New STEM Curriculum Takes Off

Groton’s innovative new Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math curriculum gets started this fall with a pilot course called STEM Foundations I, offered to a section of Third Formers.
 
The curriculum stems from years of careful planning and analysis; it is designed to blend the content of all the STEM subjects with the skills that responsible 21st-century citizens will need. STEM students will learn all the math and science covered in more traditional classes, but will do so in a thoughtful and forward-thinking format. The dynamic program is both interdisciplinary and project-based. For their first project, Foundations students will use satellite imagery and geometric principles to figure out the size of Groton’s Circle.

Leading the STEM initiative are two veteran Groton educators: science teacher David Prockop and mathematics teacher Jonathan Choate '60 are the lead instructors, while several members of the math and science departments play supporting roles.

In preparation for the pilot course, three classrooms in the basement of the Schoolhouse—in what formerly was the mathematics wing—have been converted. The physical space is flexible, allows for ample project work and collaboration, and can be outfitted with current educational technology.
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