that I can be responsive. If students show a need to work on analyzing a specific literary element – characterization, plot, theme, conflict, etcetera – I use a graphic organizer as we read a text or excerpt together, modeling my thinking. Then, students can practice using the same organizer in small groups, partners, or independently.

Literary analysis consists of asking a bunch of questions to lead students to deeper thinking, and graphic organizers are a bridge that walks students down that path of purposeful questioning.

Grab this print and digital literary analysis graphic organizer for analyzing song lyrics – one of secondary students’ favorite texts to pick apart!

Nothing grabs a student’s attention like an image! Visuals are amazing tools for introducing literary analysis skills. I always begin my literary analysis unit with pictures. Using an image, we can quickly show students how to differentiate between summarizing and analyzing . Then, we can walk them through the steps of acknowledging what we might be missing, making observations, applying reading strategies, and questioning for deeper meaning.

Consider using images from a variety of sources. We can try historical images, political cartoons, famous paintings, graphic novels, wordless picture books, advertisements, or even just regular photographs.

I even work this type of analytical thinking into my vocabulary activities ! Students get used to interpreting photos and using textual evidence to support their thinking.

Use one pagers as an engaging way to analyze literature #OnePagers #LiteraryAnalysis #MiddleSchoolELA

4. One Pagers

One pagers are one of my favorite literary analysis activities. In order to make them meaningful, I incorporate scaffolding . So, students have access to standards-aligned goals and questions that prompt their responses to the text. Choice helps as well. We can allow students to choose digital or traditional , response angles, and even texts.

In terms of literary analysis benefits, we can really focus on asking students to cite textual evidence to track a universal theme. While doing so, students can draw conclusions about how literary elements work together or how they provide tension to impact a reader’s overall takeaway.

5. Colorful Charts

Mood and tone can be tricky for students to analyze. So that they can understand the difference between them but also so that they see how mood and tone work in tandem, I began using an equalizer metaphor . Students can use color and amplification to analyze how mood and tone change throughout a literary work. By creating a visual representation, there’s a direct connection between the mood and the storyline.

How does setting impact mood , and how does mood impact the conflict in the story?

For instance, the quiet beauty of the Capulet garden sets the stage for a romantic balcony scene, but the noisy bustle of the lewd fighting in the Verona streets helps to define the conflict and tension between the two feuding families.

With tone , how does the author’s word choice and sentence structure in each section convey his or her attitude in the work?

As we study the amplification of tone in the play Romeo and Juliet , we see a consistent change from light-hearted comedy to an intensely poetic and tragic seriousness. Over the course of the play, one might say that Shakespeare’s juxtaposition creates an overall sympathetic tone toward the star-crossed lovers.

Movement in ELA; sticky note activity for literary analysis #LiteraryAnalysis #MovementinClassroom #SecondaryELA

6. Get Moving

One of the issues when it comes to citing evidence in a literary analysis essay is finding relevant support. Sometimes, it seems like the lines students select from literature are completely disconnected from what they are writing. That may be because they don’t truly understand how their thesis connects to their main points or how their main points connect to the evidence. For some students, there are too many degrees of separation!

A kinesthetic option to address this issue involves Post-Its (or colored text boxes if you are doing this digitally) and a t-chart. At the top of the paper (use big paper or a white board if you can do this together in the classroom!), write the analytical point. What conclusion can students draw about characters, setting, or another literary element that would support their thesis statement?

Under that, label the T-Chart as “Relevant” and “Off Topic.” Then, you have some options.

BASIC: You identify support for students in advance and have them sort the support based on its relevance. Could they use it to analyze the text, or is it off topic?

ADVANCE: Ask students to find examples of relevant and off-topic lines from the text.

A MIXTURE:   Provide students with a handful of lines they can sort into relevant and off-topic categories, and then ask them to find a couple more examples on their own.

To increase the engagement factor, use some washi tape on the floor in the shape of whatever makes the most sense – a character outline for analyzing character, a house for analyzing setting, a circle for analyzing a universal theme. Then, have students stick their Post-It notes inside or outside of the shape. Inside indicates that the evidence is relevant, and outside means it’s off-topic.

7. Children’s Books

We don’t always think to use picture books with older students , but they are one of my absolute favorite ways to scaffold literary analysis! Because picture books are short, we can cover an entire (and often complex) story in a short period of time. And, we can continually refer back to that text throughout the school year. Because picture books are accessible for all students, they will remember sharing the story together, and you can really make significant strides with whole-class discussions and small group lessons.

Try using picture books to teach Notice and Note signposts, language, aesthetics, and theme . One of my favorite ways to use picture books is teaching students to analyze how dialogue impacts decisions, propels action, and develops characters. For example, in the book Elbow Grease , the protagonist is motivated to participate in a race for which he is the underdog simply because some crass comments from his friends make him angry. This really is the turning point in the story, which makes it convenient to analyze how dialogue can lead to decisions and actions that change the course of a storyline.

8. Short Films

For a thousand and one reasons, I adore short films. They’re short (obvious, I know), which makes them ideal for modeling and mini lessons. Plus, they are visually captivating and apply to a wide age range. And, generally, they hold quite a bit of depth and leave room for a variety of interpretations.

During first quarter with ninth graders, I built in a yearly routine of watching short films during our literary analysis unit and having students complete their first full analytical essay. It’s fun. I can model using a short film I enjoy. Then, I get to read a wide range of responses from students who choose different texts. To scaffold for struggling writers, I suggest a few short films I am very familiar with; this way, I can guide them if they get stuck or confused.

You can also build in short films by using them with poetry for paired text analysis .

Reading strategy activities for middle and high school ELA #ReadingStrategies #LiteraryAnalysis

9. Reading Strategies

One of the building blocks of literary analysis is having a good foundation in apply reading strategies. It’s fun to model what readers do. We can show students how analyzing texts and re-reading for deeper meaning helps us with writing and then ask students to practice those skills.

For instance, when students begin to understand that authors have a purposeful craft that impacts their reading experience, it empowers them to pick that craft apart, studying the nuances of what makes it work. And, it gives them an advantage as authors themselves. They may think,  I remember how the author’s purposeful use of short, staccato sentences and onomatopoeias increased the suspense during that scene. Maybe I should use those techniques in this part of my story to add an emotional element for my readers.

These are some of the graphic organizers I’ve used to scaffold reading strategy work with the whole class, and then students can transfer those skills to small group or independent practice, using the same organizer if necessary.

10. Social Media Activities

Social media is everywhere. We might as well use it as a relevant option for analyzing literature! One of my favorites is booksnaps , and I tie in Snapchat by having them take a photo of part of the text they want to analyze. Then, they add interpretations, images, and text as well as a caption with a more detailed analysis. I call these Snap-a-Books.  I also created a Spot-a-Book analysis option, reminiscent of Spotify playlists. Students can create playlists relevant to character analysis, setting analysis, conflict analysis, and more!

And, that’s ten! I hope you’ve found some meaningful literary analysis activities to spark creative, critical thinking in your classroom.

Engaging and effective literary analysis lessons and activities for middle and high school ELA #LiteraryAnalysis #MiddleSchoolELA #HighSchoolELA

Similar Posts

What ELA Teachers Can Learn from a Rockstar Librarian

What ELA Teachers Can Learn from a Rockstar Librarian

Teaching reading? ELA teachers are constantly searching for new inspiration. How can we get more students to read? How can we create a warm, inviting literacy culture? How can we…

Why We Need to Say Good Riddance to the Reading Log Forever

Why We Need to Say Good Riddance to the Reading Log Forever

Inside:  Have reading logs on your mind? Still wildly popular, reading logs have serious negative impacts on our students’ relationships with reading. This post is full of honest answers about…

Scaffolding a Booksnap Lesson: Amplify Reading Comprehension

Scaffolding a Booksnap Lesson: Amplify Reading Comprehension

Looking for a fun booksnap lesson? Booksnaps are one of the newer trends in reading education. They originated with Tara Martin on Twitter and have steadily grown in popularity in…

How to Teach Shakespeare: Scaffolding Approaches for All Learners

How to Teach Shakespeare: Scaffolding Approaches for All Learners

Ever wondered how to teach Shakespeare so that all students are engaged and learning? Are you searching for scaffolding approaches that work? Keep reading. “I cannot WAIT to be challenged…

Meaningful Ways to End the School Year

Meaningful Ways to End the School Year

School’s out for summer! Well, not quite. But, the thought of summer break typically stirs butterflies in both teachers’ and students’ stomachs. Those flutters of excitement are nothing to feel…

Reading Instruction: Deciding What to Teach

Reading Instruction: Deciding What to Teach

This post is part of a series about reading instruction. To start from the beginning, read about getting to know your readers. When teachers plan reading curriculum in secondary, the…

Get the latest in your inbox!

  • Our Mission

Putting a Playful Spin on Literary Analysis

High school teachers can incorporate elements of gamification into assignments to encourage students to dig deeper into texts.

High school teacher reading with students

Literary analysis and writing are foundational skills for students to learn in any level of an English language arts class. The issue that many high school teachers struggle with during writing instruction and literary analysis is creating rigorous, differentiated assessment methods that are also relevant and engaging to students. One exciting way to do this is to use the strategy of creating adventure games in order to teach and assess literary analysis and narrative writing.

Students create adventure games where players can choose their own adventure with stories and information that they have written from a narrative writing unit or from analyzing a text. This strategy encourages students not only to analyze texts and write but also to think critically about organizing and synthesizing their information into a functional format for gameplay.

Shape the Assignment’s Rigor Based on Student Needs

For this assignment, students are tasked with creating a choose-your-own-adventure game that reflects an aspect of instruction related to writing and text analysis. This strategy can be differentiated based on levels of rigor with different levels of students. One way to differentiate this assignment is to focus on a variety of elements from the texts. Teachers can determine which areas of text analysis are challenging for their students and focus on honing that skill.

The map

For example, teachers could focus on one strategy (like summarizing a text) when designing their assessment. Teachers could combine multiple skills into one gaming activity if their students required a more rigorous focus. They could ask students to analyze the setting and plot in one gaming script. This would elevate the level of analysis needed for the game creation.

Another way to differentiate rigor in the assignment would be to require an extra writing assessment. For my Beowulf projects, students wrote a narrative and created an adventure game. If that’s too rigorous for students, teachers could change the assignment to have the adventure game be the narrative writing itself. Scaffolding is also crucial in the differentiation of this assignment.

If you have higher-level students, they may not need as much structure or scaffolding through the process. However, some students may need an extra level of structure when completing the assignment. Teachers can scaffold these students by creating outlines or templates for the students to fill in with their ideas. This provides students with a foundation to work with instead of creating everything on their own.

Students Can Use High- or Low-Tech Options to Create Their Game

This activity can be used with or without technology. Students can utilize technology by creating their games on presentation apps like Google Slides and include links that facilitate gameplay. Students can also use coding to create their own websites for their game. If technology is unavailable, students can always use paper for their games. Different gameplay scenarios can be created on paper cards. Students can also create their own board games for their adventures.

Using either technology or paper, students create this game to reflect their analysis of a text. In my own practice, students have created their games using Google Slides. The students created the game using hyperlinked slides that assisted the player with navigating through their story or game. Players clicked through the presentation and participated in different paths of play to explore the analysis of the text in a story format.

Games Can Analyze the Literary Features of the Assigned Stories

In my Honors English III STEM class, I used gamification in my Edgar Allan Poe stories as the basis for gamification. Students were challenged to create games that were a retelling of these famous stories. They chose from either “The Masque of the Red Death” or “The Tell-Tale Heart.” We read and analyzed these stories in class. After that analysis, the students were required to create games that analyzed plot and other literary elements of their chosen stories. Each game had to have a choose-your-own-adventure format so that the players of the game would be able to choose different paths of gameplay. Each linked option took the player through a different story line of the game.

Action, location, inventory graphic.

There was an emphasis on creating a distinct setting in their games that connected to their chosen Poe story. They also were required to include detailed imagery and distinct characters from the story. One of my students focused on the imagery and setting of “The Masque of the Red Death” by creating a game where you clicked through the different rooms of the mansion in the story. Players would navigate through different scenarios by clicking on the symbolic rooms.

Another group used coding and hyperlinks to create a game where the player navigated through the house in “The Tell-Tale Heart” and collected items in each room.

Games Can Be Based on Students’ Original Narrative Stories

Another way I used gamification to enhance my instruction and assessment occurred during a unit on Heroes. In my English 4 College Prep class, we studied heroic archetypes using Beowulf as our anchor text. Students conducted research on a British time period, event, or famous person and created their hero based on that research.

The students then wrote a narrative story using their research and the hero they created. Students chose different topics like knights, Vikings, the Victorian era, and even Queen Elizabeth. Then they created a choose-your-own-adventure game based on their hero and story. The games were designed to follow different options for their hero’s story. Players chose different journeys for the hero, interactions with different characters, etc. 

The students were able to pair up for this project; they could write similar stories with different characters and then create a game based on their characters. When the students finished their games, we invited students, administrators, and other teachers to come play their games. We also invited students in neighboring English classes to come play. We spent a class period dedicated to this event of gameplay. It was a great way to publicly showcase the students’ learning.

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • View all journals
  • My Account Login
  • Explore content
  • About the journal
  • Publish with us
  • Sign up for alerts
  • Open access
  • Published: 02 December 2020

Enhancing senior high school student engagement and academic performance using an inclusive and scalable inquiry-based program

  • Locke Davenport Huyer   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-1526-7122 1 , 2   na1 ,
  • Neal I. Callaghan   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8214-3395 1 , 3   na1 ,
  • Sara Dicks 4 ,
  • Edward Scherer 4 ,
  • Andrey I. Shukalyuk 1 ,
  • Margaret Jou 4 &
  • Dawn M. Kilkenny   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3899-9767 1 , 5  

npj Science of Learning volume  5 , Article number:  17 ( 2020 ) Cite this article

36k Accesses

4 Citations

13 Altmetric

Metrics details

The multi-disciplinary nature of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers often renders difficulty for high school students navigating from classroom knowledge to post-secondary pursuits. Discrepancies between the knowledge-based high school learning approach and the experiential approach of future studies leaves some students disillusioned by STEM. We present Discovery , a term-long inquiry-focused learning model delivered by STEM graduate students in collaboration with high school teachers, in the context of biomedical engineering. Entire classes of high school STEM students representing diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds engaged in iterative, problem-based learning designed to emphasize critical thinking concomitantly within the secondary school and university environments. Assessment of grades and survey data suggested positive impact of this learning model on students’ STEM interests and engagement, notably in under-performing cohorts, as well as repeating cohorts that engage in the program on more than one occasion. Discovery presents a scalable platform that stimulates persistence in STEM learning, providing valuable learning opportunities and capturing cohorts of students that might otherwise be under-engaged in STEM.

Introduction

High school students with diverse STEM interests often struggle to understand the STEM experience outside the classroom 1 . The multi-disciplinary nature of many career fields can foster a challenge for students in their decision to enroll in appropriate high school courses while maintaining persistence in study, particularly when these courses are not mandatory 2 . Furthermore, this challenge is amplified by the known discrepancy between the knowledge-based learning approach common in high schools and the experiential, mastery-based approaches afforded by the subsequent undergraduate model 3 . In the latter, focused classes, interdisciplinary concepts, and laboratory experiences allow for the application of accumulated knowledge, practice in problem solving, and development of both general and technical skills 4 . Such immersive cooperative learning environments are difficult to establish in the secondary school setting and high school teachers often struggle to implement within their classroom 5 . As such, high school students may become disillusioned before graduation and never experience an enriched learning environment, despite their inherent interests in STEM 6 .

It cannot be argued that early introduction to varied math and science disciplines throughout high school is vital if students are to pursue STEM fields, especially within engineering 7 . However, the majority of literature focused on student interest and retention in STEM highlights outcomes in US high school learning environments, where the sciences are often subject-specific from the onset of enrollment 8 . In contrast, students in the Ontario (Canada) high school system are required to complete Level 1 and 2 core courses in science and math during Grades 9 and 10; these courses are offered as ‘applied’ or ‘academic’ versions and present broad topics of content 9 . It is not until Levels 3 and 4 (generally Grades 11 and 12, respectively) that STEM classes become subject-specific (i.e., Biology, Chemistry, and/or Physics) and are offered as “university”, “college”, or “mixed” versions, designed to best prepare students for their desired post-secondary pursuits 9 . Given that Levels 3 and 4 science courses are not mandatory for graduation, enrollment identifies an innate student interest in continued learning. Furthermore, engagement in these post-secondary preparatory courses is also dependent upon achieving successful grades in preceding courses, but as curriculum becomes more subject-specific, students often yield lower degrees of success in achieving course credit 2 . Therefore, it is imperative that learning supports are best focused on ensuring that those students with an innate interest are able to achieve success in learning.

When given opportunity and focused support, high school students are capable of successfully completing rigorous programs at STEM-focused schools 10 . Specialized STEM schools have existed in the US for over 100 years; generally, students are admitted after their sophomore year of high school experience (equivalent to Grade 10) based on standardized test scores, essays, portfolios, references, and/or interviews 11 . Common elements to this learning framework include a diverse array of advanced STEM courses, paired with opportunities to engage in and disseminate cutting-edge research 12 . Therein, said research experience is inherently based in the processes of critical thinking, problem solving, and collaboration. This learning framework supports translation of core curricular concepts to practice and is fundamental in allowing students to develop better understanding and appreciation of STEM career fields.

Despite the described positive attributes, many students do not have the ability or resources to engage within STEM-focused schools, particularly given that they are not prevalent across Canada, and other countries across the world. Consequently, many public institutions support the idea that post-secondary led engineering education programs are effective ways to expose high school students to engineering education and relevant career options, and also increase engineering awareness 13 . Although singular class field trips are used extensively to accomplish such programs, these may not allow immersive experiences for application of knowledge and practice of skills that are proven to impact long-term learning and influence career choices 14 , 15 . Longer-term immersive research experiences, such as after-school programs or summer camps, have shown successful at recruiting students into STEM degree programs and careers, where longevity of experience helps foster self-determination and interest-led, inquiry-based projects 4 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 .

Such activities convey the elements that are suggested to make a post-secondary led high school education programs successful: hands-on experience, self-motivated learning, real-life application, immediate feedback, and problem-based projects 20 , 21 . In combination with immersion in university teaching facilities, learning is authentic and relevant, similar to the STEM school-focused framework, and consequently representative of an experience found in actual STEM practice 22 . These outcomes may further be a consequence of student engagement and attitude: Brown et al. studied the relationships between STEM curriculum and student attitudes, and found the latter played a more important role in intention to persist in STEM when compared to self-efficacy 23 . This is interesting given that student self-efficacy has been identified to influence ‘motivation, persistence, and determination’ in overcoming challenges in a career pathway 24 . Taken together, this suggests that creation and delivery of modern, exciting curriculum that supports positive student attitudes is fundamental to engage and retain students in STEM programs.

Supported by the outcomes of identified effective learning strategies, University of Toronto (U of T) graduate trainees created a novel high school education program Discovery , to develop a comfortable yet stimulating environment of inquiry-focused iterative learning for senior high school students (Grades 11 & 12; Levels 3 & 4) at non-specialized schools. Built in strong collaboration with science teachers from George Harvey Collegiate Institute (Toronto District School Board), Discovery stimulates application of STEM concepts within a unique term-long applied curriculum delivered iteratively within both U of T undergraduate teaching facilities and collaborating high school classrooms 25 . Based on the volume of medically-themed news and entertainment that is communicated to the population at large, the rapidly-growing and diverse field of biomedical engineering (BME) were considered an ideal program context 26 . In its definition, BME necessitates cross-disciplinary STEM knowledge focused on the betterment of human health, wherein Discovery facilitates broadening student perspective through engaging inquiry-based projects. Importantly, Discovery allows all students within a class cohort to work together with their classroom teacher, stimulating continued development of a relevant learning community that is deemed essential for meaningful context and important for transforming student perspectives and understandings 27 , 28 . Multiple studies support the concept that relevant learning communities improve student attitudes towards learning, significantly increasing student motivation in STEM courses, and consequently improving the overall learning experience 29 . Learning communities, such as that provided by Discovery , also promote the formation of self-supporting groups, greater active involvement in class, and higher persistence rates for participating students 30 .

The objective of Discovery , through structure and dissemination, is to engage senior high school science students in challenging, inquiry-based practical BME activities as a mechanism to stimulate comprehension of STEM curriculum application to real-world concepts. Consequent focus is placed on critical thinking skill development through an atmosphere of perseverance in ambiguity, something not common in a secondary school knowledge-focused delivery but highly relevant in post-secondary STEM education strategies. Herein, we describe the observed impact of the differential project-based learning environment of Discovery on student performance and engagement. We identify the value of an inquiry-focused learning model that is tangible for students who struggle in a knowledge-focused delivery structure, where engagement in conceptual critical thinking in the relevant subject area stimulates student interest, attitudes, and resulting academic performance. Assessment of study outcomes suggests that when provided with a differential learning opportunity, student performance and interest in STEM increased. Consequently, Discovery provides an effective teaching and learning framework within a non-specialized school that motivates students, provides opportunity for critical thinking and problem-solving practice, and better prepares them for persistence in future STEM programs.

Program delivery

The outcomes of the current study result from execution of Discovery over five independent academic terms as a collaboration between Institute of Biomedical Engineering (graduate students, faculty, and support staff) and George Harvey Collegiate Institute (science teachers and administration) stakeholders. Each term, the program allowed senior secondary STEM students (Grades 11 and 12) opportunity to engage in a novel project-based learning environment. The program structure uses the problem-based engineering capstone framework as a tool of inquiry-focused learning objectives, motivated by a central BME global research topic, with research questions that are inter-related but specific to the curriculum of each STEM course subject (Fig. 1 ). Over each 12-week term, students worked in teams (3–4 students) within their class cohorts to execute projects with the guidance of U of T trainees ( Discovery instructors) and their own high school teacher(s). Student experimental work was conducted in U of T teaching facilities relevant to the research study of interest (i.e., Biology and Chemistry-based projects executed within Undergraduate Teaching Laboratories; Physics projects executed within Undergraduate Design Studios). Students were introduced to relevant techniques and safety procedures in advance of iterative experimentation. Importantly, this experience served as a course term project for students, who were assessed at several points throughout the program for performance in an inquiry-focused environment as well as within the regular classroom (Fig. 1 ). To instill the atmosphere of STEM, student teams delivered their outcomes in research poster format at a final symposium, sharing their results and recommendations with other post-secondary students, faculty, and community in an open environment.

figure 1

The general program concept (blue background; top left ) highlights a global research topic examined through student dissemination of subject-specific research questions, yielding multifaceted student outcomes (orange background; top right ). Each program term (term workflow, yellow background; bottom panel ), students work on program deliverables in class (blue), iterate experimental outcomes within university facilities (orange), and are assessed accordingly at numerous deliverables in an inquiry-focused learning model.

Over the course of five terms there were 268 instances of tracked student participation, representing 170 individual students. Specifically, 94 students participated during only one term of programming, 57 students participated in two terms, 16 students participated in three terms, and 3 students participated in four terms. Multiple instances of participation represent students that enrol in more than one STEM class during their senior years of high school, or who participated in Grade 11 and subsequently Grade 12. Students were surveyed before and after each term to assess program effects on STEM interest and engagement. All grade-based assessments were performed by high school teachers for their respective STEM class cohorts using consistent grading rubrics and assignment structure. Here, we discuss the outcomes of student involvement in this experiential curriculum model.

Student performance and engagement

Student grades were assigned, collected, and anonymized by teachers for each Discovery deliverable (background essay, client meeting, proposal, progress report, poster, and final presentation). Teachers anonymized collective Discovery grades, the component deliverable grades thereof, final course grades, attendance in class and during programming, as well as incomplete classroom assignments, for comparative study purposes. Students performed significantly higher in their cumulative Discovery grade than in their cumulative classroom grade (final course grade less the Discovery contribution; p  < 0.0001). Nevertheless, there was a highly significant correlation ( p  < 0.0001) observed between the grade representing combined Discovery deliverables and the final course grade (Fig. 2a ). Further examination of the full dataset revealed two student cohorts of interest: the “Exceeds Expectations” (EE) subset (defined as those students who achieved ≥1 SD [18.0%] grade differential in Discovery over their final course grade; N  = 99 instances), and the “Multiple Term” (MT) subset (defined as those students who participated in Discovery more than once; 76 individual students that collectively accounted for 174 single terms of assessment out of the 268 total student-terms delivered) (Fig. 2b, c ). These subsets were not unrelated; 46 individual students who had multiple experiences (60.5% of total MTs) exhibited at least one occasion in achieving a ≥18.0% grade differential. As students participated in group work, there was concern that lower-performing students might negatively influence the Discovery grade of higher-performing students (or vice versa). However, students were observed to self-organize into groups where all individuals received similar final overall course grades (Fig. 2d ), thereby alleviating these concerns.

figure 2

a Linear regression of student grades reveals a significant correlation ( p  = 0.0009) between Discovery performance and final course grade less the Discovery contribution to grade, as assessed by teachers. The dashed red line and intervals represent the theoretical 1:1 correlation between Discovery and course grades and standard deviation of the Discovery -course grade differential, respectively. b , c Identification of subgroups of interest, Exceeds Expectations (EE; N  = 99, orange ) who were ≥+1 SD in Discovery -course grade differential and Multi-Term (MT; N  = 174, teal ), of which N  = 65 students were present in both subgroups. d Students tended to self-assemble in working groups according to their final course performance; data presented as mean ± SEM. e For MT students participating at least 3 terms in Discovery , there was no significant correlation between course grade and time, while ( f ) there was a significant correlation between Discovery grade and cumulative terms in the program. Histograms of total absences per student in ( g ) Discovery and ( h ) class (binned by 4 days to be equivalent in time to a single Discovery absence).

The benefits experienced by MT students seemed progressive; MT students that participated in 3 or 4 terms ( N  = 16 and 3, respectively ) showed no significant increase by linear regression in their course grade over time ( p  = 0.15, Fig. 2e ), but did show a significant increase in their Discovery grades ( p  = 0.0011, Fig. 2f ). Finally, students demonstrated excellent Discovery attendance; at least 91% of participants attended all Discovery sessions in a given term (Fig. 2g ). In contrast, class attendance rates reveal a much wider distribution where 60.8% (163 out of 268 students) missed more than 4 classes (equivalent in learning time to one Discovery session) and 14.6% (39 out of 268 students) missed 16 or more classes (equivalent in learning time to an entire program of Discovery ) in a term (Fig. 2h ).

Discovery EE students (Fig. 3 ), roughly by definition, obtained lower course grades ( p  < 0.0001, Fig. 3a ) and higher final Discovery grades ( p  = 0.0004, Fig. 3b ) than non-EE students. This cohort of students exhibited program grades higher than classmates (Fig. 3c–h ); these differences were significant in every category with the exception of essays, where they outperformed to a significantly lesser degree ( p  = 0.097; Fig. 3c ). There was no statistically significant difference in EE vs. non-EE student classroom attendance ( p  = 0.85; Fig. 3i, j ). There were only four single day absences in Discovery within the EE subset; however, this difference was not statistically significant ( p  = 0.074).

figure 3

The “Exceeds Expectations” (EE) subset of students (defined as those who received a combined Discovery grade ≥1 SD (18.0%) higher than their final course grade) performed ( a ) lower on their final course grade and ( b ) higher in the Discovery program as a whole when compared to their classmates. d – h EE students received significantly higher grades on each Discovery deliverable than their classmates, except for their ( c ) introductory essays and ( h ) final presentations. The EE subset also tended ( i ) to have a higher relative rate of attendance during Discovery sessions but no difference in ( j ) classroom attendance. N  = 99 EE students and 169 non-EE students (268 total). Grade data expressed as mean ± SEM.

Discovery MT students (Fig. 4 ), although not receiving significantly higher grades in class than students participating in the program only one time ( p  = 0.29, Fig. 4a ), were observed to obtain higher final Discovery grades than single-term students ( p  = 0.0067, Fig. 4b ). Although trends were less pronounced for individual MT student deliverables (Fig. 4c–h ), this student group performed significantly better on the progress report ( p  = 0.0021; Fig. 4f ). Trends of higher performance were observed for initial proposals and final presentations ( p  = 0.081 and 0.056, respectively; Fig. 4e, h ); all other deliverables were not significantly different between MT and non-MT students (Fig. 4c, d, g ). Attendance in Discovery ( p  = 0.22) was also not significantly different between MT and non-MT students, although MT students did miss significantly less class time ( p  = 0.010) (Fig. 4i, j ). Longitudinal assessment of individual deliverables for MT students that participated in three or more Discovery terms (Fig. 5 ) further highlights trend in improvement (Fig. 2f ). Greater performance over terms of participation was observed for essay ( p  = 0.0295, Fig. 5a ), client meeting ( p  = 0.0003, Fig. 5b ), proposal ( p  = 0.0004, Fig. 5c ), progress report ( p  = 0.16, Fig. 5d ), poster ( p  = 0.0005, Fig. 5e ), and presentation ( p  = 0.0295, Fig. 5f ) deliverable grades; these trends were all significant with the exception of the progress report ( p  = 0.16, Fig. 5d ) owing to strong performance in this deliverable in all terms.

figure 4

The “multi-term” (MT) subset of students (defined as having attended more than one term of Discovery ) demonstrated favorable performance in Discovery , ( a ) showing no difference in course grade compared to single-term students, but ( b outperforming them in final Discovery grade. Independent of the number of times participating in Discovery , MT students did not score significantly differently on their ( c ) essay, ( d ) client meeting, or ( g ) poster. They tended to outperform their single-term classmates on the ( e ) proposal and ( h ) final presentation and scored significantly higher on their ( f ) progress report. MT students showed no statistical difference in ( i ) Discovery attendance but did show ( j ) higher rates of classroom attendance than single-term students. N  = 174 MT instances of student participation (76 individual students) and 94 single-term students. Grade data expressed as mean ± SEM.

figure 5

Longitudinal assessment of a subset of MT student participants that participated in three ( N  = 16) or four ( N  = 3) terms presents a significant trend of improvement in their ( a ) essay, ( b ) client meeting, ( c ) proposal, ( e ) poster, and ( f ) presentation grade. d Progress report grades present a trend in improvement but demonstrate strong performance in all terms, limiting potential for student improvement. Grade data are presented as individual student performance; each student is represented by one color; data is fitted with a linear trendline (black).

Finally, the expansion of Discovery to a second school of lower LOI (i.e., nominally higher aggregate SES) allowed for the assessment of program impact in a new population over 2 terms of programming. A significant ( p  = 0.040) divergence in Discovery vs. course grade distribution from the theoretical 1:1 relationship was found in the new cohort (S 1 Appendix , Fig. S 1 ), in keeping with the pattern established in this study.

Teacher perceptions

Qualitative observation in the classroom by high school teachers emphasized the value students independently placed on program participation and deliverables. Throughout the term, students often prioritized Discovery group assignments over other tasks for their STEM courses, regardless of academic weight and/or due date. Comparing within this student population, teachers spoke of difficulties with late and incomplete assignments in the regular curriculum but found very few such instances with respect to Discovery -associated deliverables. Further, teachers speculated on the good behavior and focus of students in Discovery programming in contrast to attentiveness and behavior issues in their school classrooms. Multiple anecdotal examples were shared of renewed perception of student potential; students that exhibited poor academic performance in the classroom often engaged with high performance in this inquiry-focused atmosphere. Students appeared to take a sense of ownership, excitement, and pride in the setting of group projects oriented around scientific inquiry, discovery, and dissemination.

Student perceptions

Students were asked to consider and rank the academic difficulty (scale of 1–5, with 1 = not challenging and 5 = highly challenging) of the work they conducted within the Discovery learning model. Considering individual Discovery terms, at least 91% of students felt the curriculum to be sufficiently challenging with a 3/5 or higher ranking (Term 1: 87.5%, Term 2: 93.4%, Term 3: 85%, Term 4: 93.3%, Term 5: 100%), and a minimum of 58% of students indicating a 4/5 or higher ranking (Term 1: 58.3%, Term 2: 70.5%, Term 3: 67.5%, Term 4: 69.1%, Term 5: 86.4%) (Fig. 6a ).

figure 6

a Histogram of relative frequency of perceived Discovery programming academic difficulty ranked from not challenging (1) to highly challenging (5) for each session demonstrated the consistently perceived high degree of difficulty for Discovery programming (total responses: 223). b Program participation increased student comfort (94.6%) with navigating lab work in a university or college setting (total responses: 220). c Considering participation in Discovery programming, students indicated their increased (72.4%) or decreased (10.1%) likelihood to pursue future experiences in STEM as a measure of program impact (total responses: 217). d Large majority of participating students (84.9%) indicated their interest for future participation in Discovery (total responses: 212). Students were given the opportunity to opt out of individual survey questions, partially completed surveys were included in totals.

The majority of students (94.6%) indicated they felt more comfortable with the idea of performing future work in a university STEM laboratory environment given exposure to university teaching facilities throughout the program (Fig. 6b ). Students were also queried whether they were (i) more likely, (ii) less likely, or (iii) not impacted by their experience in the pursuit of STEM in the future. The majority of participants (>82%) perceived impact on STEM interests, with 72.4% indicating they were more likely to pursue these interests in the future (Fig. 6c ). When surveyed at the end of term, 84.9% of students indicated they would participate in the program again (Fig. 6d ).

We have described an inquiry-based framework for implementing experiential STEM education in a BME setting. Using this model, we engaged 268 instances of student participation (170 individual students who participated 1–4 times) over five terms in project-based learning wherein students worked in peer-based teams under the mentorship of U of T trainees to design and execute the scientific method in answering a relevant research question. Collaboration between high school teachers and Discovery instructors allowed for high school student exposure to cutting-edge BME research topics, participation in facilitated inquiry, and acquisition of knowledge through scientific discovery. All assessments were conducted by high school teachers and constituted a fraction (10–15%) of the overall course grade, instilling academic value for participating students. As such, students exhibited excitement to learn as well as commitment to their studies in the program.

Through our observations and analysis, we suggest there is value in differential learning environments for students that struggle in a knowledge acquisition-focused classroom setting. In general, we observed a high level of academic performance in Discovery programming (Fig. 2a ), which was highlighted exceptionally in EE students who exhibited greater academic performance in Discovery deliverables compared to normal coursework (>18% grade improvement in relevant deliverables). We initially considered whether this was the result of strong students influencing weaker students; however, group organization within each course suggests this is not the case (Fig. 2d ). With the exception of one class in one term (24 participants assigned by their teacher), students were allowed to self-organize into working groups and they chose to work with other students of relatively similar academic performance (as indicated by course grade), a trend observed in other studies 31 , 32 . Remarkably, EE students not only excelled during Discovery when compared to their own performance in class, but this cohort also achieved significantly higher average grades in each of the deliverables throughout the program when compared to the remaining Discovery cohort (Fig. 3 ). This data demonstrates the value of an inquiry-based learning environment compared to knowledge-focused delivery in the classroom in allowing students to excel. We expect that part of this engagement was resultant of student excitement with a novel learning opportunity. It is however a well-supported concept that students who struggle in traditional settings tend to demonstrate improved interest and motivation in STEM when given opportunity to interact in a hands-on fashion, which supports our outcomes 4 , 33 . Furthermore, these outcomes clearly represent variable student learning styles, where some students benefit from a greater exchange of information, knowledge and skills in a cooperative learning environment 34 . The performance of the EE group may not be by itself surprising, as the identification of the subset by definition required high performers in Discovery who did not have exceptionally high course grades; in addition, the final Discovery grade is dependent on the component assignment grades. However, the discrepancies between EE and non-EE groups attendance suggests that students were engaged by Discovery in a way that they were not by regular classroom curriculum.

In addition to quantified engagement in Discovery observed in academic performance, we believe remarkable attendance rates are indicative of the value students place in the differential learning structure. Given the differences in number of Discovery days and implications of missing one day of regular class compared to this immersive program, we acknowledge it is challenging to directly compare attendance data and therefore approximate this comparison with consideration of learning time equivalence. When combined with other subjective data including student focus, requests to work on Discovery during class time, and lack of discipline/behavior issues, the attendance data importantly suggests that students were especially engaged by the Discovery model. Further, we believe the increased commute time to the university campus (students are responsible for independent transit to campus, a much longer endeavour than the normal school commute), early program start time, and students’ lack of familiarity with the location are non-trivial considerations when determining the propensity of students to participate enthusiastically in Discovery . We feel this suggests the students place value on this team-focused learning and find it to be more applicable and meaningful to their interests.

Given post-secondary admission requirements for STEM programs, it would be prudent to think that students participating in multiple STEM classes across terms are the ones with the most inherent interest in post-secondary STEM programs. The MT subset, representing students who participated in Discovery for more than one term, averaged significantly higher final Discovery grades. The increase in the final Discovery grade was observed to result from a general confluence of improved performance over multiple deliverables and a continuous effort to improve in a STEM curriculum. This was reflected in longitudinal tracking of Discovery performance, where we observed a significant trend of improved performance. Interestingly, the high number of MT students who were included in the EE group suggests that students who had a keen interest in science enrolled in more than one course and in general responded well to the inquiry-based teaching method of Discovery , where scientific method was put into action. It stands to reason that students interested in science will continue to take STEM courses and will respond favorably to opportunities to put classroom theory to practical application.

The true value of an inquiry-based program such as Discovery may not be based in inspiring students to perform at a higher standard in STEM within the high school setting, as skills in critical thinking do not necessarily translate to knowledge-based assessment. Notably, students found the programming equally challenging throughout each of the sequential sessions, perhaps somewhat surprising considering the increasing number of repeat attendees in successive sessions (Fig. 6a ). Regardless of sub-discipline, there was an emphasis of perceived value demonstrated through student surveys where we observed indicated interest in STEM and comfort with laboratory work environments, and desire to engage in future iterations given the opportunity. Although non-quantitative, we perceive this as an indicator of significant student engagement, even though some participants did not yield academic success in the program and found it highly challenging given its ambiguity.

Although we observed that students become more certain of their direction in STEM, further longitudinal study is warranted to make claim of this outcome. Additionally, at this point in our assessment we cannot effectively assess the practical outcomes of participation, understanding that the immediate effects observed are subject to a number of factors associated with performance in the high school learning environment. Future studies that track graduates from this program will be prudent, in conjunction with an ever-growing dataset of assessment as well as surveys designed to better elucidate underlying perceptions and attitudes, to continue to understand the expected benefits of this inquiry-focused and partnered approach. Altogether, a multifaceted assessment of our early outcomes suggests significant value of an immersive and iterative interaction with STEM as part of the high school experience. A well-defined divergence from knowledge-based learning, focused on engagement in critical thinking development framed in the cutting-edge of STEM, may be an important step to broadening student perspectives.

In this study, we describe the short-term effects of an inquiry-based STEM educational experience on a cohort of secondary students attending a non-specialized school, and suggest that the framework can be widely applied across virtually all subjects where inquiry-driven and mentored projects can be undertaken. Although we have demonstrated replication in a second cohort of nominally higher SES (S 1 Appendix , Supplementary Fig. 1 ), a larger collection period with more students will be necessary to conclusively determine impact independent of both SES and specific cohort effects. Teachers may also find this framework difficult to implement depending on resources and/or institutional investment and support, particularly if post-secondary collaboration is inaccessible. Offerings to a specific subject (e.g., physics) where experiments yielding empirical data are logistically or financially simpler to perform may be valid routes of adoption as opposed to the current study where all subject cohorts were included.

As we consider Discovery in a bigger picture context, expansion and implementation of this model is translatable. Execution of the scientific method is an important aspect of citizen science, as the concepts of critical thing become ever-more important in a landscape of changing technological landscapes. Giving students critical thinking and problem-solving skills in their primary and secondary education provides value in the context of any career path. Further, we feel that this model is scalable across disciplines, STEM or otherwise, as a means of building the tools of inquiry. We have observed here the value of differential inclusive student engagement and critical thinking through an inquiry-focused model for a subset of students, but further to this an engagement, interest, and excitement across the body of student participants. As we educate the leaders of tomorrow, we suggest that use of an inquiry-focused model such as Discovery could facilitate growth of a data-driven critical thinking framework.

In conclusion, we have presented a model of inquiry-based STEM education for secondary students that emphasizes inclusion, quantitative analysis, and critical thinking. Student grades suggest significant performance benefits, and engagement data suggests positive student attitude despite the perceived challenges of the program. We also note a particular performance benefit to students who repeatedly engage in the program. This framework may carry benefits in a wide variety of settings and disciplines for enhancing student engagement and performance, particularly in non-specialized school environments.

Study design and implementation

Participants in Discovery include all students enrolled in university-stream Grade 11 or 12 biology, chemistry, or physics at the participating school over five consecutive terms (cohort summary shown in Table 1 ). Although student participation in educational content was mandatory, student grades and survey responses (administered by high school teachers) were collected from only those students with parent or guardian consent. Teachers replaced each student name with a unique coded identifier to preserve anonymity but enable individual student tracking over multiple terms. All data collected were analyzed without any exclusions save for missing survey responses; no power analysis was performed prior to data collection.

Ethics statement

This study was approved by the University of Toronto Health Sciences Research Ethics Board (Protocol # 34825) and the Toronto District School Board External Research Review Committee (Protocol # 2017-2018-20). Written informed consent was collected from parents or guardians of participating students prior to the acquisition of student data (both post-hoc academic data and survey administration). Data were anonymized by high school teachers for maintenance of academic confidentiality of individual students prior to release to U of T researchers.

Educational program overview

Students enrolled in university-preparatory STEM classes at the participating school completed a term-long project under the guidance of graduate student instructors and undergraduate student mentors as a mandatory component of their respective course. Project curriculum developed collaboratively between graduate students and participating high school teachers was delivered within U of T Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering (FASE) teaching facilities. Participation allows high school students to garner a better understanding as to how undergraduate learning and career workflows in STEM vary from traditional high school classroom learning, meanwhile reinforcing the benefits of problem solving, perseverance, teamwork, and creative thinking competencies. Given that Discovery was a mandatory component of course curriculum, students participated as class cohorts and addressed questions specific to their course subject knowledge base but related to the defined global health research topic (Fig. 1 ). Assessment of program deliverables was collectively assigned to represent 10–15% of the final course grade for each subject at the discretion of the respective STEM teacher.

The Discovery program framework was developed, prior to initiation of student assessment, in collaboration with one high school selected from the local public school board over a 1.5 year period of time. This partner school consistently scores highly (top decile) in the school board’s Learning Opportunities Index (LOI). The LOI ranks each school based on measures of external challenges affecting its student population therefore schools with the greatest level of external challenge receive a higher ranking 35 . A high LOI ranking is inversely correlated with socioeconomic status (SES); therefore, participating students are identified as having a significant number of external challenges that may affect their academic success. The mandatory nature of program participation was established to reach highly capable students who may be reluctant to engage on their own initiative, as a means of enhancing the inclusivity and impact of the program. The selected school partner is located within a reasonable geographical radius of our campus (i.e., ~40 min transit time from school to campus). This is relevant as participating students are required to independently commute to campus for Discovery hands-on experiences.

Each program term of Discovery corresponds with a five-month high school term. Lead university trainee instructors (3–6 each term) engaged with high school teachers 1–2 months in advance of high school student engagement to discern a relevant overarching global healthcare theme. Each theme was selected with consideration of (a) topics that university faculty identify as cutting-edge biomedical research, (b) expertise that Discovery instructors provide, and (c) capacity to showcase the diversity of BME. Each theme was sub-divided into STEM subject-specific research questions aligning with provincial Ministry of Education curriculum concepts for university-preparatory Biology, Chemistry, and Physics 9 that students worked to address, both on-campus and in-class, during a term-long project. The Discovery framework therefore provides students a problem-based learning experience reflective of an engineering capstone design project, including a motivating scientific problem (i.e., global topic), subject-specific research question, and systematic determination of a professional recommendation addressing the needs of the presented problem.

Discovery instructors were volunteers recruited primarily from graduate and undergraduate BME programs in the FASE. Instructors were organized into subject-specific instructional teams based on laboratory skills, teaching experience, and research expertise. The lead instructors of each subject (the identified 1–2 trainees that built curriculum with high school teachers) were responsible to organize the remaining team members as mentors for specific student groups over the course of the program term (~1:8 mentor to student ratio).

All Discovery instructors were familiarized with program expectations and trained in relevant workspace safety, in addition to engagement at a teaching workshop delivered by the Faculty Advisor (a Teaching Stream faculty member) at the onset of term. This workshop was designed to provide practical information on teaching and was co-developed with high school teachers based on their extensive training and experience in fundamental teaching methods. In addition, group mentors received hands-on training and guidance from lead instructors regarding the specific activities outlined for their respective subject programming (an exemplary term of student programming is available in S 2 Appendix) .

Discovery instructors were responsible for introducing relevant STEM skills and mentoring high school students for the duration of their projects, with support and mentorship from the Faculty Mentor. Each instructor worked exclusively throughout the term with the student groups to which they had been assigned, ensuring consistent mentorship across all disciplinary components of the project. In addition to further supporting university trainees in on-campus mentorship, high school teachers were responsible for academic assessment of all student program deliverables (Fig. 1 ; the standardized grade distribution available in S 3 Appendix ). Importantly, trainees never engaged in deliverable assessment; for continuity of overall course assessment, this remained the responsibility of the relevant teacher for each student cohort.

Throughout each term, students engaged within the university facilities four times. The first three sessions included hands-on lab sessions while the fourth visit included a culminating symposium for students to present their scientific findings (Fig. 1 ). On average, there were 4–5 groups of students per subject (3–4 students per group; ~20 students/class). Discovery instructors worked exclusively with 1–2 groups each term in the capacity of mentor to monitor and guide student progress in all project deliverables.

After introducing the selected global research topic in class, teachers led students in completion of background research essays. Students subsequently engaged in a subject-relevant skill-building protocol during their first visit to university teaching laboratory facilities, allowing opportunity to understand analysis techniques and equipment relevant for their assessment projects. At completion of this session, student groups were presented with a subject-specific research question as well as the relevant laboratory inventory available for use during their projects. Armed with this information, student groups continued to work in their classroom setting to develop group-specific experimental plans. Teachers and Discovery instructors provided written and oral feedback, respectively , allowing students an opportunity to revise their plans in class prior to on-campus experimental execution.

Once at the relevant laboratory environment, student groups executed their protocols in an effort to collect experimental data. Data analysis was performed in the classroom and students learned by trial & error to optimize their protocols before returning to the university lab for a second opportunity of data collection. All methods and data were re-analyzed in class in order for students to create a scientific poster for the purpose of study/experience dissemination. During a final visit to campus, all groups presented their findings at a research symposium, allowing students to verbally defend their process, analyses, interpretations, and design recommendations to a diverse audience including peers, STEM teachers, undergraduate and graduate university students, postdoctoral fellows and U of T faculty.

Data collection

Teachers evaluated their students on the following associated deliverables: (i) global theme background research essay; (ii) experimental plan; (iii) progress report; (iv) final poster content and presentation; and (v) attendance. For research purposes, these grades were examined individually and also as a collective Discovery program grade for each student. For students consenting to participation in the research study, all Discovery grades were anonymized by the classroom teacher before being shared with study authors. Each student was assigned a code by the teacher for direct comparison of deliverable outcomes and survey responses. All instances of “Final course grade” represent the prorated course grade without the Discovery component, to prevent confounding of quantitative analyses.

Survey instruments were used to gain insight into student attitudes and perceptions of STEM and post-secondary study, as well as Discovery program experience and impact (S 4 Appendix ). High school teachers administered surveys in the classroom only to students supported by parental permission. Pre-program surveys were completed at minimum 1 week prior to program initiation each term and exit surveys were completed at maximum 2 weeks post- Discovery term completion. Surveys results were validated using a principal component analysis (S 1 Appendix , Supplementary Fig. 2 ).

Identification and comparison of population subsets

From initial analysis, we identified two student subpopulations of particular interest: students who performed ≥1 SD [18.0%] or greater in the collective Discovery components of the course compared to their final course grade (“EE”), and students who participated in Discovery more than once (“MT”). These groups were compared individually against the rest of the respective Discovery population (“non-EE” and “non-MT”, respectively ). Additionally, MT students who participated in three or four (the maximum observed) terms of Discovery were assessed for longitudinal changes to performance in their course and Discovery grades. Comparisons were made for all Discovery deliverables (introductory essay, client meeting, proposal, progress report, poster, and presentation), final Discovery grade, final course grade, Discovery attendance, and overall attendance.

Statistical analysis

Student course grades were analyzed in all instances without the Discovery contribution (calculated from all deliverable component grades and ranging from 10 to 15% of final course grade depending on class and year) to prevent correlation. Aggregate course grades and Discovery grades were first compared by paired t-test, matching each student’s course grade to their Discovery grade for the term. Student performance in Discovery ( N  = 268 instances of student participation, comprising 170 individual students that participated 1–4 times) was initially assessed in a linear regression of Discovery grade vs. final course grade. Trends in course and Discovery performance over time for students participating 3 or 4 terms ( N  = 16 and 3 individuals, respectively ) were also assessed by linear regression. For subpopulation analysis (EE and MT, N  = 99 instances from 81 individuals and 174 instances from 76 individuals, respectively ), each dataset was tested for normality using the D’Agostino and Pearson omnibus normality test. All subgroup comparisons vs. the remaining population were performed by Mann–Whitney U -test. Data are plotted as individual points with mean ± SEM overlaid (grades), or in histogram bins of 1 and 4 days, respectively , for Discovery and class attendance. Significance was set at α ≤ 0.05.

Reporting summary

Further information on research design is available in the Nature Research Reporting Summary linked to this article.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available upon reasonable request from the corresponding author DMK. These data are not publicly available due to privacy concerns of personal data according to the ethical research agreements supporting this study.

Holmes, K., Gore, J., Smith, M. & Lloyd, A. An integrated analysis of school students’ aspirations for STEM careers: Which student and school factors are most predictive? Int. J. Sci. Math. Educ. 16 , 655–675 (2018).

Article   Google Scholar  

Dooley, M., Payne, A., Steffler, M. & Wagner, J. Understanding the STEM path through high school and into university programs. Can. Public Policy 43 , 1–16 (2017).

Gilmore, M. W. Improvement of STEM education: experiential learning is the key. Mod. Chem. Appl. 1, e109. https://doi.org/10.4172/2329-6798.1000e109 (2013).

Roberts, T. et al. Students’ perceptions of STEM learning after participating in a summer informal learning experience. Int. J. STEM Educ. 5 , 35 (2018).

Gillies, R. M. & Boyle, M. Teachers’ reflections on cooperative learning: Issues of implementation. Teach. Teach. Educ. 26 , 933–940 (2010).

Nasir, M., Seta, J. & Meyer, E.G. Introducing high school students to biomedical engineering through summer camps. Paper presented at the ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Indianapolis, IN. https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2-20701 (2014).

Sadler, P. M., Sonnert, G., Hazari, Z. & Tai, R. Stability and volatility of STEM career interest in high school: a gender study. Sci. Educ. 96 , 411–427 (2012).

Sarikas, C. The High School Science Classes You Should Take . https://blog.prepscholar.com/the-high-school-science-classes-you-should-take (2020).

Ontario, G. o. The ontario curriculum grades 11 and 12. Science http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/secondary/2009science11_12.pdf (2008).

Scott, C. An investigation of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) focused high schools in the US. J. STEM Educ.: Innov. Res. 13 , 30 (2012).

Google Scholar  

Erdogan, N. & Stuessy, C. L. Modeling successful STEM high schools in the United States: an ecology framework. Int. J. Educ. Math., Sci. Technol. 3 , 77–92 (2015).

Pfeiffer, S. I., Overstreet, J. M. & Park, A. The state of science and mathematics education in state-supported residential academies: a nationwide survey. Roeper Rev. 32 , 25–31 (2009).

Anthony, A. B., Greene, H., Post, P. E., Parkhurst, A. & Zhan, X. Preparing university students to lead K-12 engineering outreach programmes: a design experiment. Eur. J. Eng. Educ. 41 , 623–637 (2016).

Brown, J. S., Collins, A. & Duguid, P. Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educ. researcher 18 , 32–42 (1989).

Reveles, J. M. & Brown, B. A. Contextual shifting: teachers emphasizing students’ academic identity to promote scientific literacy. Sci. Educ. 92 , 1015–1041 (2008).

Adedokun, O. A., Bessenbacher, A. B., Parker, L. C., Kirkham, L. L. & Burgess, W. D. Research skills and STEM undergraduate research students’ aspirations for research careers: mediating effects of research self-efficacy. J. Res. Sci. Teach. 50 , 940–951 (2013).

Boekaerts, M. Self-regulated learning: a new concept embraced by researchers, policy makers, educators, teachers, and students. Learn. Instr. 7 , 161–186 (1997).

Honey, M., Pearson, G. & Schweingruber, H. STEM Integration in K-12 Education: Status, Prospects, and An Agenda for Research . (National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2014).

Moote, J. K., Williams, J. M. & Sproule, J. When students take control: investigating the impact of the crest inquiry-based learning program on self-regulated processes and related motivations in young science students. J. Cogn. Educ. Psychol. 12 , 178–196 (2013).

Fantz, T. D., Siller, T. J. & Demiranda, M. A. Pre-collegiate factors influencing the self-efficacy of engineering students. J. Eng. Educ. 100 , 604–623 (2011).

Ralston, P. A., Hieb, J. L. & Rivoli, G. Partnerships and experience in building STEM pipelines. J. Professional Issues Eng. Educ. Pract. 139 , 156–162 (2012).

Kelley, T. R. & Knowles, J. G. A conceptual framework for integrated STEM education. Int. J. STEM Educ. 3 , 11 (2016).

Brown, P. L., Concannon, J. P., Marx, D., Donaldson, C. W. & Black, A. An examination of middle school students’ STEM self-efficacy with relation to interest and perceptions of STEM. J. STEM Educ.: Innov. Res. 17 , 27–38 (2016).

Bandura, A., Barbaranelli, C., Caprara, G. V. & Pastorelli, C. Self-efficacy beliefs as shapers of children’s aspirations and career trajectories. Child Dev. 72 , 187–206 (2001).

Article   CAS   Google Scholar  

Davenport Huyer, L. et al. IBBME discovery: biomedical engineering-based iterative learning in a high school STEM curriculum (evaluation). Paper presented at ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Salt Lake City, UT. https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2-30591 (2018).

Abu-Faraj, Ziad O., ed. Handbook of research on biomedical engineering education and advanced bioengineering learning: interdisciplinary concepts: interdisciplinary concepts. Vol. 2. IGI Global (2012).

Johri, A. & Olds, B. M. Situated engineering learning: bridging engineering education research and the learning sciences. J. Eng. Educ. 100 , 151–185 (2011).

O’Connell, K. B., Keys, B. & Storksdieck, M. Taking stock of oregon STEM hubs: accomplishments and challenges. Corvallis: Oregon State University https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/articles/hq37vt23t (2017).

Freeman, K. E., Alston, S. T. & Winborne, D. G. Do learning communities enhance the quality of students’ learning and motivation in STEM? J. Negro Educ. 77 , 227–240 (2008).

Weaver, R. R. & Qi, J. Classroom organization and participation: college students’ perceptions. J. High. Educ. 76 , 570–601 (2005).

Chapman, K. J., Meuter, M., Toy, D. & Wright, L. Can’t we pick our own groups? The influence of group selection method on group dynamics and outcomes. J. Manag. Educ. 30 , 557–569 (2006).

Hassaskhah, J. & Mozaffari, H. The impact of group formation method (student-selected vs. teacher-assigned) on group dynamics and group outcome in EFL creative writing. J. Lang. Teach. Res. 6 , 147–156 (2015).

Ma, V. J. & Ma, X. A comparative analysis of the relationship between learning styles and mathematics performance. Int. J. STEM Educ. 1 , 3 (2014).

Weinstein, C. E. & Hume, L. M. Study Strategies for Lifelong Learning . (American Psychological Association, 1998).

Toronto District School Board. The 2017 Learning Opportunities Index: Questions and Answers. https://www.tdsb.on.ca/Portals/research/docs/reports/LOI2017v2.pdf (2017).

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study has been possible due to the support of many University of Toronto trainee volunteers, including Genevieve Conant, Sherif Ramadan, Daniel Smieja, Rami Saab, Andrew Effat, Serena Mandla, Cindy Bui, Janice Wong, Dawn Bannerman, Allison Clement, Shouka Parvin Nejad, Nicolas Ivanov, Jose Cardenas, Huntley Chang, Romario Regeenes, Dr. Henrik Persson, Ali Mojdeh, Nhien Tran-Nguyen, Ileana Co, and Jonathan Rubianto. We further acknowledge the staff and administration of George Harvey Collegiate Institute and the Institute of Biomedical Engineering (IBME), as well as Benjamin Rocheleau and Madeleine Rocheleau for contributions to data collation. Discovery has grown with continued support of Dean Christopher Yip (Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering, U of T), and the financial support of the IBME and the National Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) PromoScience program (PROSC 515876-2017; IBME “Igniting Youth Curiosity in STEM” initiative co-directed by DMK and Dr. Penney Gilbert). LDH and NIC were supported by Vanier Canada graduate scholarships from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and NSERC, respectively . DMK holds a Dean’s Emerging Innovation in Teaching Professorship in the Faculty of Engineering & Applied Science, U of T.

Author information

These authors contributed equally: Locke Davenport Huyer, Neal I. Callaghan.

Authors and Affiliations

Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

Locke Davenport Huyer, Neal I. Callaghan, Andrey I. Shukalyuk & Dawn M. Kilkenny

Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

Locke Davenport Huyer

Translational Biology and Engineering Program, Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

Neal I. Callaghan

George Harvey Collegiate Institute, Toronto District School Board, Toronto, ON, Canada

Sara Dicks, Edward Scherer & Margaret Jou

Institute for Studies in Transdisciplinary Engineering Education & Practice, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

Dawn M. Kilkenny

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

LDH, NIC and DMK conceived the program structure, designed the study, and interpreted the data. LDH and NIC ideated programming, coordinated execution, and performed all data analysis. SD, ES, and MJ designed and assessed student deliverables, collected data, and anonymized data for assessment. SD assisted in data interpretation. AIS assisted in programming ideation and design. All authors provided feedback and approved the manuscript that was written by LDH, NIC and DMK.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dawn M. Kilkenny .

Ethics declarations

Competing interests.

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary information

Supplemental material, reporting summary, rights and permissions.

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Davenport Huyer, L., Callaghan, N.I., Dicks, S. et al. Enhancing senior high school student engagement and academic performance using an inclusive and scalable inquiry-based program. npj Sci. Learn. 5 , 17 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-020-00076-2

Download citation

Received : 05 December 2019

Accepted : 08 October 2020

Published : 02 December 2020

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-020-00076-2

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Quick links

  • Explore articles by subject
  • Guide to authors
  • Editorial policies

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

article analysis high school

U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

  • Publications
  • Account settings
  • Advanced Search
  • Journal List

A Guide to Writing a Scientific Paper: A Focus on High School Through Graduate Level Student Research

Renee a. hesselbach.

1 NIEHS Children's Environmental Health Sciences Core Center, University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

David H. Petering

2 Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Craig A. Berg

3 Curriculum and Instruction, University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Henry Tomasiewicz

Daniel weber.

This article presents a detailed guide for high school through graduate level instructors that leads students to write effective and well-organized scientific papers. Interesting research emerges from the ability to ask questions, define problems, design experiments, analyze and interpret data, and make critical connections. This process is incomplete, unless new results are communicated to others because science fundamentally requires peer review and criticism to validate or discard proposed new knowledge. Thus, a concise and clearly written research paper is a critical step in the scientific process and is important for young researchers as they are mastering how to express scientific concepts and understanding. Moreover, learning to write a research paper provides a tool to improve science literacy as indicated in the National Research Council's National Science Education Standards (1996), and A Framework for K–12 Science Education (2011), the underlying foundation for the Next Generation Science Standards currently being developed. Background information explains the importance of peer review and communicating results, along with details of each critical component, the Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results , and Discussion . Specific steps essential to helping students write clear and coherent research papers that follow a logical format, use effective communication, and develop scientific inquiry are described.

Introduction

A key part of the scientific process is communication of original results to others so that one's discoveries are passed along to the scientific community and the public for awareness and scrutiny. 1 – 3 Communication to other scientists ensures that new findings become part of a growing body of publicly available knowledge that informs how we understand the world around us. 2 It is also what fuels further research as other scientists incorporate novel findings into their thinking and experiments.

Depending upon the researcher's position, intent, and needs, communication can take different forms. The gold standard is writing scientific papers that describe original research in such a way that other scientists will be able to repeat it or to use it as a basis for their studies. 1 For some, it is expected that such articles will be published in scientific journals after they have been peer reviewed and accepted for publication. Scientists must submit their articles for examination by other scientists familiar with the area of research, who decide whether the work was conducted properly and whether the results add to the knowledge base and are conveyed well enough to merit publication. 2 If a manuscript passes the scrutiny of peer-review, it has the potential to be published. 1 For others, such as for high school or undergraduate students, publishing a research paper may not be the ultimate goal. However, regardless of whether an article is to be submitted for publication, peer review is an important step in this process. For student researchers, writing a well-organized research paper is a key step in learning how to express understanding, make critical connections, summarize data, and effectively communicate results, which are important goals for improving science literacy of the National Research Council's National Science Education Standards, 4 and A Framework for K–12 Science Education, 5 and the Next Generation Science Standards 6 currently being developed and described in The NSTA Reader's Guide to A Framework for K–12 Science Education. 7 Table 1 depicts the key skills students should develop as part of the Science as Inquiry Content Standard. Table 2 illustrates the central goals of A Framework for K–12 Science Education Scientific and Engineering Practices Dimension.

Key Skills of the Science as Inquiry National Science Education Content Standard

National Research Council (1996).

Important Practices of A Framework for K–12 Science Education Scientific and Engineering Practices Dimension

National Research Council (2011).

Scientific papers based on experimentation typically include five predominant sections: Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion . This structure is a widely accepted approach to writing a research paper, and has specific sections that parallel the scientific method. Following this structure allows the scientist to tell a clear, coherent story in a logical format, essential to effective communication. 1 , 2 In addition, using a standardized format allows the reader to find specific information quickly and easily. While readers may not have time to read the entire research paper, the predictable format allows them to focus on specific sections such as the Abstract , Introduction , and Discussion sections. Therefore, it is critical that information be placed in the appropriate and logical section of the report. 3

Guidelines for Writing a Primary Research Article

The Title sends an important message to the reader about the purpose of the paper. For example, Ethanol Effects on the Developing Zebrafish: Neurobehavior and Skeletal Morphogenesis 8 tells the reader key information about the content of the research paper. Also, an appropriate and descriptive title captures the attention of the reader. When composing the Title , students should include either the aim or conclusion of the research, the subject, and possibly the independent or dependent variables. Often, the title is created after the body of the article has been written, so that it accurately reflects the purpose and content of the article. 1 , 3

The Abstract provides a short, concise summary of the research described in the body of the article and should be able to stand alone. It provides readers with a quick overview that helps them decide whether the article may be interesting to read. Included in the Abstract are the purpose or primary objectives of the experiment and why they are important, a brief description of the methods and approach used, key findings and the significance of the results, and how this work is different from the work of others. It is important to note that the Abstract briefly explains the implications of the findings, but does not evaluate the conclusions. 1 , 3 Just as with the Title , this section needs to be written carefully and succinctly. Often this section is written last to ensure it accurately reflects the content of the paper. Generally, the optimal length of the Abstract is one paragraph between 200 and 300 words, and does not contain references or abbreviations.

All new research can be categorized by field (e.g., biology, chemistry, physics, geology) and by area within the field (e.g., biology: evolution, ecology, cell biology, anatomy, environmental health). Many areas already contain a large volume of published research. The role of the Introduction is to place the new research within the context of previous studies in the particular field and area, thereby introducing the audience to the research and motivating the audience to continue reading. 1

Usually, the writer begins by describing what is known in the area that directly relates to the subject of the article's research. Clearly, this must be done judiciously; usually there is not room to describe every bit of information that is known. Each statement needs one or more references from the scientific literature that supports its validity. Students must be reminded to cite all references to eliminate the risk of plagiarism. 2 Out of this context, the author then explains what is not known and, therefore, what the article's research seeks to find out. In doing so, the scientist provides the rationale for the research and further develops why this research is important. The final statement in the Introduction should be a clearly worded hypothesis or thesis statement, as well as a brief summary of the findings as they relate to the stated hypothesis. Keep in mind that the details of the experimental findings are presented in the Results section and are aimed at filling the void in our knowledge base that has been pointed out in the Introduction .

Materials and Methods

Research utilizes various accepted methods to obtain the results that are to be shared with others in the scientific community. The quality of the results, therefore, depends completely upon the quality of the methods that are employed and the care with which they are applied. The reader will refer to the Methods section: (a) to become confident that the experiments have been properly done, (b) as the guide for repeating the experiments, and (c) to learn how to do new methods.

It is particularly important to keep in mind item (b). Since science deals with the objective properties of the physical and biological world, it is a basic axiom that these properties are independent of the scientist who reported them. Everyone should be able to measure or observe the same properties within error, if they do the same experiment using the same materials and procedures. In science, one does the same experiment by exactly repeating the experiment that has been described in the Methods section. Therefore, someone can only repeat an experiment accurately if all the relevant details of the experimental methods are clearly described. 1 , 3

The following information is important to include under illustrative headings, and is generally presented in narrative form. A detailed list of all the materials used in the experiments and, if important, their source should be described. These include biological agents (e.g., zebrafish, brine shrimp), chemicals and their concentrations (e.g., 0.20 mg/mL nicotine), and physical equipment (e.g., four 10-gallon aquariums, one light timer, one 10-well falcon dish). The reader needs to know as much as necessary about each of the materials; however, it is important not to include extraneous information. For example, consider an experiment involving zebrafish. The type and characteristics of the zebrafish used must be clearly described so another scientist could accurately replicate the experiment, such as 4–6-month-old male and female zebrafish, the type of zebrafish used (e.g., Golden), and where they were obtained (e.g., the NIEHS Children's Environmental Health Sciences Core Center in the WATER Institute of the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee). In addition to describing the physical set-up of the experiment, it may be helpful to include photographs or diagrams in the report to further illustrate the experimental design.

A thorough description of each procedure done in the reported experiment, and justification as to why a particular method was chosen to most effectively answer the research question should also be included. For example, if the scientist was using zebrafish to study developmental effects of nicotine, the reader needs to know details about how and when the zebrafish were exposed to the nicotine (e.g., maternal exposure, embryo injection of nicotine, exposure of developing embryo to nicotine in the water for a particular length of time during development), duration of the exposure (e.g., a certain concentration for 10 minutes at the two-cell stage, then the embryos were washed), how many were exposed, and why that method was chosen. The reader would also need to know the concentrations to which the zebrafish were exposed, how the scientist observed the effects of the chemical exposure (e.g., microscopic changes in structure, changes in swimming behavior), relevant safety and toxicity concerns, how outcomes were measured, and how the scientist determined whether the data/results were significantly different in experimental and unexposed control animals (statistical methods).

Students must take great care and effort to write a good Methods section because it is an essential component of the effective communication of scientific findings.

The Results section describes in detail the actual experiments that were undertaken in a clear and well-organized narrative. The information found in the Methods section serves as background for understanding these descriptions and does not need to be repeated. For each different experiment, the author may wish to provide a subtitle and, in addition, one or more introductory sentences that explains the reason for doing the experiment. In a sense, this information is an extension of the Introduction in that it makes the argument to the reader why it is important to do the experiment. The Introduction is more general; this text is more specific.

Once the reader understands the focus of the experiment, the writer should restate the hypothesis to be tested or the information sought in the experiment. For example, “Atrazine is routinely used as a crop pesticide. It is important to understand whether it affects organisms that are normally found in soil. We decided to use worms as a test organism because they are important members of the soil community. Because atrazine damages nerve cells, we hypothesized that exposure to atrazine will inhibit the ability of worms to do locomotor activities. In the first experiment, we tested the effect of the chemical on burrowing action.”

Then, the experiments to be done are described and the results entered. In reporting on experimental design, it is important to identify the dependent and independent variables clearly, as well as the controls. The results must be shown in a way that can be reproduced by the reader, but do not include more details than needed for an effective analysis. Generally, meaningful and significant data are gathered together into tables and figures that summarize relevant information, and appropriate statistical analyses are completed based on the data gathered. Besides presenting each of these data sources, the author also provides a written narrative of the contents of the figures and tables, as well as an analysis of the statistical significance. In the narrative, the writer also connects the results to the aims of the experiment as described above. Did the results support the initial hypothesis? Do they provide the information that was sought? Were there problems in the experiment that compromised the results? Be careful not to include an interpretation of the results; that is reserved for the Discussion section.

The writer then moves on to the next experiment. Again, the first paragraph is developed as above, except this experiment is seen in the context of the first experiment. In other words, a story is being developed. So, one commonly refers to the results of the first experiment as part of the basis for undertaking the second experiment. “In the first experiment we observed that atrazine altered burrowing activity. In order to understand how that might occur, we decided to study its impact on the basic biology of locomotion. Our hypothesis was that atrazine affected neuromuscular junctions. So, we did the following experiment..”

The Results section includes a focused critical analysis of each experiment undertaken. A hallmark of the scientist is a deep skepticism about results and conclusions. “Convince me! And then convince me again with even better experiments.” That is the constant challenge. Without this basic attitude of doubt and willingness to criticize one's own work, scientists do not get to the level of concern about experimental methods and results that is needed to ensure that the best experiments are being done and the most reproducible results are being acquired. Thus, it is important for students to state any limitations or weaknesses in their research approach and explain assumptions made upfront in this section so the validity of the research can be assessed.

The Discussion section is the where the author takes an overall view of the work presented in the article. First, the main results from the various experiments are gathered in one place to highlight the significant results so the reader can see how they fit together and successfully test the original hypotheses of the experiment. Logical connections and trends in the data are presented, as are discussions of error and other possible explanations for the findings, including an analysis of whether the experimental design was adequate. Remember, results should not be restated in the Discussion section, except insofar as it is absolutely necessary to make a point.

Second, the task is to help the reader link the present work with the larger body of knowledge that was portrayed in the Introduction . How do the results advance the field, and what are the implications? What does the research results mean? What is the relevance? 1 , 3

Lastly, the author may suggest further work that needs to be done based on the new knowledge gained from the research.

Supporting Documentation and Writing Skills

Tables and figures are included to support the content of the research paper. These provide the reader with a graphic display of information presented. Tables and figures must have illustrative and descriptive titles, legends, interval markers, and axis labels, as appropriate; should be numbered in the order that they appear in the report; and include explanations of any unusual abbreviations.

The final section of the scientific article is the Reference section. When citing sources, it is important to follow an accepted standardized format, such as CSE (Council of Science Editors), APA (American Psychological Association), MLA (Modern Language Association), or CMS (Chicago Manual of Style). References should be listed in alphabetical order and original authors cited. All sources cited in the text must be included in the Reference section. 1

When writing a scientific paper, the importance of writing concisely and accurately to clearly communicate the message should be emphasized to students. 1 – 3 Students should avoid slang and repetition, as well as abbreviations that may not be well known. 1 If an abbreviation must be used, identify the word with the abbreviation in parentheses the first time the term is used. Using appropriate and correct grammar and spelling throughout are essential elements of a well-written report. 1 , 3 Finally, when the article has been organized and formatted properly, students are encouraged to peer review to obtain constructive criticism and then to revise the manuscript appropriately. Good scientific writing, like any kind of writing, is a process that requires careful editing and revision. 1

A key dimension of NRC's A Framework for K–12 Science Education , Scientific and Engineering Practices, and the developing Next Generation Science Standards emphasizes the importance of students being able to ask questions, define problems, design experiments, analyze and interpret data, draw conclusions, and communicate results. 5 , 6 In the Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) program at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee, we found the guidelines presented in this article useful for high school science students because this group of students (and probably most undergraduates) often lack in understanding of, and skills to develop and write, the various components of an effective scientific paper. Students routinely need to focus more on the data collected and analyze what the results indicated in relation to the research question/hypothesis, as well as develop a detailed discussion of what they learned. Consequently, teaching students how to effectively organize and write a research report is a critical component when engaging students in scientific inquiry.

Acknowledgments

This article was supported by a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) grant (Award Number R25RR026299) from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health. The SEPA program at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee is part of the Children's Environmental Health Sciences Core Center, Community Outreach and Education Core, funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (Award Number P30ES004184). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health or the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

Disclosure Statement

No competing financial interests exist.

Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Assignments

  • Annotated Bibliography
  • Analyzing a Scholarly Journal Article
  • Group Presentations
  • Dealing with Nervousness
  • Using Visual Aids
  • Grading Someone Else's Paper
  • Types of Structured Group Activities
  • Group Project Survival Skills
  • Leading a Class Discussion
  • Multiple Book Review Essay
  • Reviewing Collected Works
  • Writing a Case Analysis Paper
  • Writing a Case Study
  • About Informed Consent
  • Writing Field Notes
  • Writing a Policy Memo
  • Writing a Reflective Paper
  • Writing a Research Proposal
  • Generative AI and Writing
  • Acknowledgments

Definition and Introduction

Journal article analysis assignments require you to summarize and critically assess the quality of an empirical research study published in a scholarly [a.k.a., academic, peer-reviewed] journal. The article may be assigned by the professor, chosen from course readings listed in the syllabus, or you must locate an article on your own, usually with the requirement that you search using a reputable library database, such as, JSTOR or ProQuest . The article chosen is expected to relate to the overall discipline of the course, specific course content, or key concepts discussed in class. In some cases, the purpose of the assignment is to analyze an article that is part of the literature review for a future research project.

Analysis of an article can be assigned to students individually or as part of a small group project. The final product is usually in the form of a short paper [typically 1- 6 double-spaced pages] that addresses key questions the professor uses to guide your analysis or that assesses specific parts of a scholarly research study [e.g., the research problem, methodology, discussion, conclusions or findings]. The analysis paper may be shared on a digital course management platform and/or presented to the class for the purpose of promoting a wider discussion about the topic of the study. Although assigned in any level of undergraduate and graduate coursework in the social and behavioral sciences, professors frequently include this assignment in upper division courses to help students learn how to effectively identify, read, and analyze empirical research within their major.

Franco, Josue. “Introducing the Analysis of Journal Articles.” Prepared for presentation at the American Political Science Association’s 2020 Teaching and Learning Conference, February 7-9, 2020, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Sego, Sandra A. and Anne E. Stuart. "Learning to Read Empirical Articles in General Psychology." Teaching of Psychology 43 (2016): 38-42; Kershaw, Trina C., Jordan P. Lippman, and Jennifer Fugate. "Practice Makes Proficient: Teaching Undergraduate Students to Understand Published Research." Instructional Science 46 (2018): 921-946; Woodward-Kron, Robyn. "Critical Analysis and the Journal Article Review Assignment." Prospect 18 (August 2003): 20-36; MacMillan, Margy and Allison MacKenzie. "Strategies for Integrating Information Literacy and Academic Literacy: Helping Undergraduate Students make the most of Scholarly Articles." Library Management 33 (2012): 525-535.

Benefits of Journal Article Analysis Assignments

Analyzing and synthesizing a scholarly journal article is intended to help students obtain the reading and critical thinking skills needed to develop and write their own research papers. This assignment also supports workplace skills where you could be asked to summarize a report or other type of document and report it, for example, during a staff meeting or for a presentation.

There are two broadly defined ways that analyzing a scholarly journal article supports student learning:

Improve Reading Skills

Conducting research requires an ability to review, evaluate, and synthesize prior research studies. Reading prior research requires an understanding of the academic writing style , the type of epistemological beliefs or practices underpinning the research design, and the specific vocabulary and technical terminology [i.e., jargon] used within a discipline. Reading scholarly articles is important because academic writing is unfamiliar to most students; they have had limited exposure to using peer-reviewed journal articles prior to entering college or students have yet to gain exposure to the specific academic writing style of their disciplinary major. Learning how to read scholarly articles also requires careful and deliberate concentration on how authors use specific language and phrasing to convey their research, the problem it addresses, its relationship to prior research, its significance, its limitations, and how authors connect methods of data gathering to the results so as to develop recommended solutions derived from the overall research process.

Improve Comprehension Skills

In addition to knowing how to read scholarly journals articles, students must learn how to effectively interpret what the scholar(s) are trying to convey. Academic writing can be dense, multi-layered, and non-linear in how information is presented. In addition, scholarly articles contain footnotes or endnotes, references to sources, multiple appendices, and, in some cases, non-textual elements [e.g., graphs, charts] that can break-up the reader’s experience with the narrative flow of the study. Analyzing articles helps students practice comprehending these elements of writing, critiquing the arguments being made, reflecting upon the significance of the research, and how it relates to building new knowledge and understanding or applying new approaches to practice. Comprehending scholarly writing also involves thinking critically about where you fit within the overall dialogue among scholars concerning the research problem, finding possible gaps in the research that require further analysis, or identifying where the author(s) has failed to examine fully any specific elements of the study.

In addition, journal article analysis assignments are used by professors to strengthen discipline-specific information literacy skills, either alone or in relation to other tasks, such as, giving a class presentation or participating in a group project. These benefits can include the ability to:

  • Effectively paraphrase text, which leads to a more thorough understanding of the overall study;
  • Identify and describe strengths and weaknesses of the study and their implications;
  • Relate the article to other course readings and in relation to particular research concepts or ideas discussed during class;
  • Think critically about the research and summarize complex ideas contained within;
  • Plan, organize, and write an effective inquiry-based paper that investigates a research study, evaluates evidence, expounds on the author’s main ideas, and presents an argument concerning the significance and impact of the research in a clear and concise manner;
  • Model the type of source summary and critique you should do for any college-level research paper; and,
  • Increase interest and engagement with the research problem of the study as well as with the discipline.

Kershaw, Trina C., Jennifer Fugate, and Aminda J. O'Hare. "Teaching Undergraduates to Understand Published Research through Structured Practice in Identifying Key Research Concepts." Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology . Advance online publication, 2020; Franco, Josue. “Introducing the Analysis of Journal Articles.” Prepared for presentation at the American Political Science Association’s 2020 Teaching and Learning Conference, February 7-9, 2020, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Sego, Sandra A. and Anne E. Stuart. "Learning to Read Empirical Articles in General Psychology." Teaching of Psychology 43 (2016): 38-42; Woodward-Kron, Robyn. "Critical Analysis and the Journal Article Review Assignment." Prospect 18 (August 2003): 20-36; MacMillan, Margy and Allison MacKenzie. "Strategies for Integrating Information Literacy and Academic Literacy: Helping Undergraduate Students make the most of Scholarly Articles." Library Management 33 (2012): 525-535; Kershaw, Trina C., Jordan P. Lippman, and Jennifer Fugate. "Practice Makes Proficient: Teaching Undergraduate Students to Understand Published Research." Instructional Science 46 (2018): 921-946.

Structure and Organization

A journal article analysis paper should be written in paragraph format and include an instruction to the study, your analysis of the research, and a conclusion that provides an overall assessment of the author's work, along with an explanation of what you believe is the study's overall impact and significance. Unless the purpose of the assignment is to examine foundational studies published many years ago, you should select articles that have been published relatively recently [e.g., within the past few years].

Since the research has been completed, reference to the study in your paper should be written in the past tense, with your analysis stated in the present tense [e.g., “The author portrayed access to health care services in rural areas as primarily a problem of having reliable transportation. However, I believe the author is overgeneralizing this issue because...”].

Introduction Section

The first section of a journal analysis paper should describe the topic of the article and highlight the author’s main points. This includes describing the research problem and theoretical framework, the rationale for the research, the methods of data gathering and analysis, the key findings, and the author’s final conclusions and recommendations. The narrative should focus on the act of describing rather than analyzing. Think of the introduction as a more comprehensive and detailed descriptive abstract of the study.

Possible questions to help guide your writing of the introduction section may include:

  • Who are the authors and what credentials do they hold that contributes to the validity of the study?
  • What was the research problem being investigated?
  • What type of research design was used to investigate the research problem?
  • What theoretical idea(s) and/or research questions were used to address the problem?
  • What was the source of the data or information used as evidence for analysis?
  • What methods were applied to investigate this evidence?
  • What were the author's overall conclusions and key findings?

Critical Analysis Section

The second section of a journal analysis paper should describe the strengths and weaknesses of the study and analyze its significance and impact. This section is where you shift the narrative from describing to analyzing. Think critically about the research in relation to other course readings, what has been discussed in class, or based on your own life experiences. If you are struggling to identify any weaknesses, explain why you believe this to be true. However, no study is perfect, regardless of how laudable its design may be. Given this, think about the repercussions of the choices made by the author(s) and how you might have conducted the study differently. Examples can include contemplating the choice of what sources were included or excluded in support of examining the research problem, the choice of the method used to analyze the data, or the choice to highlight specific recommended courses of action and/or implications for practice over others. Another strategy is to place yourself within the research study itself by thinking reflectively about what may be missing if you had been a participant in the study or if the recommended courses of action specifically targeted you or your community.

Possible questions to help guide your writing of the analysis section may include:

Introduction

  • Did the author clearly state the problem being investigated?
  • What was your reaction to and perspective on the research problem?
  • Was the study’s objective clearly stated? Did the author clearly explain why the study was necessary?
  • How well did the introduction frame the scope of the study?
  • Did the introduction conclude with a clear purpose statement?

Literature Review

  • Did the literature review lay a foundation for understanding the significance of the research problem?
  • Did the literature review provide enough background information to understand the problem in relation to relevant contexts [e.g., historical, economic, social, cultural, etc.].
  • Did literature review effectively place the study within the domain of prior research? Is anything missing?
  • Was the literature review organized by conceptual categories or did the author simply list and describe sources?
  • Did the author accurately explain how the data or information were collected?
  • Was the data used sufficient in supporting the study of the research problem?
  • Was there another methodological approach that could have been more illuminating?
  • Give your overall evaluation of the methods used in this article. How much trust would you put in generating relevant findings?

Results and Discussion

  • Were the results clearly presented?
  • Did you feel that the results support the theoretical and interpretive claims of the author? Why?
  • What did the author(s) do especially well in describing or analyzing their results?
  • Was the author's evaluation of the findings clearly stated?
  • How well did the discussion of the results relate to what is already known about the research problem?
  • Was the discussion of the results free of repetition and redundancies?
  • What interpretations did the authors make that you think are in incomplete, unwarranted, or overstated?
  • Did the conclusion effectively capture the main points of study?
  • Did the conclusion address the research questions posed? Do they seem reasonable?
  • Were the author’s conclusions consistent with the evidence and arguments presented?
  • Has the author explained how the research added new knowledge or understanding?

Overall Writing Style

  • If the article included tables, figures, or other non-textual elements, did they contribute to understanding the study?
  • Were ideas developed and related in a logical sequence?
  • Were transitions between sections of the article smooth and easy to follow?

Overall Evaluation Section

The final section of a journal analysis paper should bring your thoughts together into a coherent assessment of the value of the research study . This section is where the narrative flow transitions from analyzing specific elements of the article to critically evaluating the overall study. Explain what you view as the significance of the research in relation to the overall course content and any relevant discussions that occurred during class. Think about how the article contributes to understanding the overall research problem, how it fits within existing literature on the topic, how it relates to the course, and what it means to you as a student researcher. In some cases, your professor will also ask you to describe your experiences writing the journal article analysis paper as part of a reflective learning exercise.

Possible questions to help guide your writing of the conclusion and evaluation section may include:

  • Was the structure of the article clear and well organized?
  • Was the topic of current or enduring interest to you?
  • What were the main weaknesses of the article? [this does not refer to limitations stated by the author, but what you believe are potential flaws]
  • Was any of the information in the article unclear or ambiguous?
  • What did you learn from the research? If nothing stood out to you, explain why.
  • Assess the originality of the research. Did you believe it contributed new understanding of the research problem?
  • Were you persuaded by the author’s arguments?
  • If the author made any final recommendations, will they be impactful if applied to practice?
  • In what ways could future research build off of this study?
  • What implications does the study have for daily life?
  • Was the use of non-textual elements, footnotes or endnotes, and/or appendices helpful in understanding the research?
  • What lingering questions do you have after analyzing the article?

NOTE: Avoid using quotes. One of the main purposes of writing an article analysis paper is to learn how to effectively paraphrase and use your own words to summarize a scholarly research study and to explain what the research means to you. Using and citing a direct quote from the article should only be done to help emphasize a key point or to underscore an important concept or idea.

Business: The Article Analysis . Fred Meijer Center for Writing, Grand Valley State University; Bachiochi, Peter et al. "Using Empirical Article Analysis to Assess Research Methods Courses." Teaching of Psychology 38 (2011): 5-9; Brosowsky, Nicholaus P. et al. “Teaching Undergraduate Students to Read Empirical Articles: An Evaluation and Revision of the QALMRI Method.” PsyArXi Preprints , 2020; Holster, Kristin. “Article Evaluation Assignment”. TRAILS: Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology . Washington DC: American Sociological Association, 2016; Kershaw, Trina C., Jennifer Fugate, and Aminda J. O'Hare. "Teaching Undergraduates to Understand Published Research through Structured Practice in Identifying Key Research Concepts." Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Psychology . Advance online publication, 2020; Franco, Josue. “Introducing the Analysis of Journal Articles.” Prepared for presentation at the American Political Science Association’s 2020 Teaching and Learning Conference, February 7-9, 2020, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Reviewer's Guide . SAGE Reviewer Gateway, SAGE Journals; Sego, Sandra A. and Anne E. Stuart. "Learning to Read Empirical Articles in General Psychology." Teaching of Psychology 43 (2016): 38-42; Kershaw, Trina C., Jordan P. Lippman, and Jennifer Fugate. "Practice Makes Proficient: Teaching Undergraduate Students to Understand Published Research." Instructional Science 46 (2018): 921-946; Gyuris, Emma, and Laura Castell. "To Tell Them or Show Them? How to Improve Science Students’ Skills of Critical Reading." International Journal of Innovation in Science and Mathematics Education 21 (2013): 70-80; Woodward-Kron, Robyn. "Critical Analysis and the Journal Article Review Assignment." Prospect 18 (August 2003): 20-36; MacMillan, Margy and Allison MacKenzie. "Strategies for Integrating Information Literacy and Academic Literacy: Helping Undergraduate Students Make the Most of Scholarly Articles." Library Management 33 (2012): 525-535.

Writing Tip

Not All Scholarly Journal Articles Can Be Critically Analyzed

There are a variety of articles published in scholarly journals that do not fit within the guidelines of an article analysis assignment. This is because the work cannot be empirically examined or it does not generate new knowledge in a way which can be critically analyzed.

If you are required to locate a research study on your own, avoid selecting these types of journal articles:

  • Theoretical essays which discuss concepts, assumptions, and propositions, but report no empirical research;
  • Statistical or methodological papers that may analyze data, but the bulk of the work is devoted to refining a new measurement, statistical technique, or modeling procedure;
  • Articles that review, analyze, critique, and synthesize prior research, but do not report any original research;
  • Brief essays devoted to research methods and findings;
  • Articles written by scholars in popular magazines or industry trade journals;
  • Pre-print articles that have been posted online, but may undergo further editing and revision by the journal's editorial staff before final publication; and
  • Academic commentary that discusses research trends or emerging concepts and ideas, but does not contain citations to sources.

Journal Analysis Assignment - Myers . Writing@CSU, Colorado State University; Franco, Josue. “Introducing the Analysis of Journal Articles.” Prepared for presentation at the American Political Science Association’s 2020 Teaching and Learning Conference, February 7-9, 2020, Albuquerque, New Mexico; Woodward-Kron, Robyn. "Critical Analysis and the Journal Article Review Assignment." Prospect 18 (August 2003): 20-36.

  • << Previous: Annotated Bibliography
  • Next: Giving an Oral Presentation >>
  • Last Updated: Feb 8, 2024 10:20 AM
  • URL: https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/assignments

How to Publish a Research Paper In High School: 19 Journals and Conferences to Consider

article analysis high school

By Alex Yang

Graduate student at Southern Methodist University

9 minute read

research publication

So you've been working super hard writing a research paper , and you’ve finally finished. Congrats! It’s a very impressive accolade already, but there’s a way to take it a level further. As we’ve talked about before in our Polygence blog, “ Showcasing your work and sharing it with the world is the intellectual version of ‘pics or it didn’t happen.’ ” Of course, there are lot of different ways to showcase your work , from creating a Youtube video to making a podcast. But one of the most popular ways to showcase your research is to publish your research. Publishing your research can take the great work you’ve already done and add credibility to it, and will make a stronger impression than unpublished research. Further, the process of having your work reviewed by advanced degree researchers can be a valuable experience in itself. You can receive feedback from experts and learn how to improve upon the work you’ve already done.

Before we dive into the various journals and conferences to publish your work, let’s distinguish between the various publishing options that you have as a high schooler, as there are some nuances. Quick disclaimer: this article focuses on journals and conferences as ways to showcase your work. There are also competitions where you can submit your work, and we have written guides on competing in premier competitions like Regeneron STS and competing in Regeneron ISEF . 

Publishing Options for High School Students

Peer-reviewed journals.

This is rather self-explanatory, but these journals go through the peer review process, where author(s) submit their work to the journal, and the journal's editors send the work to a group of independent experts (typically grad students or other scientists with advanced degrees) in the same field or discipline. These experts are peer reviewers, who evaluate the work based on a set of predetermined criteria, including the quality of the research, the validity of the methodology, the accuracy of the data, and the originality of the findings. The peer reviewers may suggest revisions or leave comments, but ultimately the editors will decide which suggestions to give to the student. 

Once you’ve received suggestions, you have the opportunity to make revisions before submitting your final product back to the journal. The editor then decides whether or not your work is published.

Non-Peer-Reviewed Journals

These are just journals that do not undergo a review process. In general, peer-reviewed journals may be seen as more credible and prestigious. However, non-peer-reviewed journals may make it easier and faster to publish your work, which can be helpful if you are pressed for time and applying to colleges soon .

Pre Print Archives

Preprint archives or servers are online repositories where student researchers can upload and share their research papers without undergoing any review process. Preprints allow students to share their findings quickly and get feedback from the scientific community, which can help improve the research while you’re waiting to hear back from journals, which typically have longer timelines and can take up to several months to publish research. Sharing your work in a preprint archive does not prohibit you from, or interfere with submitting the same work to a journal afterwards.

Research Conferences

Prefer to present your research in a presentation or verbal format? Conferences can be a great way to “publish” your research, showcase your public speaking skills, speak directly to your audience, and network with other researchers in your field. 

Student-led Journals vs Graduate Student / Professor-led Journals 

Some student-led journals may have peer-review, but the actual people peer-reviewing your work may be high school students. Other journals will have graduate students, PhD students, or even faculty reviewing your work. As you can imagine, there are tradeoffs to either option. With an advanced degree student reviewing your work, you can likely expect better and more accurate feedback. Plus, it’s cool to have an expert look over your work! However, this may also mean that the journal is more selective, whereas student-led journals may be easier to publish in. Nonetheless, getting feedback from anyone who’s knowledgeable can be a great way to polish your research and writing.

Strategy for Submitting to Multiple Journals

Ultimately, your paper can only be published in one peer-reviewed journal. Submitting the same paper to multiple peer-reviewed journals at the same time is not allowed, and doing so may impact its publication at any peer-reviewed journal. If your work is not accepted at one journal, however, then you are free to submit that work to your next choice and so on. Therefore, it is best to submit to journals with a strategy in mind. Consider: what journal do I ideally want to be published in? What are some back-ups if I don’t get published in my ideal journal? Preprints, like arXiv and the Research Archive of Rising Scholars, are possible places to submit your work in advance of seeking peer-reviewed publication. These are places to “stake your claim” in a research area and get feedback from the community prior to submitting your paper to its final home in a peer-reviewed journal. You can submit your work to a preprint prior to submitting at a peer-reviewed journal. However, bioRxiv, a reputable preprint server, recommends on their website that a preprint only be posted on one server, so that’s something to keep in mind as well.

Citation and Paper Formats

All of the journals listed below have specific ways that they’d like you to cite your sources, varying from styles like MLA to APA, and it’s important that you double-check the journal’s requirements for citations, titling your paper, writing your abstract, etc. Most journal websites have very detailed guides for how they want you to format your paper, so follow those closely to avoid having to wait to hear back and then resubmit your paper. If you’re looking for more guidance on citations and bibliographies check out our blog post!

19 Journals and Conferences to Publish Your Research as a High Schooler

Now that we’ve distinguished the differences between certain journals and conferences, let’s jump into some of our favorite ones. We’ve divided up our selections based on prestige and reliability, and we’ve made these selections using our experience with helping Polygence students showcase their research .

Most Prestigious Journals

Concord review.

Cost: $70 to Submit and $200 Publication Cost (if accepted)

Deadline: Fixed Deadlines in Feb 1 (Summer Issue), May 1 (Fall), August 1 (Winter), and November 1 (Spring)

Subject area: History / Social Sciences

Type of research: All types of academic articles

The Concord Review is a quarterly journal that publishes exceptional essays written by high school students on historical topics. The journal has been around since 1987 and has a great reputation, with many student winners going to great universities. Further, if your paper is published, your essays will be sent to subscribers and teachers all around the world, which is an incredible achievement.

Papers submitted tend to be around 8,000 words, so there is definitely a lot of writing involved, and the Concord Review themselves say that they are very selective, publishing only about 5% of the essays they receive.

We’ve posted our complete guide on publishing in the Concord Review here.

Journal of Emerging Investigators (JEI)

Deadline: Rolling

Subject area: STEM 

Type of research: Original hypothesis-driven scientific research

JEI is an open-access publication that features scientific research papers written by middle and high school students in the fields of biological and physical sciences. The journal includes a comprehensive peer-review process, where graduate students and other professional scientists with advanced degrees will review the manuscripts and provide suggestions to improve both the project and manuscript itself. You can expect to receive feedback in 6-8 weeks.

This should be the go-to option for students that are doing hypothesis-driven, original research or research that involves original analyses of existing data (meta-analysis, analyzing publicly available datasets, etc.). This is not an appropriate fit for students writing literature reviews. Finally, a mentor or parent must submit on behalf of the student.

We’ve had many Polygence students successfully submit to JEI. Check out Hana’s research on invasive species and their effects in drought times.

Very Prestigious Journals

Stem fellowship journal (sfj).

Cost: $400 publication fee

Subject area: All Scientific Disciplines

Type of research: Conference Proceedings, Review Articles, Viewpoint Articles, Original Research

SFJ is a peer-reviewed journal published by Canadian Science Publishing that serves as a platform for scholarly research conducted by high school and university students in the STEM fields. Peer review is conducted by undergraduate, graduate student, and professional reviewers.

Depending on the kind of research article you choose to submit, SFJ provides very specific guidelines on what to include and word limits.

Journal of Student Research (JSR)

Cost: $50 to Submit and $200 Publication Cost (if accepted)

Deadline: Fixed Deadlines in February, May, August, and November

Subject area: All Academic Disciplines

Type of research: Research and review articles, as well as other article types (not peer-reviewed)

The Journal of Student Research (JSR) is an academic journal based in Houston, Texas. It is reviewed by faculty members and accepts research and review articles, as well as other research projects (although those will not undergo the peer-review process).

From our experience, JSR sometimes experiences delays in acceptances and communication during the fall when many students are submitting, so try to submit early if possible and be mindful of deadlines.

Other Great Journal Options

National high school journal of science (nhsjs).

Cost: $250 for publication 

Deadline: Rolling 

Subject area: All science disciplines 

Type of research: Original research, literature review

NHSJS is a journal peer reviewed by high schoolers from around the world, with an advisory board of adult academics. Topics are STEM related, and submission types can vary from original research papers to shorter articles.

Curieux Academic Journal

Cost: $185-215

Subject area: Engineering, Humanities, and Natural Science, Mathematics, and Social Science

Type of research: Including but not limited to research papers, review articles, and humanity/social science pieces.

Curieux Academic Journal is a non-profit run by students and was founded in 2017 to publish outstanding research by high school and middle school students. Curieux publishes one issue per month (twelve per year), so there are many opportunities to get your research published. 

The Young Scientists Journal 

Deadline: December

Subject area: Sciences

Type of research: Original research, literature review, blog post

The Young Scientists Journal , while a popular option for students previously, has paused submissions to process a backlog. The journal is an international peer-reviewed journal run by students, and creates print issues twice a year. 

The journal has also been around for a decade and has a clear track record of producing alumni who go on to work in STEM.

Here’s an example of research submitted by Polygence student Ryan to the journal.

Journal of Research High School (JRHS)

Subject area: Any academic subject including the sciences and humanities

Type of research: Original research and significant literature reviews.

JRHS is an online research journal edited by volunteer professional scientists, researchers, teachers, and professors. JRHS accepts original research and significant literature reviews in Engineering, Humanities, Natural Science, Math, and Social Sciences.

From our experience working with our students to help publish their research, this journal is currently operating with a 15-20 week turnaround time for review. This is a bit on the longer side, so be mindful of this turnaround time if you’re looking to get your work published soon.

Youth Medical Journal

Deadline: March (currently closed)

Subject area: Medical or scientific topics

Type of research: Original research, review article, blog post, magazine article

The Youth Medical Journal is an international, student-run team of 40 students looking to share medical research.

We’ve found that this journal is a good entry point for students new to research papers, but when submissions are busy, in the past they have paused submissions. 

Journal of High School Science (JHSS)

Subject area: All topics

Type of research: Original research, literature review, technical notes, opinion pieces

This peer-reviewed STEAM journal publishes quarterly, with advanced degree doctors who sit on the journal’s editorial board. In addition to typical STEM subjects, the journal also accepts manuscripts related to music and theater, which is explicitly stated on their website.

Due to the current large volume of submissions, the review process takes a minimum of 4 weeks from the time of submission.

Whitman Journal of Psychology

Subject area: Psychology

Type of research: Original research, podcasts

The WWJOP is a publication run entirely by students, where research and literature reviews in the field of psychology are recognized. The journal is run out of a high school with a teacher supervisor and student staff.

The WWJOP uniquely also accepts podcast submissions, so if that’s your preferred format for showcasing your work, then this could be the journal for you!

Cost: $180 submission fee

Subject area: Humanities

Type of research: Essay submission

The Schola is a peer-reviewed quarterly journal that showcases essays on various humanities and social sciences topics authored by high school students worldwide. They feature a diverse range of subjects such as philosophy, history, art history, English, economics, public policy, and sociology.

Editors at Schola are academics who teach and do research in the humanities and social sciences

Critical Debates in Humanities, Science and Global Justice

Cost: $10 author fee

Subject area: Ethics and frontiers of science, Biology and ecosystems, Technology and Innovation, Medical research and disease, Peace and civil society, Global citizenship, identity and democracy, Structural violence and society, Psychology, Education, AI, Sociology, Computer Science, Neuroscience, Cultural politics, Politics and Justice, Computer science and math as related to policy, Public policy, Human rights, Language, Identity and Culture, Art and activism

Critical Debates is an international academic journal for critical discourse in humanities, science and contemporary global issues for emerging young scholars

International Youth Neuroscience Association Journal

Subject area: Neuroscience

Type of research: Research papers

Although this student peer-reviewed journal is not currently accepting submissions, we’ve had students recently publish here. 

Here’s an example of Nevenka’s research that was published in the November 2022 issue of the journal.

Preprint Archives to Share Your Work In

Subject area: STEM, Quantitative Finance, Economics

arXiv is an open access archive supported by Cornell University, where more than 2 million scholarly articles in a wide variety of topics have been compiled. arXiv articles are not peer-reviewed, so you will not receive any feedback on your work from experts. However, your article does go through a moderation process where your work is classified into a topic area and checked for scholarly value. This process is rather quick however and according to arXiv you can expect your article to be available on the website in about 6 hours. 

Although there’s no peer review process, that means the submission standards are not as rigorous and you can get your article posted very quickly, so submitting to arXiv or other preprint archives can be something you do before trying to get published in a journal.

One slight inconvenience of submitting to arXiv is that you must be endorsed by a current arXiv author, which can typically be a mentor or teacher or professor that you have. Here’s an example of a Polygence student submitting their work to arXiv, with Albert’s research on Hamiltonian Cycles.

Subject area: Biology

Type of research: Original research

bioRxiv is a preprint server for biology research, where again the research is not peer-reviewed but undergoes a check to make sure that the material is relevant and appropriate.

bioRxiv has a bit of a longer posting time, taking around 48 hours, but that’s still very quick. bioRxiv also allows for you to submit revised versions of your research if you decide to make changes.

Research Archive of Rising Scholars (RARS)

Subject area: STEM and Humanities

Type of research: Original research, review articles, poems, short stories, scripts

Research Archive of Rising Scholars is Polygence’s own preprint server! We were inspired by arXiv so we created a repository for articles and other creative submissions in STEM and the Humanities.

We launched RARS in 2022 and we’re excited to offer a space for budding scholars as they look to publish their work in journals. Compared to other preprint archives, RARS also accepts a wider range of submission types, including poems, short stories, and scripts.

Conferences to Participate In

Symposium of rising scholars.

Deadline: Twice a year - February and July

Polygence’s very own Symposium of Rising Scholars is a bi-annual academic conference where students present and share their research with their peers and experts. The Symposium also includes a College Admissions Panel and Keynote Speech. In our 8th edition of the Symposium this past March, we had 60 students presenting live, approximately 70 students presenting asynchronously, and over 100 audience members. The keynote speaker was Chang-rae Lee, award-winning novelist and professor at Stanford University.

We’re looking to have our 9th Symposium in Fall of 2023, and you can express your interest now. If you’re interested to see what our Polygence scholars have presented in the past for the Symposium, you can check out their scholar pages here.

Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS)

Deadline: Typically in November, so for 2024’s competition look to submit in Fall 2023

Subject area: STEM topics

JSHS is a Department of Defense sponsored program and competition that consists of first submitting a written report of your research. If your submission is selected, you’ll be able to participate in the regional symposium, where you can present in oral format or poster format. A select group from the regional symposium will then qualify for the national symposium.

One of the great things about JSHS compared to the journals mentioned above is that you’re allowed to work in teams and you don’t have to be a solo author. This can make the experience more fun for you and your teammates, and allow you to combine your strengths for your submission.

Related Content:

Top 8 Business Journals to Publish Your Research

Why Teens Should Attend the National Student Leadership Conference (NSLC)

How to Brainstorm Your Way to Perfect Research Topic Ideas

Top 20 Most Competitive Summer Programs for High School Students

Want to start a project of your own?

Click below to get matched with one of our expert mentors who can help take your project off the ground!

Student working on a rocket ship

Advice for High School Students on How to Write the Analysis Essay

Nadia archuleta.

Use your analysis to drive the content of your essay.

In high school, teachers expect their students to write in more sophisticated styles to show higher order thinking skills. A critical thinking skill they especially emphasize is analysis. Writing a high school analysis essay involves including correct essay elements and supporting your analysis with evidence. For a strong analysis essay, utilize the steps in the writing process.

Explore this article

  • Essay Elements
  • Writing Process

Your goal with analysis is to take a topic apart and explain how it works. You do this by separating the topic into small parts and arranging them according to their relationship. You show your critical thinking skills by identifying the components and their relationship to each other. One of the most common analyses high school teachers ask for is a literary analysis. For this essay, you break the writing down according to literary elements like figurative language or structure. You then explain the relationship between the form of the work and its content; for instance, you explain how a metaphor represents the author's theme.

2 Essay Elements

Regardless of the class for which you write the analysis essay, you must include certain essay elements. The three main parts of the essay are the introduction, body and conclusion. Your introduction includes your thesis statement, or one sentence asserting your analysis of the topic. Also include an attention-grabber at the beginning of the introduction as well as necessary background information. You support your analysis of the topic in the body of the essay, with one point per paragraph and a minimum of three points total. In the conclusion you restate your thesis in a different way and conclude with final thoughts, usually an idea that sheds new light on your analysis.

Support your analysis with evidence, whether textual, logical, statistical or anecdotal. For a scientific or sociological analysis, include statistics to help support your idea. Likewise, anecdotal evidence, or telling a pointed story, is appropriate for a psychological or historical analysis. Support a literary analysis by summarizing, paraphrasing or even using direct quotations from the text. Any type of analysis essay, though, benefits from logical support. Try using the logical sequence syllogism in which you put forth unarguable premises and the conclusions drawn from them. Aristotle offers the most famous example: "All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore, Socrates is mortal."

4 Writing Process

You may be tempted to type up your analysis and hit print. However, notable studies conducted by researchers and educators have identified six steps to proficient writing. The first consists of pre-writing, such as brainstorming and organizing your ideas. Next comes the initial drafting. If you stop here, you are only a third of the way through the process. Try sharing your work first to get feedback; at the very least, let the essay sit for a day or two so you come back to it with fresh eyes. After getting feedback, revise the essay for content and errors. Finally, hit print and enjoy having published a finished, crafted piece of writing.

  • 1 Bucks County Community College: How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay
  • 2 Purdue Online Writing Lab: Argumentative Essays
  • 3 Purdue Online Writing Lab: Logic in Argumentative Writing

About the Author

Nadia Archuleta has a B.A. in English writing. She spent five years working abroad and has traveled extensively. She has worked as an English as a Foreign/Second Language teacher for 12 years.

Related Articles

How to Write a Comparative Analysis

How to Write a Comparative Analysis

How to Write Thank You & Sympathy Cards for Donations

How to Write Thank You & Sympathy Cards for Donations

How to Write a Conclusion for a Compare & Contrast Essay

How to Write a Conclusion for a Compare & Contrast...

How to Write a Lens Essay

How to Write a Lens Essay

How to Write a Poetry Essay for the AP Test

How to Write a Poetry Essay for the AP Test

How to Write About an Ethical Dilemma

How to Write About an Ethical Dilemma

How to Write an Introduction for a Character Analysis

How to Write an Introduction for a Character Analysis

How to Write a Literature Report

How to Write a Literature Report

How to Write a Critical Appreciation Book Report

How to Write a Critical Appreciation Book Report

How to Transition to the Body of an Essay

How to Transition to the Body of an Essay

How to Write a Film Analysis Essay

How to Write a Film Analysis Essay

What Is the Meaning of Logos, Ethos & Pathos?

What Is the Meaning of Logos, Ethos & Pathos?

How to Develop Analytical Skills

How to Develop Analytical Skills

True or False: Mars Edition

True or False: Mars Edition

Key Ideas to Help Write an Argument & Persuasion Essay

Key Ideas to Help Write an Argument & Persuasion Essay

Steps to Writing Research Paper Abstracts

Steps to Writing Research Paper Abstracts

How to Write a French Essay

How to Write a French Essay

How to Write an Outline for a Comparison Paper in Literature

How to Write an Outline for a Comparison Paper in Literature

How to Write Your Argumentative Essay

How to Write Your Argumentative Essay

How to Erase Highlighters

How to Erase Highlighters

Regardless of how old we are, we never stop learning. Classroom is the educational resource for people of all ages. Whether you’re studying times tables or applying to college, Classroom has the answers.

  • Accessibility
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright Policy
  • Manage Preferences

© 2020 Leaf Group Ltd. / Leaf Group Media, All Rights Reserved. Based on the Word Net lexical database for the English Language. See disclaimer .

magazine article analysis

All Formats

Resource types, all resource types, magazine article analysis.

  • Rating Count
  • Price (Ascending)
  • Price (Descending)
  • Most Recent

Preview of Magazine Article Writing WITH COVER ART! and Analysis BUNDLE - Journalism

Magazine Article Writing WITH COVER ART! and Analysis BUNDLE - Journalism

article analysis high school

Science World Magazine - Article Analysis

article analysis high school

Magazine /Newspaper Article Analysis

article analysis high school

Magazine Article Analysis

article analysis high school

  • Word Document File

Preview of Magazine Article Analysis

News Magazine Article Analysis

article analysis high school

Magazine Article Analysis - DIGITAL *editable - Journalism

  • Google Docs™

Preview of Magazine Article Analysis

Info Text Analysis Task Cards, Digital & Traditional BUNDLE

article analysis high school

Current Events Article Analysis

article analysis high school

  • Internet Activities

Preview of Canadian Historical Perspectives, Primary Source Analysis, Reactions to WWI

Canadian Historical Perspectives, Primary Source Analysis , Reactions to WWI

article analysis high school

The Youth Group Movement at Standing Rock: Practice with Rhetorical Analysis

article analysis high school

Rhetorical Analysis : "The Falling Man" Image and Article Analysis from 9/11

article analysis high school

  • Google Apps™

Preview of Journalism; Current Events; News Analysis Worksheet

Journalism; Current Events; News Analysis Worksheet

article analysis high school

UNDRIP Article Analysis ; NDW4M; Canadian Commitment to UNDRIP

article analysis high school

Journal Article Argument Analysis Worksheet

article analysis high school

Freedom: A Critical Analysis of Civil Liberties in the U.S. Constitution

article analysis high school

Informational Text Analysis Tool Graphic Organizer

article analysis high school

Enduring Issues Analysis : Decline of Classical Civilizations

article analysis high school

Digital Info Text or Nonfiction Analysis Task Cards, Response to a Text

Preview of Article & TED Talk Argument Analysis

Article & TED Talk Argument Analysis

article analysis high school

Article Report (Moderate Difficulty) - for newspapers, magazines , etc

article analysis high school

FEATURE MAGAZINE ARTICLE AND PRODUCTION LEVEL 2 MEDIA STUDIES

article analysis high school

Nikole Hannah-Jones & School Integration: Practice w/ Synthesis + Rhet. Analysis

  • We're hiring
  • Help & FAQ
  • Privacy policy
  • Student privacy
  • Terms of service
  • Tell us what you think

The Summer Cohort Early Application Deadline is February 18, 2024.  

Click here to apply.

One_edited.jpg

Featured Posts

article analysis high school

10 Grants for First Generation College Students

article analysis high school

10 Colleges With Full-Ride Scholarships

National History Day's National Contest - 7 Stellar Reasons to Participate

National History Day's National Contest - 7 Stellar Reasons to Participate

8 Humanities Pre-College Programs You Should Check Out as a High Schooler

8 Humanities Pre-College Programs You Should Check Out as a High Schooler

IECA's Conference in 2024 - Should You Attend It?

IECA's Conference in 2024 - Should You Attend It?

A Comprehensive Review of the Big Future Toolkit by College Board for Independent Educational Consultants (IECs)

A Comprehensive Review of the Big Future Toolkit by College Board for Independent Educational Consultants (IECs)

article analysis high school

10 Tips to Help You Create an Amazing College Counselor Website

10 Great College Counselor Resources Worth Checking Out

10 Great College Counselor Resources Worth Checking Out

10 Scholarships for First Generation College Students

10 Scholarships for First Generation College Students

article analysis high school

10 AP Test Prep Resources for High School Students

  • 11 min read

15 Journals to Publish Your Research in High School

Pursuing research at the high school level is one of the best ways for you to demonstrate co-curricular academic competence. Getting this study published is an added bonus because it will give your research a certain amount of credibility and backing.

High school students might find guidance on how to conduct their research, but very few are familiar with academic journals that publish high school research. This guide will give you recommendations on where to consider publishing your research. Regardless of your subject of interest, we have options for you here! However, before we get to the recommendations, let’s look at some points to keep in mind while deciding journals and why it is a good decision to publish.

Do I need to publish my research in high school?

Getting your research published is not a necessity. In fact, many of our students do not choose to get their work published and still manage to get into the top college programs across the world.

However, over the course of guiding students to top journals in the last few years, we have to come to see immense value in publication . We now recommend most of our students to aim for publication.

There are three reasons for this. Firstly, we believe that a researcher/scientist’s job is not just to study an area for individual curiosity, but also to communicate the findings to the rest of the world to enhance the understanding of a particular topic. Expanding the frontiers of human knowledge is one of the goals that researchers should strive towards. Secondly, the process of getting research published itself is a whole experience. It is the closest feeling you will get to being a scientist at the high school level. Having your work critically reviewed by Ph.D. researchers in your field is a great learning experience as it will point out the academic loopholes in your work. It has the potential to make you a better student. Incorporating that feedback and communicating with the editorial team is another aspect of this valuable experience.

Finally, getting your work published gives your work credibility to the external world. Whether it is a college application or a summer program, we believe the research that is published will make a stronger impression than unpublished research.

What to look for in a high school research journal?

Deciding what journal works best for you can be confusing if you are new to academic publishing. In this section, we will give you a brief overview of three factors you can take into consideration when deciding what journal works best for you.

First, for many students, prestige is the most important factor when deciding where to submit their research . For STEM students, this preference might lead them to the Columbia Junior Science Journal whereas, for humanities students, the preference might lead to The Concorde Review as the first choice. However, an important thing to keep in mind regarding this preference is that your choice for the most prestigious journal should be followed by the highest quality research . Similar to how unless you have a good profile, applying to Harvard might just end up wasting money and time!

Secondly, the nature of research is another important parameter to be aware of. One of the first things that we ask our Publication Program students is about the nature of research and whether they are conducting original research or a literature review. Based on what the answer is, our recommendation can vary since some journals do not accept literature reviews.

Finally, the time taken to get published is another important metric that students should keep in mind. If you are somebody applying to college in November and are looking for potential journals for your research in August, we would not recommend journals like the Journal of Emerging Investigators which takes almost 7-8 months to publish research.

Now that we have seen the importance of getting published and what to keep in mind, let us look at some of our recommendations:

Journal of Emerging Investigators : The journal of emerging investigators is usually our top recommendation for students who are doing original research in STEM fields. Apart from its prestigious affiliation with Harvard, JEI is particularly well known for its extensive review process that can take as long as 7-8 months. The most important thing to keep in mind is that JEI only accepts original hypothesis-driven research. Another important point is that while the JEI website is dominated by research in the STEM fields, they also accept research from other disciplines. For instance, if you conduct original research on financial markets or political preferences based on demographics, you can still submit. Here is our extensive guide to publishing in JEI. Cost: Free Deadline: Rolling Subject area: STEM mainly but non-STEM is accepted if original research Type of research: Original hypothesis-based research Estimated acceptance rate: 10-20%

National High School Journal of Science : The NHSJS is run and peer-reviewed by high school students around the world, with a scientific advisory board of adult academics. The journal usually takes 1-2 months to decide whether to accept a submission and an additional editing process that lasts up to 1 month. NHSJS accepts practically all science and social science disciplines on a rolling basis. We usually recommend NHSJS as a backup journal given its relatively higher acceptance rate. Based on our experience of guiding students to NHSJS, we estimate that it has an acceptance rate of approximately 70%. Cost: $250 for publication Deadline: Rolling Subject area: All science and social science disciplines Type of research: Original research, literature review Estimated acceptance rate: 60-70%

International Journal of High School Research : IJHSR publishes high school student research work in behavioral and social sciences, technology, engineering, and math, both original research and literature review articles. Six issues are published each year. IJHSR has a rolling submissions window and has open access to the public. It is run by the nonprofit Terra Science and Education. A unique aspect of the IJHSR is that it requires you to contact and acquire 3 professors or post-doctoral scholars who agree to review your paper. This is a fairly time-consuming process, so if you’re aiming to publish in IJHSR, we would recommend that you get started on this early in your research process! Cost: $200 Deadline: Rolling Subject area: All science and social science subjects Type of research: Original Research, Literature Review Estimated acceptance rate: 20-30%

STEM Fellowship Journal : An open-access, peer-reviewed journal for scholarly research by high school and university students in the STEM fields, run by Canadian Science Publishing. The journal accepts original investigations, review articles, and "viewpoints", usually around 5 pages long. While SFJ is a great option, in our experience, we have noticed that the journal can often lag in terms of communication with the students who submit there. Also, while the journal previously reviewed articles on a 2-month timeline, this has extended to 4-5 months over 2022-2023. Please keep this in mind, especially if you are on a tight deadline! Cost: $400 Deadline: Rolling Subject area: All Scientific Disciplines Type of research: Hypothesis Driven Research, Review, Abstract, Original Research Estimated Acceptance Rate: 5-10%

Journal of Student Research : This is a multidisciplinary, and faculty-reviewed journal based in Houston, Texas that publishes research by high school, undergraduate, and graduate students. The journal publishes articles in an array of disciplines and in general, papers on all topics, ranging from applied to theoretical research in any discipline, are eligible for submission. The Journal of Student Research (JSR) is particularly popular among high school students due to the variety of research it accepts. Interested high school students can submit research projects, research articles/posters, review articles, and also AP Capstone Research to Journal of Student Research. We usually recommend students aim for a more selective journal as a target and in case that does not work out, the Journal of Student Research can be a good safety option. In our experience of guiding more than a hundred students through JSR, we believe that the Journal of Student Research (JSR) is best suited as a backup option due to its relatively high acceptance rate. However, please be wary of it’s long publishing timeline (around 6-7 months). Here is our guide to the Journal of Student Research. Cost: $50 to Submit and $200 Publication Cost (if accepted) Deadline: Fixed Deadlines in February, May, August, and November Subject area: All Academic Disciplines Type of research: All types of academic articles Estimated Acceptance Rate: 70-80%

Journal of High School Science : JHSS is a peer-reviewed STEM Journal that publishes research and ideas of high school students. JHSS is also best suited as a backup given its relatively high publication acceptance rate compared to options like STEM Fellowship Journal and Journal of Emerging Investigators. However, in our experience, for students looking for a more secure backup, we would recommend the NHSJS over the JHSS since the JHSS is slightly more selective compared to NHSJS. Cost: Free Deadline: Rolling Subject area: All science and social science subjects Type of research: Original Research, Literature Review Estimated acceptance rate: 20%

Stanford Intersect : Intersect is an international Science, Technology, and Society research journal run by undergraduate students at Stanford University and supported by the Program in STS at Stanford. It publishes research and scholarship on the social factors that shape research and invention. While the website states otherwise, Stanford Intersect does accept research from high school students on topics at the intersection of science, technology, and society. In our experience of guiding students to get published here, we rate this journal as extremely selective and only recommend this option to the best students that we have. We have also noticed that students using AI-based methods in research tends to do particularly well here. Cost: Free Deadline: Rolling Subject area: Science, Technology, and Society Type of research: Research Articles, Papers/Essays, Thesis Chapters, Book Reviews, Editorials, Interviews, Multimedia Estimated Acceptance Rate: < 5% (for high schoolers)

Young Scientist Journal : Young Scientist is another publication that recognizes the achievements of high school scientists. It is published by the Vanderbilt Center for Science Outreach, a group that works in the field of scientific and technological literacy through the establishment of unique partnerships between Vanderbilt University scientists, K-12 educators and students, and the local and global science community. At Lumiere, YSJ is another one of our selective recommendations for students who are producing the highest quality of research. Cost: Free Deadline: December Subject area: Sciences Type of research: Original research, literature review Estimated Acceptance Rate: 10-15%

The Concord Review : The Concord Review is a quarterly journal publishing history essays by high school students. It is the most prestigious journal for high school students in the social sciences. Its prestige comes from its high level of selectivity (currently less than 5%), focus on quality, and long track record of winners going on to top universities. The quality of the published papers is also very high, with the average length of papers in the past year at 9000 words. A qualitative assessment of the quality of the papers also indicates significant time invested and a high level of writing. We have covered this in a lot more detail in a separate post here . Cost: $50 to Submit and $200 Publication Cost (if accepted) Deadline: Fixed Deadlines in February, May, August, and November Subject area: All Academic Disciplines Type of research: All types of academic articles Estimated Acceptance Rate: < 5 %

Schola : Schola is a quarterly journal of humanities and social sciences essays written by high school students worldwide. They publish essays on wide-ranging topics in humanities and social sciences. The Schola accepts essays written on topics in philosophy, history, art history, English, economics, public policy, and sociology. Essay topics and questions must be academic, answerable, and specific to be sufficiently examined in an essay of 4,000-5,000 words. Published essays and their authors are announced in the first week of each issue month: March, June, September, and December. A subscription provides access to all journals in the Archives. Schola is one of our top recommendations for students interested in the social sciences/humanities due to its rigorous review process and selectivity. The quality of work published is also very high. Cost: $120 Deadline: Rolling Subject area: Humanities Type of research: Literature (review/critique, poem, prose), research papers, art (illustration, photography), editorials. Estimated Acceptance Rate: 20%

Hope Humanities Journal : HOPE is an online humanities platform for everyone interested in the humanities. It provides an international and non-profit academic platform, with the mission of advocating for the humanities and recognizing young writers’ achievements. They accept literature (poem, prose), research papers, art (illustration, photography), and editorials. Papers are accepted on a "rolling admission" basis and issues are published on a two-month-per-issue* basis. Submitted works are eligible for at least the next two issues. HOPE is another one of our go-to options for Humanities students after the Schola. Cost: $100 Deadline: Rolling Subject area: Humanities Type of research: Literature (review/critique, poem, prose), research papers, art (illustration, photography), editorials. Estimated Acceptance Rate: 30%

Open Journal of Business and Managemen t (OJBM) : OJBM is an international journal dedicated to the latest advancement in the study of business and management. The goal of this journal is to provide a platform for scientists and academicians all over the world to promote, share, and discuss various new issues and developments in different areas of business and management. We recommend OJBM as a good option for students interested in the field of business studies and management. It is one of the few journals that accept research in business and management from high school students. An important thing to keep in mind is that there is a distinction between business and economics that we are making here i.e. many concepts of economics might not be included within the realm of business. Hence, if you are doing research on financial markets, IJHSR or JEI (mentioned above) might be better options. Cost: $299 Deadline: Rolling Subject area: Economics and Business Type of research: Most types of academic articles - reviews, original research, short reports Estimated Acceptance Rate: 15-20% (for high schoolers)

Curieux : The Curieux Academic Journal is a youth-led nonprofit founded in 2017 to publish research by high school and middle school students. They currently operate in California but have editors from across the nation. Submitting your paper to Curieux is a great way to get experience in the craft of academic writing. They are open to submissions from any academic subject including the sciences and humanities. They encourage all forms of academic writing including but not limited to research papers, review articles, and humanity/social science pieces. Each year, they publish twelve issues: once per month. At Lumiere, we usually recommend Curieux as a backup publication for students pursuing research in the social sciences and humanities since they have a relatively higher acceptance rate. Cost: $150 Deadline: Rolling Subject area: Engineering, Humanities, and Natural Science, Mathematics, and Social Science Type of research: Including but not limited to research papers, review articles, and humanity/social science pieces. Estimated Acceptance Rate: 60-70%

Journal of Research High School : The Journal of Research High School (JRHS) is an open-access online research journal that aims at publishing academic work prepared exclusively by high school researchers. JRHS publishes across science to social science. They publish biannually but release publications each month! For the publication at JRHS, in general, there are four processes of publication such as original formatting and plagiarism check, peer review, revision, and editorial decision. Each process has a different timeline but in general, the overall turnover timeline is approximately 3 - 6 months. Cost: $100 Deadline: Rolling Subject area: Any academic subject including the sciences and humanities Type of research: Original research and significant literature reviews. Estimated Acceptance Rate: 30%

Walt Whitman Journal of Psychology : The WWJOP is an entirely student-led publication in which high-school student-conducted research and literature reviews in the field of psychology are recognized. The Journal reaches hundreds of schools and psychology students around the world and is published bi-annually and electronically. We have found WWJOP to be a fantastic option for Psychology students given that it offers a specialized publication in Psychology at the high school level. It is one of the few journals at this level to offer a subject specialization. Cost: Free Deadline: Rolling Subject area: Psychology Type of research: Original Research, Analysis Pieces, Letters Estimated acceptance rate: 20-30%

Lumiere Research Scholar Program

If you want to build your own independent research paper and get it published, then consider applying to the Lumiere Research Scholar Program . Last year over 2100 students applied for about 500 spots in the program. You can find the application form here.

You can see our admission results here for our students.

Manas is a publication strategy associate at Lumiere Education. He studied public policy and interactive media at NYU and has experience in education consulting.

Cover Image: Stanford Intersect Website

Articles on High school students

Displaying 1 - 20 of 28 articles.

article analysis high school

Teens don’t know everything − and those who acknowledge that fact are more eager to learn

Tenelle Porter , Rowan University

article analysis high school

Listening to youth voices was missing in the COVID-19 pandemic response

Negin Riazi , University of British Columbia ; Jessica A. Goddard , Brock University ; Karen A. Patte , Brock University ; Terrance J. Wade , Brock University , and Valerie Michaelson , Brock University

article analysis high school

Potentially faulty data spotted in surveys of drug use and other behaviors among LGBQ youth

Joseph Cimpian , New York University

article analysis high school

Vaping and behaviour in schools: what does the research tell us?

Becky Freeman , University of Sydney

article analysis high school

‘Is this really fair?’ How high school students feel about being streamed into different classes based on ‘ability’

Olivia Johnston , Edith Cowan University

article analysis high school

What do students’ beliefs about God have to do with grades and going to college?

Ilana Horwitz , Tulane University

article analysis high school

Students who are more adaptable do best in remote learning – and it’s a skill we can teach

Andrew J Martin , UNSW Sydney ; Rebecca J Collie , UNSW Sydney , and Robin P. Nagy , UNSW Sydney

article analysis high school

School students at the heart of a COVID outbreak change the story of how it spreads

Naomi Barnes , Queensland University of Technology

article analysis high school

5 ways the COVID-19 pandemic could affect your college application

Whitney Soule , Bowdoin College

article analysis high school

What young people have to say about race and inequality in South Africa

Kira Erwin , Durban University of Technology and Kathryn Pillay , University of KwaZulu-Natal

article analysis high school

A 3-decade ‘moving picture’ of young Australians’ study, work and life, thanks to LSAY

Somayeh Parvazian , National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) and Ronnie Semo , National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER)

article analysis high school

At these championship-winning schools, coaches sacrifice time and money for players to beat the odds

Rob Book , University of Southern Denmark

article analysis high school

The crisis of anti-Black racism in schools persists across generations

Carl E. James , York University, Canada

article analysis high school

Five tips to help year 12 students set better goals in the final year of school

Joanne Dickson , Edith Cowan University

article analysis high school

Responding to sexual violence in schools: What can educators learn?

Jen Gilbert , York University, Canada

article analysis high school

Educators must challenge the politics of evil

Cathryn van Kessel , University of Alberta

article analysis high school

The start of high school doesn’t have to be stressful

David Yeager , The University of Texas at Austin and Hae Yeon Lee , The University of Texas at Austin

article analysis high school

Study habits for success: tips for students

Pankaj Sah , The University of Queensland

article analysis high school

Sleepy teenage brains need school to start later in the morning

Kyla Wahlstrom , University of Minnesota

article analysis high school

Want a job? It’s still about education.

Shaun M. Dougherty , University of Connecticut

Related Topics

  • COVID-19 pandemic
  • Growth mindset
  • High school
  • school students

Top contributors

article analysis high school

Associate Professor in Language, Literacy and TESL, University of Canberra

article analysis high school

Scientia Professor and Professor of Educational Psychology, UNSW Sydney

article analysis high school

Vice Chancellor's Postdoctoral research fellow, RMIT University

article analysis high school

Reader in Education with Psychology and Centre for Death and Society, University of Bath

article analysis high school

Associate Dean for Research, Boston University

article analysis high school

Professor Innovation and Inclusion in the STEM Ecosystem, Johns Hopkins University

article analysis high school

Senior Lecturer, School of Teacher Education & Leadership, Queensland University of Technology

article analysis high school

Professor of Learning Sciences, Computer Science and Complex Systems, Northwestern University

article analysis high school

Director - Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland

article analysis high school

Senior Research Fellow in Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development, University of Minnesota

article analysis high school

Professor of Psychology & Mental Health, Edith Cowan University

article analysis high school

Assistant Professor, Fields-Rayant Chair in Contemporary Jewish Life, Tulane University

article analysis high school

Professor of Education & Policy, Boston College

article analysis high school

Professor of Education, University of Connecticut

article analysis high school

Associate Professor, School of Public Health, University of Sydney

  • X (Twitter)
  • Unfollow topic Follow topic

Awesome Articles for Students: Websites and Other Resources

All of these sites are free.

awesome articles for students

In today’s digital world, we seem to be surrounded by news. Clickbait, anyone? Yet the pervasive and often intrusive nature of internet news articles belies the fact that many of these sites are behind a paywall, biased, or feature low-quality reporting.

Still, online articles are a great starting point for all kinds of learning assignments across the curriculum. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of the best free article websites for students. Many of these sites offer not only high-quality topical articles on every subject, but also ideas for lessons, such as questions, quizzes, and discussion prompts.

Student Article Websites

                  Get the latest edtech news delivered to your inbox here:

CommonLit With thousands of high-quality, Common Core-aligned reading passages for grades 3-12, this easy-to-use literacy site is a rich source of English and Spanish texts and lessons. Search by theme, grade, Lexile score, genre, and even literary devices such as alliteration or foreshadowing. Texts are accompanied by teacher guides, paired texts activities, and assessments. Teachers can share lessons and track student progress with a free account. 

DOGOnews News articles featuring current events, science, social studies, world events, civics, environment, sports, weird/fun news, and more. Free access to all articles. Premium accounts offer extras such as simplified and audio versions, quizzes, and critical thinking challenges. 

CNN10 Replacing the popular CNN Student News, CNN 10 provides 10-minute video news stories on current events of international importance, explaining how the event fits into the broader news narrative. 

KiwiKids News Created by a New Zealand primary school educator, Kiwi Kids News features free articles about health, science, politics (including U.S. political topics), animals, and the Olympics. Kids will love the “Odd Stuff” articles, which focus on unusual news, from the world’s biggest potato to centenarian athletes. 

PBS NewsHour Daily News Lessons Daily articles covering current events in video format. Each lesson includes a full transcript, fact list, summary, and focus questions. 

NYT Daily Lessons/Article of the Day The New York Times Daily Lessons builds a classroom lesson around a new article each day, offering thoughtful questions for writing and discussion, as well as related ideas for further study. Perfect for practicing critical thinking and literacy skills for middle and high school students, it’s a part of the larger NYT Learning Network , which provides an abundance of activities for students and resources for teachers.

The Learning Network Current event articles, student opinion essays, movie reviews, students review contests, and more. The educator resource section offers top-notch teaching and professional development resources. 

News For Kids With the motto “Real News, Told Simply,” News for Kids strives to present the latest topics in U.S. and world news, science, sports, and the arts in a way that’s accessible to most readers. Features a coronavirus update page .

ReadWorks A fully free research-based platform, Readworks provides thousands of nonfiction and fiction passages searchable by topic, activity type, grade, and Lexile level. Educator guides cover differentiation, hybrid and remote learning, and free professional development. Great resource for teachers.

Science News for Students Winner of multiple awards for journalism, Science News for Students publishes original science, technology, and health features for readers ages 9-14. Stories are accompanied by citations, recommended readings, glossaries, readability scores, and classroom extras. Be sure to check out Top 10 tips to stay safe during an epidemic . 

Teaching Kids News A terrific site that publishes readable and teachable articles on news, art, science, politics, and more for students grades 2-8. Bonus: The Fake News resource section links to online games about fake news and images. A must for any digital citizen.

Smithsonian Tween Tribune An excellent resource for articles on a wide range of topics, including animals, national/world news, sports, science, and much more. Searchable by topic, grade, and Lexile reading score. Lesson plans offer great ideas for the classroom and simple, usable frameworks for implementing these in any grade. 

Wonderopolis Have you ever wondered if llamas really spit or if animals like art? Every day, the award-winning Wonderopolis posts a new standard-based article exploring intriguing questions such as these. Students may submit their own questions and vote for their favorites. Be sure to check out “Wonders with Charlie,” featuring acclaimed writer, producer, and director Charlie Engelman.

Youngzine A unique news site for young people that focuses on climate science, solutions, and policies to address the myriad effects of global warming. Kids have an opportunity to express their views and literary creativity by submitting poetry or essays. 

Scholastic Kids Press A multinational group of young journalists ages 10-14 report the latest news and fascinating stories about the natural world. Features sections dedicated to coronavirus and civics.

National Geographic Kids A fine library of articles about animals, history, science, space, and—of course—geography. Students will enjoy the “Weird But True” short videos, featuring fun animations about oddball topics.  

  • Best Tools for Teachers
  • New Teacher Starter Kit

To share your feedback and ideas on this article, consider joining our Tech & Learning online community . 

Tech & Learning Newsletter

Tools and ideas to transform education. Sign up below.

Diana Restifo

Diana has been Tech & Learning's web editor and contributor since 2010, dedicated to ferreting out the best free tech tools for teachers.

Best Wireless Keyboard and Mouse for Teachers

Best Free QR Code Sites for Teachers

BrainPOP Lesson Plan

Most Popular

By Luke Edwards 5 February 2024

By TL Editors 2 February 2024

By Ray Bendici 2 February 2024

By Erik Ofgang 1 February 2024

By Diana Restifo 31 January 2024

By Erik Ofgang 30 January 2024

By Dr. Jennifer Parker 29 January 2024

By Luke Edwards 29 January 2024

By Diana Restifo 29 January 2024

By Luke Edwards 26 January 2024

By Frank Pileiro 26 January 2024

Newspaper Article Analysis

A Community ‘Surrounded by love’: With poems and prayers, Denver residents give support after Columbine High shooting:

The article, from The Christian Science Monitor published on April 23, 1999, serves to illustrate the community response following the Columbine High School shooting. It further sheds light on the strength and resilience present within the community. The article begins by highlighting a note someone wrote, reading “‘You have been shattered by their hate. But you are surrounded by our love.”’ This emphasizes the strong sense of community felt by those in Littleton following the disaster. The article states how thousands of Coloradans are gathered on a lawn adjacent to Columbine High School, all sharing “the compelling need to be present here, to help in any way they can”. Further, residents from suburbs on the opposite side of the Denver area came to show their support, showing how the strong sense of community extends beyond Littleton and into neighboring communities. 

article analysis high school

Further, the article emphasizes the impact of personal connections within the community response. This is seen through Columbine High School Alumni Sarah Tomicih, whose younger brother was a student at the school at the time of the shooting. Tomicih drove home from her school immediately after hearing the news, and though her brother was safe, she wanted to stay home to be able to help in any way she could. Tomicih emphasized that she wanted to be able to be there and ‘“just listen to anyone who needs to talk about this.”’ This personal connection reflects the strong presence of empathy and solidarity within the community. 

Columbine Tragedy Claims Another Victim

The article ‘Columbine Tragedy Claims Another Victim’ from the Washington Post serves to illustrate the lasting effects of Columbine not only on the survivor’s themselves, but additionally the survivor’s family members, shedding light on the impact the events have had on individuals mental health. The article focuses on Carla Hochhalter, the mother of survivor Anne Marie Hochhlater, who was severely injured in the shooting. Carla Hochhalter committed suicide six months following the shooting, and was “declared dead at the same hospital where her daughter was saved by the heroic work of emergency room doctors.” 

According to friend Connie Michalik regarding Hochhlater’s suicide, “First you’re devastated, then you’re angry, and then you move on to deal with it. She never really left the devastation stage. She was just stuck there.” This illustrates the indirect impacts of Columbine. As Hochhlater’s daughter Anne Marie was severely injured in the shooting and was paralyzed in both her legs, it took an immense toll on Hochhalter, with her constantly worrying about Anne Marie. Michalik further stated “She was just so worried about Anne Marie. How she was going to get around school, how she was going to be able to go to college, how she would be able to drive. She was just so focused on Anne Marie.” 

article analysis high school

Hochhlater’s anxiety regarding Anne Marie is representative of the harshly distorted realities many survivors and their families had to face, suggesting how the most difficult aspect of disasters is not the survival of the events, but living and coping with the aftermath of it. Hochhlater’s suicide is just one example of the importance of recognizing and prioritizing mental health awareness and treatment in this disaster. The article does not explicitly mention anything regarding mental health or mental illness, though in an interview done several years later, Anne Marie stated her mother had been struggling with depression prior to Columbine, and that the shooting was not the sole cause of her suicide. The article’s lack of explicit discussion of mental illness serves to illustrate the underlying stigma surrounding mental health, further exhibiting the need for awareness and education surrounding mental health and illness.

Article Analysis # 3   Carefully read "High School Department...

Article Analysis # 3   Carefully read "High School Department...

Article Analysis # 3

Carefully read "High School Department Chairs: Perspectives on Instructional Supervision" from The High School Journal by Zepeda and Kruskamp. Then, provide sufficient answers to the following questions.

What was/were the research questions(s)?

Examine the perspectives of three high school department chairs and their work providing instructional supervision to the teachers in their departments.

What was the unit of analysis?

High School Department chairs

What sources of data were used?

Three open-ended interviews, artifacts such as the system policies concerning supervision, the job description for high school department chairs, and field notes.

Describe how the data was analyzed.

Data analysis was ongoing and began after the initial interview. Researchers independently read transcripts to categorize, tabulate, and develop codes representing meanings. The process was repeated as a team. Where there were inconsistencies, the data was re-examined until an agreement was reached. Themes were compared through cross-case analysis.

What major themes in the data did the researcher identify?

The department chairs needed to prepare for the practice of instructional supervision in that the participants received little instruction to enact the role of instructional supervisor, and the participants were compelled to create their roles given the lack of direction by the principal.

What was/were the major finding(s)?

The high school department chairs experienced role conflict and ambiguity relative to providing instructional supervision. The mean of instructional supervision for the department chairs was intuitive and reflected in differentiated approaches.

Were any limitations described in the study?

Time and lack of emphasis 

Answer & Explanation

1. Research Questions:

  • The research question was to examine the perspectives of three high school department chairs and their work providing instructional supervision to the teachers in their departments.

2. Unit of Analysis:

  • The unit of analysis in this study was high school department chairs.

3. Sources of Data:

  • Three open-ended interviews with high school department chairs.
  • Artifacts such as system policies concerning supervision and the job description for high school department chairs.
  • Field notes taken during the research process.

4. Data Analysis:

  • Data analysis involved an ongoing process that began after the initial interviews.
  • Researchers independently read transcripts to categorize, tabulate, and develop codes representing meanings.
  • The process was repeated as a team, and any inconsistencies in coding were resolved through discussion until an agreement was reached.
  • Themes were identified and compared through cross-case analysis.

5. Major Themes Identified:

  • Preparation for instructional supervision: Department chairs received little instruction on how to enact the role of instructional supervisor and had to create their roles due to a lack of direction from the principal.
  • Role conflict and ambiguity: Department chairs experienced role conflict and ambiguity in providing instructional supervision, leading to differentiated approaches.

6. Major Findings:

  • The major finding of the study was that high school department chairs experienced role conflict and ambiguity in providing instructional supervision. Their approach to instructional supervision was intuitive and reflected differentiated approaches.

7. Limitations:

  • The limitations described in the study were primarily related to time constraints and a lack of emphasis on instructional supervision by the principal. These factors may have influenced the department chairs' experiences and perspectives on instructional supervision.

Detailed explanation:

Research Questions:

  • The researchers wanted to understand how high school department chairs perceive their role in supervising teachers' instructional practices within their departments. Essentially, they sought to explore the experiences and perspectives of these department chairs in this specific aspect of their job.

Unit of Analysis:

  • The focus of the study was on high school department chairs, who were the primary participants and subjects under investigation. These individuals hold crucial leadership roles within high school settings and are responsible for overseeing the instructional practices of teachers within their respective departments.

Sources of Data:

  • The researchers collected data from various sources to gain insights into the experiences of high school department chairs. This included conducting interviews with three department chairs to gather firsthand accounts of their experiences. Additionally, they examined documents such as system policies and job descriptions to provide context and background information. Field notes taken during the research process also contributed to the data collection.

Data Analysis:

  • After collecting data, the researchers engaged in a thorough analysis to identify patterns, themes, and insights. They began by individually reviewing interview transcripts to categorize and organize the information. Codes were developed to represent different aspects of the data, and these were discussed among the research team to ensure consistency and accuracy. Themes emerged from the data, which were further explored and compared through a process called cross-case analysis.

Major Themes Identified:

  • Through their analysis, the researchers identified several key themes that emerged from the data. One major theme was the lack of preparation among department chairs for their role in instructional supervision. Another significant theme was the presence of role conflict and ambiguity, where department chairs struggled to define and enact their responsibilities in this area.

Major Findings:

  • The main findings of the study highlighted the challenges faced by high school department chairs in providing effective instructional supervision. They found that department chairs often relied on their intuition and individualized approaches due to the lack of guidance and support from school principals. Role conflict and ambiguity were common, leading to varying interpretations and practices among department chairs.

Limitations:

  • The researchers acknowledged certain limitations in their study, such as time constraints and the limited emphasis placed on instructional supervision by school principals. These factors may have influenced the experiences and perspectives of department chairs and should be considered when interpreting the findings.

In summary, the study provided valuable insights into the experiences of high school department chairs in instructional supervision, highlighting the need for clearer guidance and support in this important aspect of their role.

Related Q&A

  • Q Aimee Mullins is a Paralympian and disability activist. View the following TedTalk to listen to her discussion of the de... Answered over 90d ago
  • Q  . FlatMatte Inc Balance Sheet As of Dec. 31, Assets 2022 2021 Cash 283,792 253,152 Marketable Securities 207,445 53,080... Answered over 90d ago
  • Q Interest rates have been changing dramatically. Do you expect interest rates to continue to change? Which way do you thi... Answered over 90d ago
  • Q read the following chapters from the E-Commerce 2021: Business, Technology, and Society textbook. Chapter 1: The Revolut... Answered over 90d ago
  • Q Q#3 We walked thru the PERT network to produce the L943. That network had a number of things called "activities" ...what... Answered over 90d ago
  • Q Book Fresh banana leaves: Healing indigenous through Indigenous Science. Book check #2-Banana Leaves 1. Using the chapte... Answered over 90d ago
  • Q Discuss two ethical theories which you can apply to the problem(s) you reviewed in your article of choice. Apply course ... Answered over 90d ago
  • Q  . etoronto.ca/courses/2952/quizzes/25116/take Quiz: Test 2 need Windows 10 or later. This computer is using Windows 7. ... Answered over 90d ago
  • Q  . The graph to the right shows a region of feasible solutions. Use this region to 10 As + find maximum and minimum valu... Answered over 90d ago
  • Q Find an article that discusses one of the following topics from the readings: Glass Ceiling, Glass Cliff, Breaking throu... Answered over 90d ago
  • Q Given the chemical structure of the main component of cumin you determined above, which of the following visualization m... Answered over 90d ago
  • Q Explain whether each of the following events shifts the short-run aggregate supply curve, the aggregate demand curve, bo... Answered over 90d ago
  • Q Clint's salary increased from ​$24,000 to $33,600 over a​ three-year period.​ Helen's salary increased from ​$25,000 to ... Answered over 90d ago
  • Q the case is Jason White, et al. v. National Collegiate Athletic Association . What was the case about? Who did what to w... Answered over 90d ago
  • Q  . 17. Suppose that the allocation a1 = 9 and a2 = z is a cost effective allocation. What is z? (2 points, show your wor... Answered 5d ago
  • Q . Review your histogram from the result for question 3 and answer the following questions:  Is the Census population dat... Answered over 90d ago
  • Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

California’s Push for Ethnic Studies Runs Into the Israel-Hamas War

The state’s high school students will be required to take the subject, but some object to how the discipline addresses the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

A photo of a student’s hands, filling out a worksheet.

By Dana Goldstein

California has grand ambitions for ethnic studies. By 2025, the state’s public high schools — about 1,600 of them — must teach the subject. By 2030, students won’t be able to graduate high school without it.

Listen to This Article

Open this article in the New York Times Audio app on iOS.

For policymakers, a goal is to give California students, 80 percent of whom are nonwhite, the opportunity to study a diverse array of cultures. Research has shown that ethnic studies classes can raise grades and attendance for teenagers at risk of dropping out.

But even in a liberal state like California, scholars, parents and educators have found themselves at odds over how to adapt the college-level academic discipline for high school students, especially because of its strong views on race and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

While the name “ethnic studies” might bring to mind a broad exploration of how ethnicity and race shape the human experience, the discipline, as taught in universities, is narrower — and more ideological.

Ethnic studies focuses on four groups: Black Americans, Latinos, Native Americans and Asian Americans. It aims to critique various forms of oppression and spur students to take action, often drawing analogies across disparate expanses of time and geography. The Palestinian experience of displacement is central to that exercise, and has been compared by some scholars to the Native American experience.

In reworking ethnic studies for high school, California came up with a 700-page model curriculum that captures much of the discipline’s leftist, activist spirit. But it added the stories of other ethnic groups, including Jewish Americans, while eliminating discussions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It said lessons should include “multiple perspectives” on political issues.

Now some prominent ethnic studies scholars and educators say the state has bowed to political critics and censored their field. They are promoting a competing vision, which they call “liberated ethnic studies.” It is truer to how the subject is taught in colleges, but more politically fraught. It largely excludes the histories of ethnic groups, including Jews, who are typically understood as white within the discipline’s context. (Arab American studies is defined as fitting into Asian American studies.) And it offers lessons that are critical of Israel — and, some argue, antisemitic.

A number of California school districts are working with curriculum consultants who embrace liberated ethnic studies, while other districts are drawing upon these materials in creating their own classes.

The dueling approaches have prompted several lawsuits and sparked a heated debate: How should millions of California teenagers engage with these explicitly activist concepts in the classroom?

Resolutions to this question may shape education across the country. States including Oregon, Vermont and Minnesota plan to introduce K-12 ethnic studies in the coming years.

So, What Is Ethnic Studies?

At Edward R. Roybal Learning Center, a mostly Latino high school in Los Angeles, Guadalupe Cardona’s ethnic studies students have been keenly interested this year in tracing the shift in female archetypes in Mexican culture, from Aztec mythology to the legends of the Spanish conquistadores.

“A majority of my students have never even studied their own history,” said Ms. Cardona, a leader in the liberated ethnic studies movement.

Some students, she said, had also asked her about the Israel-Hamas war.

Ms. Cardona said she explained there had been a long dispute over land in the region — a dispute that would be better solved peacefully, she added.

And she considered the discipline’s approach to the topic clear.

“If someone is going to teach that conflict from a true ethnic studies perspective, it’s going to be critiquing settler colonialism in Palestine,” she said.

Ethnic studies grew out of student activism at Bay Area colleges in the late 1960s, when Black, Latino, Asian and Native American students went on strike to demand more focus on their groups’ histories and cultures.

Some activists were part of the Third World Liberation Front , a student group that linked racial segregation and discrimination in the United States to colonialism, imperialism and militarism across the globe.

For early scholars and students of ethnic studies, pro-Palestinian activism was also crucial, said Keith Feldman, chair of comparative ethnic studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Israel had recently captured Gaza and the West Bank, after defeating Egypt, Jordan and Syria in the Arab-Israeli War of 1967.

And some ethnic studies scholars have argued that the 1948 founding of Israel, in the immediate wake of the Holocaust, was part of the same general pattern of settler colonialism that brought white Europeans to the Americas and led to the displacement and genocide of Native Americans.

Those frameworks are “central to the ethnic studies approach,” said Dylan Rodriguez, an ethnic studies scholar at the University of California, Riverside.

Ethnic studies is not “a descriptive curriculum that speaks to various ethnic and racial groups’ experiences,” Professor Rodriguez said. “That is a bland form of multiculturalism.”

Instead, the discipline “is a critical analysis of the way power works in societies,” he said.

For those reasons, several ethnic studies scholars said in interviews, the Palestinian cause should be included in high school classes. It was important, they said, to stand in solidarity with Palestinian American students.

For critics, ethnic studies frameworks — such as categorizing Israeli Jews as European settlers — flatten the Jewish experience in ways that are inaccurate and, some argue, antisemitic.

About half of Israeli Jews identify as Mizrahi, meaning they have lived for hundreds or even thousands of years in the Middle East. And some Jews have always lived on the land that is now Israel, before 1948, among a Palestinian Arab majority.

There is a broad range of views in the Jewish community as to whether and when critique of Israel veers into antisemitism. Some draw a line at suggesting that Israel does not have the right to exist as a Jewish state.

“It’s not appropriate to teach students that Jews are colonizers and have engaged in, quote, ‘land-grabbing,’” said James Pasch, senior director for national litigation at the Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish group. “That course content will spread antisemitism throughout our high schools.”

When Professor Rodriguez was asked if students enrolled in ethnic studies classes should encounter a competing perspective of Israel’s founding — as a refuge for an oppressed people with deep roots in the region — he acknowledged Jewish ties to the land, and said he was not opposed to assigning writing by Zionists.

But he contested the notion of ideological balance in the curriculum, saying, “It creates false equivalences.” He then asked if creationism should be covered in biology classes, or climate change denialism in environmental science.

Asked if he was comparing Zionism to creationism or climate change denial, Professor Rodriguez responded, “Analogies are not comparisons. I am not saying these are the same thing.”

“A rigorous study of the creation of Israel,” he added, “requires a painful coming to terms with certain historic facts. I would analogize that to learning the history of slavery.”

A Curriculum Rewritten

The first draft of the state model curriculum , written by ethnic studies scholars and educators and released in 2019, reflected the discipline’s investment in the Palestinian cause. The draft rarely mentioned Jewish history and antisemitism, but touched repeatedly on the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement to pressure Israel.

After fierce pushback from Jewish groups, the state revised the draft several times, publishing a final version in 2021. Even though all high schools will have to offer ethnic studies, the lessons in the framework are optional. Schools have the choice to incorporate ethnic studies either as a stand-alone course or by adding an ethnic studies lens to subjects such as history or literature.

Still, many schools are looking toward the model curriculum for direction. It retains the discipline’s leftist, activist bent, but is wide-ranging and, arguably, unwieldy. It covers white flight, Japanese internment, California farmworkers and anti-Arab bias. There is new content on groups who felt left out from the first draft, including Sikhs, Armenians and Mizrahi Jews.

At the same time, the state removed explicit discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And in response to concerns about bias against Jews and Israel, the 2021 law adopting the curriculum included “guardrail” language, saying classes must “not reflect or promote, directly or indirectly, any bias, bigotry or discrimination.”

Some ethnic studies advocates have said that language threatens academic freedom.

“Guardrails are an attempt to equate criticism of Israel with antisemitism,” said Lara Kiswani, executive director of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center in San Francisco. “It was very clear from the onset of the attacks: It was about erasing Palestine.”

Liz Sanders, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Education, noted that while local school districts have control over their curriculums, state guidelines are clear: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a recommended topic for discussion in world history courses, but not in ethnic studies.

That said, Ms. Sanders acknowledged, there is no mechanism to enforce the guardrails and no consequence for breaking them.

In the Classroom

Ethnic studies has come under fire from conservative groups that are trying to eliminate lessons about critical race theory and systemic racism, key concepts in the discipline.

And even before the start of the Israel-Hamas war, some Jewish organizations were also closely scrutinizing high school ethnic studies courses, concerned the state guardrails would be breached.

With many districts already offering the subject — and teachers exercising autonomy in their approach — there has been no shortage of flash points.

Last spring, the school board in Santa Ana Unified, in Orange County, approved a 10th-grade ethnic studies class that covers the displacement of Native American tribes, gentrification in American cities and early 20th-century Russian pogroms of Jews.

But the syllabus veers from the state framework by including Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in a unit on colonialism.

In September, the Anti-Defamation League and several other Jewish groups sued the district on procedural grounds to prevent that material from being taught. A spokesman for the district said he could not comment on ongoing litigation, but noted that the course has not been offered, and that content was still being finalized.

In November, several weeks after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, an ethnic studies teacher at Menlo-Atherton High School, in Silicon Valley, presented a lesson that inaccurately claimed the United Nations considered the creation of Israel illegal. (A U.N. resolution partitioned the territory into Jewish and Arab states, and the U.N. admitted Israel as a member in 1949.)

In addition, a slide depicted a hand manipulating a puppet, recalling antisemitic tropes about secret Jewish control of government, the media and finance.

Jewish parents protested, saying the lesson violated the anti-bias guardrails.

The Sequoia Union High School District, home to Menlo-Atherton High School, did not respond to interview requests. The teacher who taught the lesson said in an email that she was open to reteaching it to include “other perspectives,” but that she and the district disagreed about how to do so.

Sequoia Union is under pressure from the Deborah Project, a legal group focused on antisemitism, which has filed a public records request for lesson plans and communication among teachers.

The Deborah Project and other pro-Israel organizations have also zeroed in on several consulting groups whose founders helped produce the state’s 2019 draft curriculum, which was rejected after antisemitism accusations.

The consulting groups have hosted training sessions for educators and sometimes post on social media about the Israel-Hamas war.

One group, the Liberated Ethnic Studies Model Curriculum Consortium, offers free model lessons to schools, on topics such as the abolitionist John Brown’s raid, mass incarceration and gender expression, which are all part of the state’s framework.

But it also offers a lesson on Arab American issues that begins by comparing Palestinians to Native Americans in a “land acknowledgment,” which typically recognizes the Indigenous population where an event is taking place, and references the theft of that land.

A slide displays maps of Israel and the Palestinian territories, showing what it calls “Palestine land loss” between 1917 and 2016, without any information about the conflicts, wars or U.N. resolutions that shaped these maps.

There are references to finding common ground. The lesson highlights Edward Said , the Palestinian American literary scholar and theorist of settler colonialism. A slide states, “Said argued in favor of the political legitimacy and right to a Jewish homeland; but also on the right of the Palestinians for self-determination.”

It is unclear how many districts plan to use these lesson plans. But a review of district websites and board of education documents showed at least a half-dozen have either hired consultants affiliated with the liberated ethnic studies vision, or posted liberated ethnic studies materials.

Theresa Montaño, a Chicano studies scholar at California State University, Northridge, and a founder of the Liberated Ethnic Studies group, declined to say how many districts the group works with. She emphasized that the group does not promote a one-size-fits-all approach, but helps schools create lessons relevant to their local communities.

The Deborah Project has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Dr. Montaño’s group, the Los Angeles teachers’ union and the Los Angeles Unified School District, to try to prevent liberated ethnic studies materials from being taught. Ms. Cardona, the L.A. teacher, is also named.

A spokeswoman for the district said it had not hired any consultants affiliated with Dr. Montaño’s organization.

Lori Lowenthal Marcus, the Deborah Project’s legal director, said the group would probably file more lawsuits in the coming months.

Some legislators are also pushing back.

Scott Wiener, a Democratic state senator who helped craft the anti-bias guardrails, said he still supports ethnic studies, including lessons about Palestinian American immigrants.

“But,” he added, “picking one foreign conflict to teach intensively about and demonize one side — that is the home of one-half of all Jews on the planet — is very problematic.”

Audio produced by Sarah Diamond .

Dana Goldstein covers education and families for The Times.  More about Dana Goldstein

How technology is reinventing education

Stanford Graduate School of Education Dean Dan Schwartz and other education scholars weigh in on what's next for some of the technology trends taking center stage in the classroom.

article analysis high school

Image credit: Claire Scully

New advances in technology are upending education, from the recent debut of new artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots like ChatGPT to the growing accessibility of virtual-reality tools that expand the boundaries of the classroom. For educators, at the heart of it all is the hope that every learner gets an equal chance to develop the skills they need to succeed. But that promise is not without its pitfalls.

“Technology is a game-changer for education – it offers the prospect of universal access to high-quality learning experiences, and it creates fundamentally new ways of teaching,” said Dan Schwartz, dean of Stanford Graduate School of Education (GSE), who is also a professor of educational technology at the GSE and faculty director of the Stanford Accelerator for Learning . “But there are a lot of ways we teach that aren’t great, and a big fear with AI in particular is that we just get more efficient at teaching badly. This is a moment to pay attention, to do things differently.”

For K-12 schools, this year also marks the end of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding program, which has provided pandemic recovery funds that many districts used to invest in educational software and systems. With these funds running out in September 2024, schools are trying to determine their best use of technology as they face the prospect of diminishing resources.

Here, Schwartz and other Stanford education scholars weigh in on some of the technology trends taking center stage in the classroom this year.

AI in the classroom

In 2023, the big story in technology and education was generative AI, following the introduction of ChatGPT and other chatbots that produce text seemingly written by a human in response to a question or prompt. Educators immediately worried that students would use the chatbot to cheat by trying to pass its writing off as their own. As schools move to adopt policies around students’ use of the tool, many are also beginning to explore potential opportunities – for example, to generate reading assignments or coach students during the writing process.

AI can also help automate tasks like grading and lesson planning, freeing teachers to do the human work that drew them into the profession in the first place, said Victor Lee, an associate professor at the GSE and faculty lead for the AI + Education initiative at the Stanford Accelerator for Learning. “I’m heartened to see some movement toward creating AI tools that make teachers’ lives better – not to replace them, but to give them the time to do the work that only teachers are able to do,” he said. “I hope to see more on that front.”

He also emphasized the need to teach students now to begin questioning and critiquing the development and use of AI. “AI is not going away,” said Lee, who is also director of CRAFT (Classroom-Ready Resources about AI for Teaching), which provides free resources to help teach AI literacy to high school students across subject areas. “We need to teach students how to understand and think critically about this technology.”

Immersive environments

The use of immersive technologies like augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality is also expected to surge in the classroom, especially as new high-profile devices integrating these realities hit the marketplace in 2024.

The educational possibilities now go beyond putting on a headset and experiencing life in a distant location. With new technologies, students can create their own local interactive 360-degree scenarios, using just a cell phone or inexpensive camera and simple online tools.

“This is an area that’s really going to explode over the next couple of years,” said Kristen Pilner Blair, director of research for the Digital Learning initiative at the Stanford Accelerator for Learning, which runs a program exploring the use of virtual field trips to promote learning. “Students can learn about the effects of climate change, say, by virtually experiencing the impact on a particular environment. But they can also become creators, documenting and sharing immersive media that shows the effects where they live.”

Integrating AI into virtual simulations could also soon take the experience to another level, Schwartz said. “If your VR experience brings me to a redwood tree, you could have a window pop up that allows me to ask questions about the tree, and AI can deliver the answers.”

Gamification

Another trend expected to intensify this year is the gamification of learning activities, often featuring dynamic videos with interactive elements to engage and hold students’ attention.

“Gamification is a good motivator, because one key aspect is reward, which is very powerful,” said Schwartz. The downside? Rewards are specific to the activity at hand, which may not extend to learning more generally. “If I get rewarded for doing math in a space-age video game, it doesn’t mean I’m going to be motivated to do math anywhere else.”

Gamification sometimes tries to make “chocolate-covered broccoli,” Schwartz said, by adding art and rewards to make speeded response tasks involving single-answer, factual questions more fun. He hopes to see more creative play patterns that give students points for rethinking an approach or adapting their strategy, rather than only rewarding them for quickly producing a correct response.

Data-gathering and analysis

The growing use of technology in schools is producing massive amounts of data on students’ activities in the classroom and online. “We’re now able to capture moment-to-moment data, every keystroke a kid makes,” said Schwartz – data that can reveal areas of struggle and different learning opportunities, from solving a math problem to approaching a writing assignment.

But outside of research settings, he said, that type of granular data – now owned by tech companies – is more likely used to refine the design of the software than to provide teachers with actionable information.

The promise of personalized learning is being able to generate content aligned with students’ interests and skill levels, and making lessons more accessible for multilingual learners and students with disabilities. Realizing that promise requires that educators can make sense of the data that’s being collected, said Schwartz – and while advances in AI are making it easier to identify patterns and findings, the data also needs to be in a system and form educators can access and analyze for decision-making. Developing a usable infrastructure for that data, Schwartz said, is an important next step.

With the accumulation of student data comes privacy concerns: How is the data being collected? Are there regulations or guidelines around its use in decision-making? What steps are being taken to prevent unauthorized access? In 2023 K-12 schools experienced a rise in cyberattacks, underscoring the need to implement strong systems to safeguard student data.

Technology is “requiring people to check their assumptions about education,” said Schwartz, noting that AI in particular is very efficient at replicating biases and automating the way things have been done in the past, including poor models of instruction. “But it’s also opening up new possibilities for students producing material, and for being able to identify children who are not average so we can customize toward them. It’s an opportunity to think of entirely new ways of teaching – this is the path I hope to see.”

IMAGES

  1. Student Essay Example 2 (Literary Analysis) in MLA

    article analysis high school

  2. FREE 10+ Article Analysis Samples in PDF

    article analysis high school

  3. Newspaper Article Analysis by Canadian Elementary

    article analysis high school

  4. Student Worksheet

    article analysis high school

  5. Adapting Journal Articles for High School Students Part 3

    article analysis high school

  6. How to write a critical analysis essay pdf

    article analysis high school

VIDEO

  1. How I read academic articles? #studywithmerve #realtimestudysession #studyathome

  2. 25- article ||use of the||

  3. Avoid This Terrible College Essay Topic

  4. article analysis pdf

  5. article analysis BIPA

  6. Article Analysis

COMMENTS

  1. How to Get Started Teaching Literary Analysis to High School Students

    January 12, 2021 Marla Brose / Albuquerque Journal / ZUMA Wire / Alamy Stock Photo I remember my first experience teaching analysis to high schoolers. After briefly explaining how analysis differed from summary, I asked my students to analyze the carousel scene at the end of The Catcher in the Rye.

  2. News Article Analysis

    6-12 Overview Lesson Plans Save Share to Google Classroom Print this Page Overview Why Analyze News Articles? Use this teaching strategy to help students identify and analyze the key characteristics of the three most common types of news articles: straight news, feature, and opinion.

  3. How to Implement the News Article Analysis Teaching ...

    Utilize this teaching method to help learners identify and analyze the key characteristics of the three most common types of news articles: straight news, feature, and opinion. This method helps learners develop their news literacy and critical thinking skills, and it can be used with any article that fits into one of these categories.

  4. Lesson Plan on Writing an Article Review: Includes Rubric

    Rubric. This post is part of the series: Writing Lesson Plans. Most students do not know how to write an article review, an important skill for writing research papers. This simple lesson plan helps build this vital skill. A good article review contains a summary of the article with a personal response supported by evidence and reason.

  5. 10 of the Best Literary Analysis Activities to Elevate Thinking

    3. Images. Nothing grabs a student's attention like an image! Visuals are amazing tools for introducing literary analysis skills. I always begin my literary analysis unit with pictures. Using an image, we can quickly show students how to differentiate between summarizing and analyzing.Then, we can walk them through the steps of acknowledging what we might be missing, making observations ...

  6. Understanding Why Students Drop Out of High School, According to Their

    A Comparative Analysis of Seven Nationally Representative Studies. Jonathan Jacob Doll, Zohreh Eslami, and Lynne Walters View all authors and affiliations. All Articles ... This was an annual study of 17,726 high school seniors starting at age 18 and continuing for 14 years and was termed the grandmother of the longitudinal studies because it ...

  7. Putting a Playful Spin on Literary Analysis in High School

    Putting a Playful Spin on Literary Analysis in High School | Edutopia Game-Based Learning Putting a Playful Spin on Literary Analysis High school teachers can incorporate elements of gamification into assignments to encourage students to dig deeper into texts. By Lauren Gehr October 6, 2022 FangXiaNuo / iStock

  8. Enhancing senior high school student engagement and academic ...

    Entire classes of high school STEM students representing diverse cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds engaged in iterative, problem-based learning designed to emphasize critical thinking ...

  9. A Guide to Writing a Scientific Paper: A Focus on High School Through

    This article presents a detailed guide for high school through graduate level instructors that leads students to write effective and well-organized scientific papers. Interesting research emerges from the ability to ask questions, define problems, design experiments, analyze and interpret data, and make critical connections.

  10. Over 60 New York Times Graphs for Students to Analyze

    Then, on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern time, we host a live-moderated discussion where students from around the world post their observations and analysis while moderators from A.S.A ...

  11. Analyzing a Scholarly Journal Article

    Analyzing and synthesizing a scholarly journal article is intended to help students obtain the reading and critical thinking skills needed to develop and write their own research papers.

  12. How to Publish a Research Paper In High School: 19 Journals and

    National High School Journal of Science (NHSJS) Cost: $250 for publication Deadline: Rolling Subject area: All science disciplines Type of research: Original research, literature review. NHSJS is a journal peer reviewed by high schoolers from around the world, with an advisory board of adult academics. Topics are STEM related, and submission ...

  13. Advice for High School Students on How to Write the Analysis ...

    Writing a high school analysis essay involves including correct essay elements and supporting your analysis with evidence. For a strong analysis essay, utilize the steps in the writing process. Explore this article 1 Analysis Your goal with analysis is to take a topic apart and explain how it works.

  14. PDF News Story Analysis Worksheet

    1. What was the headline for the story? 2. Discuss the effectiveness of the headline in summarizing the story and getting the reader's attention. 3. Briefly describe the factual content of the...

  15. Magazine Article Analysis Teaching Resources

    4.7. (3) $3.00. PDF. This worksheet can be used with any science world (current science) magazine article. It asks students to analyze the article (title, essential question, summary). I use this worksheet once a week to combine reading comprehension and science discoveries. Students find the format easy to follow.

  16. An empirical analysis of high school students' practices of modelling

    This paper presents a detailed, descriptive analysis of high school youth engaging in modelling texts using real-world data sets. Site and participants. The study took place in an Advanced Placement (AP) computer science classroom at a public high school in the Northeastern United States. The composition of the school population was 51% Latinx ...

  17. 15 Journals to Publish Your Research in High School

    Pursuing research at the high school level is one of the best ways for you to demonstrate co-curricular academic competence. Getting this study published is an added bonus because it will give your research a certain amount of credibility and backing. High school students might find guidance on how to conduct their research, but very few are familiar with academic journals that publish high ...

  18. Full article: The impact of stress on students in secondary school and

    Methods. A single author (MP) searched PubMed and Google Scholar for peer-reviewed articles published at any time in English. Search terms included academic, school, university, stress, mental health, depression, anxiety, youth, young people, resilience, stress management, stress education, substance use, sleep, drop-out, physical health with a combination of any and/or all of the preceding terms.

  19. High school students News, Research and Analysis

    Articles on High school students Displaying 1 - 20 of 28 articles December 11, 2023 Teens don't know everything − and those who acknowledge that fact are more eager to learn Tenelle Porter,...

  20. Awesome Articles for Students: Websites and Other Resources

    Student Article Websites Get the latest edtech news delivered to your inbox here: CommonLit With thousands of high-quality, Common Core-aligned reading passages for grades 3-12, this easy-to-use literacy site is a rich source of English and Spanish texts and lessons.

  21. Newspaper Article Analysis

    The article, from The Christian Science Monitor published on April 23, 1999, serves to illustrate the community response following the Columbine High School shooting. It further sheds light on the strength and resilience present within the community.

  22. Article Analysis # 3 Carefully read "High School Department

    Three open-ended interviews with high school department chairs. Artifacts such as system policies concerning supervision and the job description for high school department chairs. Field notes taken during the research process. 4. Data Analysis: Data analysis involved an ongoing process that began after the initial interviews.

  23. PDF Article Summary Worksheet

    Article Analysis Worksheet Directions: Complete one Article Analysis Worksheet for each article read. Remember to staple a copy of the article to the back of the worksheet. Use the copy to highlight, underline, and make notes as you read. Bibliographic Information Author(s) of article: ________________________________________________

  24. The Push to Scale Up High-Impact Tutoring

    In January 2024, the Biden Administration announced that high-dosage tutoring was one of the pillars of its Improving Student Achievement Agenda, a new push to assist states in closing stubborn learning gaps, as federal school rescue fund begins to wind down.. Founded in the Fall of 2020 by a group of education experts, the National Student Support Accelerator has helped districts bring high ...

  25. California's Push for Ethnic Studies Runs Into the Israel-Hamas War

    In reworking ethnic studies for high school, California came up with a 700-page model curriculum that captures much of the discipline's leftist, activist spirit. But it added the stories of ...

  26. How technology is reinventing K-12 education

    Data-gathering and analysis The growing use of technology in schools is producing massive amounts of data on students' activities in the classroom and online.

  27. Here are the brackets for the 2024 girls state hockey tournament

    The brackets for next week's girls hockey state tournament have been released and these are the matchups for the quarterfinal games that start Wednesday and Thursday on the ice at Xcel Energy ...

  28. Vote: Who is the best high school baseball hitter in the country in

    As the winter season enters the stretch in high school sports, baseball has sprung into action in several states.. While much of the sports world awaits warmer weather and the move from indoor gyms to outdoor diamonds, we put the spotlight this week on some of the top high school baseball hitters in the country.. High school baseball's best hitters in the nation entering the 2024 season