The STEM Institute at Roland Park
The STEM Institute at Roland Park strives to foster in young women the
confidence, passion, persistence, and curiosity to explore the empirical world
and to develop innovative habits of mind. Our goal is to produce graduates who
possess the attitudes, cognitive skills, and academic foundations to investigate
intellectually rigorous problems in the fields of science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics. Engaging in a problem-based curriculum, students
of the Institute will learn to plan research projects, work with others,
synthesize new knowledge, generate novel solutions, and communicate effectively
about their results. Participants will develop the necessary ethical,
analytical, and creative reasoning skills to pursue interests in and to prepare
for careers in the STEM disciplines.
The core of the Institute consists of a series of semester long research apprenticeships that may be taken in sequential order or as stand-alone courses. Each course in the 9th and 10th grade teaches a collection of unique skill sets within specific STEM fields that complement the regular scope & sequence of the RPCS math and science programs. While graduates of the Institute will be expected to take all 4 semesters during 9th & 10th grade, the units and semesters remain autonomous, and any student may take any one (or more) of the semester courses on a Pass/Fail basis.
In the 11th Grade Research Internship Program, each full–time student of the Institute will be expected to complete a research project of her own choosing, with a focus on a single STEM discipline and topic. In addition and/or in conjunction with the 9th & 10th grade components of the program, graduates of the Institute must complete the following academic coursework as part of their general training in order to receive Certification:
- A full year of statistics
- A full year of introductory Engineering
- 1 computer science course
- Any 2 Advanced Placement STEM courses (e.g. AP Calculus, AP Comp Science, AP Chemistry, etc.)
- 1 Summer Internship (departmental approval required)
- 4 full years of science
- 4 full years of math
The Stem Institute is part of the National Girls Collaborative Project.
8th Grade
Accelerated STEM Program (prerequisite: permission of the department)
Year Long
This 3/10 Upper School course prepares girls with strong
abilities in math and science to participate in the Upper School accelerated science
sequence. As part of their preparation,
students in the course will participate in national STEM competitions such as
the Toshiba ExploraVision program and the Siemens We Can Change the World
Contest.
STEM Research Seminar
IA (prerequisite: enrollment in or completion of biology)
Semester 1
This 3/10 course introduces students to some foundational
skills in modern science and technology.
Students will engage in a discovery science project to develop their
ability to evaluate scientific literature and determine appropriate tool use,
and they will learn to write basic software programs to create models about the
biological world.
STEM Research Seminar
IB (prerequisite: enrollment in or completion of biology)
Semester 2
This 3/10 course introduces students to the basic elements
and ethical demands of engineering and applied mathematics. Students will engage in a design project to
learn how cost and other parameters guide engineers in their thinking, and they
will learn how to use mathematics to solve problems such as statistical
analysis, cryptology, or graph theory.
STEM Research Seminar
IIA (prerequisite: enrollment in or completion of physics)
Semester 1
This 3/10 course introduces students to the world of formal
mathematics and computer modeling. Students will explore the world of “pure”
mathematics, and they will learn how to develop computer programs to solve a
real-world problem. All students will
complete a culminating project.
STEM Research Seminar
IIB (prerequisite: enrollment in or completion of physics)
Semester 2
This 3/10 course introduces students to how the disciplines
of science and engineering are integrated with one another. Students will explore materials science and
ecology to learn how to develop an engineering research proposal, and they will
create a prototype product to test for quality control. All students will complete a culminating
project.
11th Grade
Research Internship Program (prerequisite: STEM Research Seminar IA, IB, IIA, IIB)
Year Long
Each full graduate of the Institute will be expected to complete a research project of her own choosing, with a focus on a single STEM discipline and topic. Students will be matched either with an outside lab and project director at a local research facility or, where applicable, with an on-site RPCS faculty member. It will be expected that students completing this year-long independent study will report their findings to the rest of the members in seminar settings and that they will participate in at least one appropriate regional (or higher) STEM competition.