“Our research team was made up of twenty-two 8th grade social studies lab students who  met twice a week for 40-minute class periods for the entire school year. We were  assigned to the lab at the beginning of the school year based on our previous  year’s grade point average and advanced achievement on state standardized  tests. The purpose of the lab was to take high-achieving students and challenge  them to formulate a deeper understanding of school curriculum, and construct a  meaningful product to demonstrate that understanding. Our partnership with the  University of Pittsburgh presented us with an opportunity to fulfill our purpose.”

“The research that we are partaking in differs from others because it consists of 8th-grade students. This is  important because research is mainly conducted by adults. Yet, we are doing this as teenagers.  We have  made questions to collect our data and put it all together ourselves.”