Week 0: An Introduction to Me and My Project

Hello everybody! My name is Katie Hon, I have been a BASIS Independent Brooklyn student since 6th grade and welcome to my Senior Project Blog!

I have always found myself interested in how the brain functions. The connection between physiology and functionality has always been something that has fascinated me, and recently with an introduction to neuroscience through the BASIS curriculum, I have not only developed an interest in the workings of intelligence, but also plan to pursue neuroscience in college. While I find myself fascinated by the tangible nature of neuroscience, I also find myself to be passionate on the subject of educational equity, and my project is my first step towards fighting for it, by exposing the potential correlations between aspects of individuals’ identity (race, socio-economic status, gender), and their measured intelligence level (IQ score)– a connection that should not exist in a truly equitable system. 

To research this correlation, I will be shadowing Dr. White-Ajmani and the Small Brooklyn Psychology staff as they administer neuropsychological assessments to children and adolescents. I will assist in organizing the tests, preparing rooms, and observing the various neuropsychological assessments being given. I will be specifically examining the Wechsler tests according to age, WPPSI-IV for 2-6, WISC-V for 6-16, WAIS-IV for 16+. By observing how these tests are administered, and independently researching how each task is correlated to a cognitive function, I will gain more insight into our current definition and quantification of intelligence. I will draw correlations between the usage of intelligence testing to the youth population of my local NYC area. 

As the culmination of my research, I look forward to creating my own chart of these clinical intelligence tests and their correlation to identity factors using a transcript of the interviews and information from my surveys. I’m excited to gain more knowledge about how cognitive functioning is defined, how it is tested, but more importantly to counter the impact of demographic disparities by showcasing the inequalities present in measuring intelligence to families. 

Click here to read my full proposal. 

Thank you so much for reading! I look forward to sharing the results of my research!

Katie