Resequencing the DNA of Our Science Curriculum

Freshmen find their feet in the physics lab and build a new STEM sisterhood.

Over the past four years, Mayfield has supercharged our science curriculum to spark curiosity and build confidence from day one. Today, more students are taking advanced science courses than ever before, and members of the Class of 2020—our inaugural “Physics First” cohort—are seriously pursuing STEM study and careers.

..............................................................

When Head of School Kate Morin arrived in 2015, Mayfield graduates had long been succeeding in male-dominated STEM fields, from pediatrics to rocket science, but she knew there was more work to do. The persistent gender gap in fields like engineering and computer science has barely budged for decades. Mrs. Morin sensed an opportunity—and an expectation—to do more to move the needle. Shoring up STEM infrastructure “felt more like a mandate from society,” she said. “We absolutely have to have more women as computer scientists and engineers and physicists.”

First things first: The laws of physics ignite curiosity

Step one of the science curriculum shake-up was boosting the graduation requirement. All Mayfield students are now required to take three years of science instead of two, although the majority take four years, plus electives.

Next, in what was a seismic instructional shift, Mayfield turned the sequence of science classes on its head. Traditionally, high school students take biology as an introductory subject and work their way up to physics. And this was how it was at Mayfield, too. Until 2015, qualified freshmen took a full year of biology, and all other ninth graders started with a single semester of basic lab skills. But this didn’t compute for Mrs. Morin, who wanted to ignite interest early on and “help all freshmen learn how to be science students and help them engage in actually thinking about themselves as scientists.”

A trove of recent research on science education contends that a better sequence for 21st-century high school science classes is physics first, then chemistry, then biology—known in science pedagogy circles as a “Physics First” or “PCB” curriculum. “When you want skills to build on each other, it’s best to start with the most concrete,” Mrs. Morin said. And what’s more concrete than forces, friction, and gravity? Physics teacher Tanya Melby explained how tapping into the most tangible aspects of science stimulates young minds: “Physics is not just in the classroom, it is all around us. We can find it in sports, music, and even in our own body.”

In 2016, we threw the doors of our labs wide open to all incoming Mayfield students, budding scientists and STEM novices alike. Every single ninth grader in the graduating Class of 2020 took labbased conceptual physics, which breaks down dauntingly abstract concepts like matter and momentum into variables they can measure. Students learn to hypothesize, deduce, extrapolate—and above all, collaborate—to draw scientific conclusions. This full-year freshman lab immersion unit is designed to cultivate wonder and bolster confidence, laying a solid foundation for both interest and success in upper level science courses. And indeed, for many Mayfield students it has done exactly that.

“I found a love for science I never really had in middle school,” said Brianna Perez ’20. “Physics was really the subject that could answer my questions about the world around me. I was so fascinated by it.” This early hands-on exposure to science served as something of an academic rudder for Brianna, who went on to study AP Physics and now plans to major in civil engineering at California Polytechnic University, Pomona.

STEM scaffolding builds a framework for success

The next phase of Mayfield’s STEM retrofit paved new pathways for every student to test her limits. First-time learners can discover new academic interests and high-achieving STEM students can unlock their potential in the classroom and beyond, with a slew of new AP courses including AP Chemistry, AP Computer Science, and AP Physics, and extracurriculars like robotics and national math competitions (see page 13).

There’s a STEM path for everyone. Incoming freshmen can now sign up for summer skill-boosting sessions in geometry and algebra before they start ninth grade, and for-credit summer courses in chemistry and biology enable rising sophomore and junior students to accelerate their paths toward advanced science courses as upperclassmen.

For some students, having more STEM options allows them to discover new academic aspirations. “Over the years, the classes I took at Mayfield shaped my interests,” said Solunna Nwankwo ’20. “I entered in freshman year wanting to be a doctor, and now I’m pursuing a degree in engineering.” This fall, Solunna heads to the University of Pennsylvania to study computer engineering.

For others, the new curriculum dissolved their preconceptions and propelled them along a completely unexpected trajectory. “When I came to Mayfield, I had never thought of myself as a STEM person,” said Paloma Torres ’20. After being told at a young age by her teachers that she would “never be good at math,” Paloma ended up taking what is widely considered the most challenging high school math course—AP Calculus BC. “Mayfield never made anything seem out of my reach, and I’m very grateful for that,” Paloma said.

Brianna, a talented visual artist and future engineer, also reaped rewards by going “out of her comfort zone” and taking AP Computer Science. “I grew to really enjoy coding and the interesting logic needed to code certain functions,” she said. “I had a lot of fun thinking of new ways my code can help common life.”

This group of grads has forged a new kind “STEM sisterhood” at Mayfield—girls with a wide variety of interests and strengths who may have never considered themselves as the stereotypical STEM student, but are succeeding in these academic arenas at the highest level. But it certainly doesn’t define them.

Paloma, winner of Mayfield’s fouryear English award, put it well: “I’m not a STEM person or a humanities person. I simply have many different interests across multiple fields that I’ve learned to intersect beautifully to encompass all of my different passions.”

Students soar with uplifting teachers and mentors

In a 2017 Postscripts recap of the thennew “Physics First” curriculum, we meet Halle Villalobos ’20 and her ninth-grade classmates as they tackle their first attempts at scientific measurement and calculation. Four years later, with a full complement of AP and honors science and math courses under her belt, Halle’s on her way to UCLA to pursue a degree in molecular, cell and developmental biology on the pre-med track.

Halle said she “absolutely loved” taking STEM courses at Mayfield, mainly because of her teachers’ “passion and dedication to their students.”

She’s not alone. “With every science course I took, I found myself being inspired by the incredible teachers who are passionate about their subject and challenged me in new ways,” said Agnese Sanavio ’20, who’s off to UC Berkeley as a mechanical engineering major.

And Cameron Gomez ’20, who is heading to USC this fall to study electrical and computer engineering, said her Mayfield mentors guided her way. “I definitely have received great advice from the science and math departments—people who understood where I wanted to go in the STEM world, and helped lead me on the right path to get there.”

So far, so good. What’s next?

Four years in, our reimagined science solution is bubbling along nicely, with more Mayfield students embracing the opportunity to explore the workings of our natural and physical world than ever before. Between 2016 and 2020, enrollment in AP STEM courses more than doubled, and enrollment in AP science classes exploded sixfold. With the addition of popular Sports Medicine and Anatomy & Physiology courses, overall science department enrollment has soared to an all-time high and now almost 30% of Mayfield students take advanced STEM courses.

Next year, a group of pioneering students will forge new STEM frontiers at Mayfield in an elective lab called Engineering Design and Analysis, where they’ll take on design challenges in mechanical, chemical, civil, electrical, and aerospace engineering.

We absolutely have to have more women as computer scientists and engineers and physicists.

— KATE MORIN, HEAD OF SCHOOL

As our Class of 2020 grads leave the gates of 500 Bellefontaine to pursue medicine, biosciences and engineering at schools like Penn, UC Berkeley, USC and UCLA, there’s every reason to have faith in these STEM sisters as the architects of our future.

“These students have confidence and optimism and enthusiasm,” said Math Department Chair Melissa Tighe, who also serves as Mayfield’s Director of Innovation and Community Partnerships. “They are dedicated to finding solutions for humanity and now they can channel that energy into being part of the solution.”

..............................................................

New STEM courses (since 2016)

• Advanced Geometry • Anatomy & Physiology • Honors Calculus • AP Chemistry • AP Computer Science • Conceptual Physics • Engineering Design & Analysis • AP Physics • Sports Medicine: Anatomy & Kinesiology • AP Statistics

..............................................................

“I think I can”: Rewiring for resilience

CONTACTLESS HIGH FIVE: Berkeley-bound grads Paloma Torres ’20 and Agnese Sanavio ’20 agree that a “growth mindset”—and the support of math teacher Melissa Tighe—rewired their minds for success.

Math Department Chair Melissa Tighe is Mayfield’s “growth mindset” guru. A longtime proponent of the tenets of Carol Dweck’s 2006 book, Mindset, she has seen Dweck’s research play out countless times in the classroom and beyond. When students stop believing talent is innate and unchangeable, they’re able to reframe their “I’m no good at this” self-talk into “I can work on this” affirmations. These two Class of 2020 Cubs (and soon-to-be Golden Bears) said the “growth mindset” concept has helped rewire their brains for success, in math and in life.

“On the first day of calculus, Mrs. Tighe put slips of paper on our desks. She told us to read the slips of paper, all of which read a different driving direction. Mine read, ‘Make a left turn.’ She asked us what we felt when we read the instructions and we replied, ‘Nothing.’ Then she told us: ‘That is exactly how you should feel when you fail. All it is doing is pointing you in a new direction to become better.’ This memory will stay with me for the rest of my life. I’ve applied it many times in my life not only in math, but in all areas.” — PALOMA TORRES ’20

“I wasn’t initially accepted into PreCalculus but, knowing I wanted to pursue engineering, Mrs. Tighe eventually agreed to approve me. So my junior year was entirely about learning to have a growth mindset. I struggled at times, but I didn’t let a few bad grades define my potential like I once had. I also joined the robotics team. These two daunting things quickly became things I loved doing, and by the end of junior year, I was able to see substantial growth. Mrs. Tighe’s class and her frequent life lessons are part of the reason I’m confident and excited for what college will bring.” — AGNESE SANAVIO ’20