STUDENT PARTNERSHIP FOR ADVANCING RESEARCH AND KNOWLEDGE
The PRYDE Student Partnership for Advancing Research and Knowledge (SPARK) Program at a glance:
The PRYDE SPARK program provides high schoolers with the opportunity to design and implement a social science research project focused on an issue they care about in their local communities.
High schoolers in the PRYDE SPARK Program are mentored by Cornell undergraduate students from the PRYDE Scholars program. High schoolers and their mentors meet virtually once a week.
The PRYDE SPARK Program culminates in a research symposium where program participants share their projects with the broader community.
The PRYDE SPARK Program empowers high schoolers in 4-H programs to conduct social science research projects related to issues they care about in their local communities. The 13-week PRYDE SPARK Program pairs high school participants with undergraduate mentors from the PRYDE Scholars Program. This partnership strengthens the high schoolers’ social science research skills, while also giving PRYDE Scholars the opportunity to apply their knowledge of social science research in a tangible way.
The PRYDE SPARK Program builds directly upon the success of the Youth Investigators Program, which was also designed by PRYDE to teach high schoolers in 4-H about social science research (more information on the Youth Investigators Program can be found here). While the Youth Investigators Program teaches high schoolers introductory information about social science and its ability to impact communities directly, both PRYDE Scholars and Youth Investigators expressed a desire to extend this experience further. The PRYDE SPARK Program responds to this need by helping high schoolers transfer their knowledge of social science research into the real world.
High school participants in the PRYDE SPARK Program meet virtually with their undergraduate mentors weekly, while also working independently to implement a social science research project in their local community. These weekly meetings guide participants through the fulfilling, and sometimes messy, process of doing social science research: identifying a meaningful research question, designing a study to address that research question, collecting and analyzing data, interpreting the results, and translating findings into practical recommendations or applications. At the end of the PRYDE SPARK Program, high school participants and PRYDE Scholars come together for a research symposium event, where projects are shared with one another and the broader community. This event allows program participants to further expand the reach of their impactful work.