|
BHS
STEM Academy is a program option within Bangor High School open to all enrolled students. While the name may imply separation, BHS STEM is overseen administratively in the same manner as all of Bangor High School's excellent instructional programs.
Opting for BHS STEM begins with understanding the purpose of TAR STEM (Transformative Apprentice Research in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). TAR STEM is designed to purposefully and directly align course content over the four year classroom experience with the students' progression through apprentice research mentorship during the academic year and the sophomore and junior summers. Current research confirms the power and efficacy of this unique approach and serves as the foundation of the BHS STEM Academy model.
The BHS
STEM curriculum consists of three distinct components: 1. Existing
science and mathematics courses such as would be found in a traditional STEM-focused
high school program; 2. Novel courses introducing and developing methodologies and
tools associated with research; and 3. A long term apprentice research experience
which occurs over two summers and one and one half academic years. Initially
approximately 20 students will enter the program so that over the initial
four-year cycle 80 total students will be involved in the program.
The program is best understood by looking at the curriculum on a yearly
basis:
-
Year 1: The Introduction to Research class will lay the groundwork
for how engineering and science is performed in areas such as agriculture,
medicine, environment, and energy. A course in Physics with an instructional model specifically designed for grade 9 students will provide a science baseline in year one.
-
Years 2 & 3: Students will take a Technology and Engineering I, which exposes them to
rigorous methods of analysis and real-world problem solving using published
databases. During the summer of their sophomore year, students will begin their
apprentice research mentorships, (Apprentice Research I) at UMaine. As students enter the junior year, they will
have begun their research experience and been engaged in a crosscutting
curriculum in mathematics, technology, engineering, physical science, and
research. Technology and Engineering II, taught in the junior year, will
introduce students to programming languages and then engage them in a series of
related engineering modules, all of which contribute to the completion of the ongoing research project. Students take other core and elective courses as required by Bangor High School.
-
Year
4: Students build on the
apprentice research mentorship taken during the academic portion of junior year (Apprentice Research II) and the
summer following the junior year (Apprentice Research III). Student research culminates in a capstone project (Apprentice Research IV). Students complete required course work in physical and natural sciences (which will vary by the student), including the expectation of two Advanced Placement science classes from among the three offered at Bangor High School. Students finish Bangor High School diploma requirements for core and elective courses.
|
