S4.9.2 Gifted Teens and College-Level Research: Factors in their Success
Despite an increase in rigorous high school classes, especially those featuring left-brain instructional methods and “correct answers,” there remain relatively few college-level independent research opportunities. Gifted teens can conduct such inquiries successfully, as seen with these four high school researchers who recently investigated such disparate matters as teen eating habits in Norway, the US-Russia Arms Control Treaty of 1987, 2000 years of architectural history in Paris, and highly sensitive mobility apps for students with visual impairments. Presenters will describe the opportunity, professional mentoring, and discovery of helpful research methods. A veteran researcher will also describe how these youths’ work represents national trends of quality, independent, gifted teen research.
Author(s):
Manashri Bhor
manashribhor@gmail.com
East Ridge High School
United States
Manashri Bhor, a graduating senior at East Ridge High School in Woodbury, MN, was the recipient of the Minnesota Department of Education’s Scholar of Distinction Award for Policy Research, with her 70-page work on Norwegian teens’ eating habits and the Norwegian government's policies for encouraging that behavior. She hopes to major in biology, attend medical school, and do medical research. Manashri enjoys Indian dance and assisting her community's hungry and homeless. She is the author of an upcoming Teaching for High Potential article on the value of gifted teens conducting advanced research.
Anish Kulkarni
anish.wayzatadebate@gmail.com
Wayzata High School
United States
Anish Kulkarni's research on political factors involved in US-Russia Arms relations is a three-year project that reflects his dedication to both the topic and its underlying factors. Anish, a senior at Wayzata (MN) High School, has long studied European History, Government, Psychology, and Debate. Anish is committed to progress for Americans with disabilities, and, in December 2018, he produced two pieces with advocacy strategies for gifted youth with challenges. These pieces were produced for 2e News and the 2e Subcommittee of the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA). He hopes to be a History major and become an attorney.
Amogh Kulkarni
kulkaamo000@isd284.com
Wayzata High School
United States
Amogh Kulkarni, a sophomore at Wayzata (MN) Senior High, is expanding his architectural history of Paris to include more native French perspectives and more hard-to-find primary sources from the ancient era. He volunteers his knowledge of French, through a local cultural organization, as an elementary French language and culture teacher. In school, he is most zealous about literature and human geography. Amogh has most recently put the finishing touches on an article for Teaching for High Potential on the ways in which siblings can -- and do -- help each other to become better scholars.
Terry Friedrichs
tpfriedrichs56@gmail.com
Friedrichs Education
United States
Terry Friedrichs has taught advanced research skills to gifted adolescents for 30 years, in a range of subjects, with various methodologies, and in cooperation with both high school and university independent-research programs. He has advised these teens in their course-based writing and in their efforts to publish their research. A graduate of the University of Virginia in Gifted Education, Special Education, and Policy Analysis (Ph. D., 1990), and of the University of St. Thomas in Critical Pedagogy (Ed. D., 2005), Terry directs Friedrichs Education, a largely adolescent-based assessment, instructional, and college consulting center for the gifted in St. Paul, MN.
Devesh Bhor
deveshbhor@outlook.com
East Ridge High School
United States
Devesh Bhor, an Honors Program freshman at East Ridge High School in Woodbury, MN, enjoys all his classes but excels most in his advanced engineering courses. He enjoys both tennis and table tennis. He is currently conducting a research internship at the Minnesota State School for the Blind, where is observing, interacting with, and preparing an app for students' eyewear. The app will eventually sense physical barriers in the students' environments and will announce to the youth that the barriers are near. Devesh hopes that this experience will help prepare him for a career as a design engineer.
