Scientific Research

Last year, I and two colleagues launched a course called Scientific Research, where we exposed students to cutting edge scientific investigation. As their final project, students wrote science review papers that were put together into the inaugural Journal of Scientific Research, and they presented their work at the Scientific Research Symposium. Their presentations can be viewed in the videos above.

Below you can find a more detailed description of the course from the introduction to the Journal of Scientific Research:

The 2009-2010 school year marked the beginning of the Scientific Research course at African Leadership Academy. The goal of the course is to expose students to current research in the various fields of science, to teach them to fully analyze and interpret journal-level science writing, and to allow them to become experts in a particular area on the frontiers of scientific knowledge. The students began by reading widely about current developments, meeting weekly in small groups with an instructor and a few peers to share about their reading. They then focused on a topic of special interest, where they quickly surpassed the knowledge even of the instructors, and they began to teach each other from their fields of expertise.

It was an exciting time as the students shared their progress in fields ranging from superconductivity to gene therapy to piezoelectricity. Over the course of the year, students taught each other and learned from each other through a process of review by discussions and presentations as they continued to develop their understanding. At the end of the year, they compiled their research into comprehensive review papers on their field (and one original research paper from Spencer based on a psychology experiment). The year culminated with the first ever Scientific Research Symposium where the students shared abstracts of their work with the greater community, while Spencer, John, Kylie, and Mehdi gave keynote addresses about their research.

This journal is a compilation of the papers from the inaugural class of Scientific Research. We hope you enjoy glimpsing the journey of this past year!

Read the full Journal of Scientific Research here.

Joseph

Joseph was one of my students at ALA for the last two years where he lived on my hall and studied hard for my Biology class. He has also become one of my heroes. Originally from DRC, Joseph grew up as a refugee in Uganda in a large camp called Kyangwali. In a hopeless situation, Joseph and his friends created a culture of hope through forming Coburwas, an organization that has transformed the camp through education, health, women's empowerment, care for orphans, and much more. Even at ALA, Joseph continued to work those in the camp, raising money to build an elementary school - the school is now almost done and can be seen behind Joseph in the picture. In July, I had the privilege to visit Joseph in Kyangwali and see for myself all the work that he and his colleagues have done there - amazing!

To learn more about Joseph's story, watch the videos below of the speech he gave at ALA's Inaugural Graduation. (Or read the transcript.)

Part 1:


Part 2:

ALA Grand Opening Video

On February 6-7, 2009, African Leadership Academy hosted its Grand Opening, celebrating the establishment of this school seeking to transform Africa. I have been busy uploading videos from the weekend to the ALA YouTube Channel, including this one which gives an overview of the entire event.

Introducing the ALA YouTube Channel

We've just launched the ALA YouTube channel, starting with this video taken on the first day of school. You can follow the channel here.