On the path to the Study Subject Project

Outline

In high school the 3rd year involves the writing of a mandatory study subject project, where the high school student work on a larger project based on a research question. The project typically combines different subject areas, e.g., language, math, history, religion, biology, market relations etc. depending on the high schools’ focus (humanities, STEM, business, or technical).

SDU invites the 3rd years of a high school to kick off their project with us. The visits can take place from late Fall to early Spring.

The visits’ structure
Typically, a visit consists of:

• Two inspirational presentations from researcher on a subject matter that matches the students’ upcoming projects. (Possible to choose from 8 predefined presentations)
• Workshop/presentation on academia: method and analysis
• Peer-to-peer session where high school students meet up with university students in smaller groups to give feedback on their projects, and chat about writing a project in high school and at the university. Similarities and differences. And the university student’s own experiences the high school project.
• Tour around campus/specific faculty/study areas + lunch

Before the visit, the high school students have watched two videos on method in the academic field. The videos are produced for this purpose.

Main purpose

• To develop the high school students’ writing skills in collaboration with the high school teachers.
• To bridge the gap between high school and university.
• To create purpose and meaningfulness in the process of the project (it is an important project for the high school students).
• To offer a helping hand to the high schools.

Organization
The initiative is organized by the department of Language, Culture, History and Communication, SDU Library, and SDU Student services in collaboration the researchers and student.
SDU contacts the headmaster of the high school in January-March to invite the high school for a visit. The high schools plan their upcoming school year in April.
The visits are coordinated by SDU, the headmaster and participating teachers to make the visits as relevant to the high school students as possible.

Two project coordinators organize a preparatory course for the university students involved in the visits.

Goals

• To develop the high school students’ writing skills in collaboration with the high school teachers.
• To bridge the gap between high school and university.
• To create purpose and meaningfulness in the process of the project (it is an important project for the high school students).
• To inspire high school students to pursue a university degree based on their own interest and willingness to work academically.

Target group

• Students experiencing geographical obstacles
• Students from non-academic backgrounds

Obstacles targetted:

• Social obstacles
• Geographical obstacles

Students involvement

Approx. 40 students are involved in the set-up as peer-to-peers and tour guides

Inspiration and evidence

SDU Library

Success criteria

The most important factors in this initiative are the commitment from the participating high school, and the relevance of the presentations and peer-to-peer session. The peer-to-peer sessions are the absolute star of the initiative.

It is important to get the timing right, so the visit does not come late for the students in the process of developing the research question and topic direction. And furthermore, to recruit the right (at eye-level) researchers for the task of the inspirational presentations.

Do you feel you can effectively provide the support that students require?

Would you recommend this to other institutions?

strongly agree

Evaluation

Yes, the feedback in the surveys from the high school and high school students shows that the visits are meaningful, relevant, and helpful regarding writing skills and inspiration.

Communication

Most of the communication is experience-based, which means former participants are interested in joining again if they have had a good experience. .
The rest of the communication happens via traditional channels like email, meetings and so on. Typically, the communication/contact is in March-April when the high schools plan for the next teaching year.

Timing

SDU has the capacity to receive visits from 6-8 high schools per academic year. The visits take place from the end of Fall to early Spring.

Day information

During regular ‘school’ hours.

Resources

Project coordinators, students to do the peer-to-peer and tours around campus, and researchers to do the inspirational presentations.

On a more practical level, you will need enough space at the campus to welcome an entire 3rd year of a high school. Exam periods are not good time for the visits.

Extra information

• Webpage on the visits (in Danish)

Transferability

We think it is quite easily transferable to other contexts or groups.