To aid in the success of this program, Mr. Kris provided carefully crafted workshops on research design, research methodology, and research support with some personalized guidance in the areas of writing, style, and formatting. 

In the early workshops, Mr. Kris discussed the importance of research questions. By creating comprehensive research questions, students were able to lay down a clear foundation from which to base their research aim, design, methodology, and presentation. Students also learned the benefits of revisiting and refining their research questions after consulting reliable sources. 

Through collaborative tasks, the students carried out the question-refining process. For example, as part of a homework assignment, they were divided into two groups, and each group had to deliberate in order to select 3 students to consult Mr. Kris about their research questions and bring his feedback to their group. Although scheduling a reasonable meeting time can be difficult, the groups were able to choose their representatives and incorporated the feedback into their research questions. 

The members of the Sustainable Future Leadership Program also participated in the Research Journey, a pathway created by the Research and Writing Lab for this program to teach how to perform basic online searches and consult electronic databases. In addition to developing their independent research skills by compiling significant sources, they learned about synthesis by reading articles from a bank of sources, comparing their contents, and linking them together. 

Since the research process is cyclical, students learned that strengthening the research’s framework and navigating source material are necessary to conduct insightful and ethical research. 

As time drew nearer to present their findings to the TASIS Dorado Community and The Pennington School of New Jersey, Profe imparted her expertise in communication and performance through a lively and informative workshop. She explained ways of embodying confidence through posture, purposeful gestures, and stillness. She reminded students that while dancing and rapid movements aren’t desired, eye contact and rhythmic enunciations speak positively about the presenters and the content of their presentations. As the students learned, presenting is also a collaborative effort, so presenters must be respectful of their presenters and coordinate when to present their sections. Finally, Profe reiterated the importance of practice, and with her two 10th-grade assistants, Elena P. and Tobias L., the 8th graders had to pinpoint the successes and mistakes presented in different scenarios. 

All together, the workshops prepared students to conduct meaningful research and present their findings purposefully during the TASIS Dorado CREAtes & PBL Fair.