Abstract
Student research projects are increasingly common at the K-12 level. However, students often face difficulties in the course of their school research projects such as set-ting realistic timelines and expectations, handling problems stemming from a lack of self-confidence, as well as being sufficiently disciplined for sustained communication and experimentation.
In this work, we explore manifestations of these problems in the context of a photonics project, characterising the spectrum of the breakdown flash from Silicon Avalanche Photodiodes. We report on the process of planning and building the setup, data collection, analysis and troubleshooting, as well as the technical and human problems at each step.
Approaches that were found to be helpful in managing the aforementioned problems are discussed, including an attention to detail during during experimental work, as well as communicating in a forthcoming manner. The former allowed for clearer planning and the setting of quantifiable proximal goals; the latter helped in motivating discipline, and also helped in the understanding of research as an iterative learning process without a clear definition of success or failure.
© 2017 OSA, SPIE, ICO, IEEE
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