Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) are core academic programs at St. Mark’s School. This curricular initiative, which emanates from our strategic plan, centers on the belief that an integrated understanding of the STEM subjects is crucial for our students to develop into successful, engaged leaders of the 21st Century.
STEM Education at St. Mark’s Features…
- Emphasis on active learning environments and an integration of disciplines in a rich liberal arts tradition
- Focus on STEM literacy for all students
- Advanced opportunities for student-directed research
- Commitment to increasing the participation and success of under-represented groups in the STEM fields
- Curriculum created using the “Understanding by Design” framework
St. Mark’s faculty have developed a comprehensive program with a full complement of curricular and extracurricular opportunities, all of which are designed to nurture passion in the STEM subjects. The program serves students looking to dive deep into the STEM fields, as well as those students for whom the STEM subjects serve as a foundation required for success in an increasingly technological world.
Students at St. Mark’s are not just learning about the STEM fields, they are active participants. From high level research in the STEM Fellowship and Mathematics Research classes to engineering and building structures of their own design in New Media, our goal is to prepare students to “lead lives of leadership and service” armed with an outstanding STEM education.
St. Mark’s STEM Curriculum
The STEM curriculum at St. Mark’s is powered by 20 instructors who design and teach over 40 different classes and who work together to create an integrated and engaging education platform in which every student learns the skill required for success in a technologically rich world.
FIRST Robotics at St. Mark's:
St. Mark’s has an approach to robotics that puts students in charge of their learning and gives them the opportunity to get their hands dirty. Students can participate in robotics as either a course or as an extracurricular activity. The team travels to several regional competitions throughout the season to put their design to the test. While competition is not the most important aspect of the program, the pressure to design, build, and operate a complex piece of technology under the constraints of the FIRST robotics competition guidelines, encourages our students to expand the range of their learning of the STEM subjects beyond the bounds of the typical classroom experience. Learn more: smfirstrobotics.com
Computer Science:
St. Mark’s views computer science as integral to the study of the STEM fields, as it blends technical, creative, and aesthetic skill sets, while giving students the opportunity to make and build. As such, computer science courses at St. Mark’s have been designed to provide a firm grounding for a broad range of students: For those who will go on to pursue computer science, they will have an excellent head start, while those who may never have another computer science course will gain insight into computational solutions in their chosen field.
STEM Research Fellowship
The STEM Research Fellowships offer students the chance for deep exploration of their own particular area of interest, while fostering real world skills a needed for high level scientific research. STEM Fellows work with mentors and outside collaborators to design and conduct their own experiments. Moreover, students apply their research to real-world challenges through a service learning experience set up in conjunction with a partner school in Haiti.
