Science Extension

This course allows students to choose a topic in science they wish to investigate in greater depth. Students will explore an issue of local or global complexity. The majority of the work will be completed independently, though students will have the support of an instructor and their classmates to help them through challenges. The purpose of this extension course is to allow students the opportunity to demonstrate growth in their understanding in a self-selected complex science issue as well as two 21st century capacities as described by the district matrix. 

In this course, students complete an approved project of their own design, investigating a topic that is both interesting and challenging. Students then investigate an issue or an idea related to this topic, develop and perform relevant experiments to test their hypothesis and produce data to form conclusions.

All components of the project must meet passing requirements, but multiple attempts may be made as needed.

In the end, students will create a product that showcases their chosen criteria and then share this product with a panel or another approved audience related to their exploration. The audience will provide feedback against the design criteria and the intent of the investigation.  This class can be selected again for new or redesigned investigations. Independent Project components will be scored Pass/Fail using corresponding rubrics. This type of project is increasingly popular nationwide; consequently, colleges and universities are accustomed to seeing Pass/Fail grades for similar courses. 

Unit A&B

21^st Century Capacities: Problem Identification, Synthesizing