Overarching theme for 2019-2020: systems analysis and sustainability
“There is a tendency at every important but difficult crossroad to pretend that it's not really there.”
-Bill McKibben
Our overarching theme for the year addresses the ways in which we use science and math to understand and describe reality. We will pay particular attention to the cause-effect chains that drive the myriad physical, chemical, and biological phenomena that are present around us. We intend to develop a clearer understanding of how those chains operate, how human interference with those chains alters them, and how those alterations affect the stability and sustainability of the world around us.
“There is a tendency at every important but difficult crossroad to pretend that it's not really there.”
-Bill McKibben
Our overarching theme for the year addresses the ways in which we use science and math to understand and describe reality. We will pay particular attention to the cause-effect chains that drive the myriad physical, chemical, and biological phenomena that are present around us. We intend to develop a clearer understanding of how those chains operate, how human interference with those chains alters them, and how those alterations affect the stability and sustainability of the world around us.
Science topics for 2019-2020
- Force, mass, and motion
- Potential and kinetic energy
- Heat
- Global climate systems
- Population ecology
Standards-based Grading and Assessment “The one at the top of the mountain did not fall there.”
What are the science standards?
Click here to access the MSMS 7/8 science standards. This list is the foundation of a much broader list of learning objectives that fit into our two-year looping science curriculum.
How are grades earned?
Each unit of study will assess several learning objectives. Typically, I give written feedback on quizzes and labs at the beginning of the unit rather than a grade. By the middle of the unit, once we have established a firm foundation of understanding, students earn ‘practice’ scores that serve as milestones and potential warning signs. At the end of the unit, a student or team of students will be given a problem that includes several learning objectives in a single real-world performance. These projects are meant to be challenging, but fun. For example, students might be asked to plan, design, build, test, modify, and re-test a greenhouse, and then explain what they learned about the best way to build, and the best way to test. A student can earn a final objective grade of ‘4’ by doing an extraordinary job at the end of the unit, even if they struggle at the beginning of the unit. That said, hard practice usually means better play in the game.
Objective grades are based on a 1-4 scale:
1. Not proficient yet: little or no evidence of understanding and no problem solving ability.
2. Not proficient yet: evidence of partial understanding and attempted problem solving.
3. Proficient: evidence of understanding and independent problem solving ability.
4. Proficient: evidence of extension of understanding to emergent problem situations.
Is there homework?
You can pass this class by working hard in school every day. Many students do deeper learning and extraordinary projects at home, and most great science projects involve work done at home. I do not require you to do work at home most nights. Do yourself a good turn and read a book.
What are the science standards?
Click here to access the MSMS 7/8 science standards. This list is the foundation of a much broader list of learning objectives that fit into our two-year looping science curriculum.
How are grades earned?
Each unit of study will assess several learning objectives. Typically, I give written feedback on quizzes and labs at the beginning of the unit rather than a grade. By the middle of the unit, once we have established a firm foundation of understanding, students earn ‘practice’ scores that serve as milestones and potential warning signs. At the end of the unit, a student or team of students will be given a problem that includes several learning objectives in a single real-world performance. These projects are meant to be challenging, but fun. For example, students might be asked to plan, design, build, test, modify, and re-test a greenhouse, and then explain what they learned about the best way to build, and the best way to test. A student can earn a final objective grade of ‘4’ by doing an extraordinary job at the end of the unit, even if they struggle at the beginning of the unit. That said, hard practice usually means better play in the game.
Objective grades are based on a 1-4 scale:
1. Not proficient yet: little or no evidence of understanding and no problem solving ability.
2. Not proficient yet: evidence of partial understanding and attempted problem solving.
3. Proficient: evidence of understanding and independent problem solving ability.
4. Proficient: evidence of extension of understanding to emergent problem situations.
Is there homework?
You can pass this class by working hard in school every day. Many students do deeper learning and extraordinary projects at home, and most great science projects involve work done at home. I do not require you to do work at home most nights. Do yourself a good turn and read a book.