Junior Year
Junior year students attend classes from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. except on Wednesdays when the school day runs from 8 a.m. until 12 p.m.. These mandatory classes include Mathematical Modeling, Physics, Humanities, Computer Science, STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math), Science and Technical Writing, and Foreign Language. STEM I is a class in which students take on an original research investigation that makes some contribution in that field. Students can either conduct science, math or engineering projects. This class culminates with a science fair in February. STEM II is an engineering class in which students work in three and four person teams to develop a piece of assistive technology. These projects are designed with a specific client in mind, usually a young student with a physical handicap. The foreign language classes are also different from most schools. In addition to grammar and translation, the class period consists of making a movie completely in either Spanish or French, singing songs written in foreign language, and discussion in the target language. Built into the school week are two 1.5 hour elective periods, where students can take a class of their choosing. The electives offered each term differ, but have included social dancing, cooking, machine shop, bowling, film appreciation, water colors, photography, advanced mathematics, mock trial, FIRST Robotics, kickboxing, puzzles, German, and drama.
The faculty at the Academy consist of Master Teachers and Visiting Scholars. Master Teachers are faculty who return every year, whereas Visiting Scholars typically come with backgrounds in various fields outside education, and develop their teaching skills over the course of a year or two.
Junior year is very homework intensive and many students find themselves working in the early hours of the morning completing assignments. However, this is typically due to a combination of a heavy workload and procrastination. Thus, students must individually learn the skills of time management.
"C-term", running from early January to the middle of March, is generally agreed to be by far the most difficult. The "STEM I" projects (formerly STREAM A for Science Technology Research Engineering and Mathematics, and before that, RS for Research Seminar) and papers must be completed in this time span - these involve individual research into areas not typically studied by high-school students, such as heuristics and mechanical design.
Read more about this topic: Massachusetts Academy Of Math And Science At WPI
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