Problems signing in?2010-2011 Courses
Full Year
Courses
AP Psychology - Currently full but accepting waiting list
AP Statistics
Environmental Science
AP Computer Science - Currently full but accepting waiting list
Semester Courses
First
Semester
(Beginning
in
September)
Second
Semester
(Beginning
in
January)
Multivariable Calculus
Differential Equations
Genetics
Women in Art and Literature
Global Issues
American Government (with AP option)
Art and Code
Graphic Art
Professional Development Offerings (courses for
teachers)
Introduction to Blended Learning: Theory and Practice (10/10/10 - 11/6/10) - Currently Full but accepting
waiting list. We hope to offer another session in January
Art
Art
and
Code:
An
Introduction
to
Programming
and
Interactivity
for
Artists
Offered: First
semester
Instructor:
Elizabeth
Perry,
The
Ellis
School
Course
Description:
Art
and Code offers a chance to work with the computer program as a
new
medium
of
expression
for artists.
We
will
focus
on
learning
Processing,
a
free
computer programming language designed for artists and
other non programmers to create playfully, original, beautifully or
provocative interactive digital work. Through a succession of creative
exercises, students will master the elements of the Processing
programming language. Using those elements, students will propose and create
their own final art projects. A final project may be a web
based
work,
but
it
could
also
be
a
performance
or
installation
piece.
This
is
not
a
course
in
how
to
use
a
ready
made
computer
application,
but
rather
a
course
where
students
will
learn
to
create
their
own
computer
based
tools
for
expression.
The
ideal
participant
is
a
student
who
loves
visual
and
/or
performing
arts,
who
is
patient
and
persistent
with
her
own
creative
process,
and
who
wants
to
experiment
with
a
new
medium.
Graphic
Art
Offered: Second
semester
Instructor: Donny
Yankellow,
St.
Paul's
School
for
Girls
Course
Description:
In
Graphic
Art,
students
learn
the
basics
of
Adobe
Photoshop
and
complete
several
projects
throughout
the
semester
in
Photoshop.
Each
project
introduces
new
skills
while
reinforcing
the
skills
from
previous
projects.
skills
covered
include
painting
in
Photoshop,
manipulating
images,
merging
images,
and
using
type
as
a
graphic
element.
Students
will
be
introduced
to
selection
tools,
layers,
masking,
cloning,
filters
and
blending
options
to
apply
effects,
to
their
images,
and
more.
In
addition
to
working
in
Photoshop,
assignments
will
include
research
and
brainstorming
activities
which
will
be
completed
online
in
the
form
of
written
work.
Students
will
have
the
opportunity
to
collaborate
throughout
the
course
through
various
critiques.
Critiques
will
occur
in
forums
where
students
will
provide
feedback
to
each
other
about
their
work.
This
will
include
work
in
progress
and
finished
assignments.
At
the
end
of
the
semester
students
will
collaborate
in
the
creation
of
a
student
art
show
by
creating
an
online
gallery
of
their
work.
This
is
an
introductory
art
class
and
incorporates
art
concepts,
typography,
illustration,
and
portfolio
development.
Students
will
also
use
problem
solving
skills
as
they
explore
Photoshop
and
determine
which
techniques
work
best
in
which
situations.
At
the
end
of
this
course
students
will
have
the
start
of
a
Graphic
Art
portfolio.
Computer Science
AP
Computer
Science
Offered:
full
year
course
Instructor: Kate
Seyboth,
Westover
School
Prerequisite:
must
be
either
enrolled
in
or
have
completed
Algebra
I and have permission from the instructor.
Course
Description: THIS COURSE IS CURRENTLY FULL
This
course
introduces
computer
science
concepts
including
basic
program
form,
development
of
algorithms,
data
types,
control
structures,
and
object
oriented
design
using
the
Java
programming
language.
The
course
culminates
with
the
Advanced
Placement
Computer
Science
exam.
Art
and
Code:
An
Introduction
to
Programming
and
Interactivity
for
Artists
See
description
in
ART
English
Women
in
Art
and
Literature:
"Tell
Me
Your
Diamonds"
Offered:
Second
semester
Instructors:
Marsha
Scherbel
and
Christopher
Wilson,
The
Holton
Arms
School
Prerequisite: Students
must
have
completed
or
currently
be
enrolled
in
a
secondary level
U.S.
History
course.
Course
description:
How
do
women
tell
their
stories?
"Tell
me
your
diamonds,"
requests
the
title
character
in
Toni
Morrison's
novel Beloved.
How
do
women
answer
such
calls
to
recount
their
pasts?
How
do
they
resist
narratives
that
others
have
imposed
on
them?
This
course
focuses
on Beloved,
which
was
recently
named
the
most
important
work
of
fiction
of
the
past
twenty
five
years,
and
explores
the
novel
alongside
thematically
related
examples
of
visual
art.
From
paintings
of
heroic
biblical
women
by
seventeenth
century
Italian
artist
Artemisia
Gentileschi
to
Morrison's
portraits
of
former
slaves,
women
look
at
the
past,
comment
on
the
present
and
often
instigate
social
change.
They
find
meaning
in
past
experiences,
including
painful
ones,
and
in
the
process
transmute
memory
into
art.
What
wisdom
or
warning "what
diamonds"
can
they
offer
to
today's
viewers
and
readers,
especially
female
students?
Mathematics
Multivariable
Calculus
Offered: First
semester
Instructor: Jennifer
Webster,
The
Harpeth
Hall
School
Prerequisite: AP
Calculus
BC
Course
Description:
This
course
will
cover
some
topics
that
are
not
part
of
the
AP
Calculus
BC
>
curriculum,
such
as
calculating
volumes
by
using
shells,
surfaces
of
revolution,
and
centers
of
mass
and
centroids,
among
others.
We
will
also
explore
topics
that
are
studied
in
a
typical
college
level
third
semester
calculus
course.
These
include
vectors
and
vector
valued
functions,
differentiation
in
several
variables,
optimization
in
several
variables,
multiple
integration,
and
line
and
surface
integrals.
Differential
Equations
Offered:
Second
semester
Instructor: Jennifer
Webster,
The
Harpeth
Hall
School
Prerequisite:
Multivariable
Calculus
Course
Description:
This
course
will
provide
an
introduction
to
differential
equations.
Topics
will
>
include:
solving
first
order
and
simple
higher
order
equations
with
applications
to
various
scientific
fields
(physics,
chemistry,
biology,
etc.);
solving
linear
differential
equations
and
their
applications;
and
Laplace
transform
methods.
AP
Statistics
Offered: full
year
course
Instructor:
Phyllis
Flenniken,
St.
Paul's
School
for
Girls
Course
Description:
This
course
is
intended
to
help
students
develop
strategies
for
collecting,
organizing, analyzing,
and
drawing
conclusions
from
data.
Much
of
this
knowledge
will
come through
experiential
activities
that
challenge
students
to
design,
administer,
and tabulate
results
from
surveys
and
experiments.
The
students
will
often
work
in
small cooperative
groups
to
explore
problems
and
share
ideas.
Active
participation,
in
the form
of
individual
and
group
projects,
peer
review
of
student
work,
and
discussion board
conversations,
will
play
a
major
role
in
the
students'
success
in
the
course.
Each student
will
be
expected
to
learn
how
to
articulate
methodology,
data
description,
and conclusions
and
to
provide
constructive
comments
on
reports
by
classmates. Technology
will
be
employed
as
a
tool
to
help
students
solve
statistical problems.
Graphing
calculators
will
be
used
regularly,
along
with
other
statistical software,
to
enhance
the
students'
ability
to
visualize
data
distributions
and
calculate important
numerical
results.
The
students
will
learn
that
displaying
data
and
calculating statistics
are
valuable
tools
only
if
the
students
can
effectively
and
accurately
drawn meaningful
conclusions
about
what
the
data
tell
us.
The
class
will
necessarily
be
fast
paced
in
an
effort
to
complete
the
entire
curriculum covered
on
the
AP
Examination.
However,
the
pace
of
the
course
will
not
undermine
the inclusion
of
important
activities
that
help
students
understand
the
value
of
statistics
in their
own
lives
both
now
and
in
the
future.
Assessments
will
include
projects,
homework,
participation,
short
quizzes,
and
major tests
that
mirror
the
multiple
choice/free
response
format
of
the
AP
Examination.
Science
Genetics
Offered:
First
semester
Instructor:
Heather
Mannella,
Westover
School
Prerequisite:
High
school
level
introductory
Biology
course
Course
Description:
What
makes
us
who
we
are?
Is
it
our
DNA?
Our
environment?
How
are
the
diseases
and disorders
that
affect
us
connected
to
the
genetic
code
inside
each
of
our
cells?
Just because
we
can
modify
DNA,
should
we?
Who
do
we
approach
a
world
in
which
the ability
to
manipulate
DNA
itself
is
now
a
possibility?
In
our
rapidly
advancing
world
of biotechnology
and
our
increased
understanding
of
the
genetic
code
and
how
it functions,
we
have
questions
to
consider
that
were
not
even
a
possibility
60
years
ago before
the
discovery
of
DNA.
This
course
will
explore
topics
from
the
three
main branches
of
genetic
study:
Transmission
genetics
(how
traits
are
passed
from
one generation
to
the
next),
Molecular
genetics
(the
structure,
function
and
operation
of
the DNA
molecule
itself)
and
Population
genetics
(how
traits
are
expressed
in
populations, and
how
those
traits
change
over
time).
As
a
vehicle
for
our
discussions
we
will
look
at
a number
of
different
medical
topics
ranging
from
genetic
abnormalities
to
the
study
of
cancer.
In
addition
we
will
explore
new
and
emerging
research
in
the
field
and
the
social
and
ethical
controversies
and
questions
that
often
accompany
these
technological advances.
Environmental
Science
Offered: full
year
course
Instructor:
Patricia
Carver,
The
Holton
Arms
School
Course
Description:
An
interdisciplinary
approach
is
used
in
this
year
long
course
on
the
major
topics
in
environmental
science.
Ideas
and
information
from
the
natural
sciences,
social
sciences,
and
ethics
will
be
used
to
examine
the
interrelationships
of
the
natural
world
and
the
human
population.
Students
will
investigate
the
causes
and
challenges
of
environmental
issues
that
confront
the
human
species
as
well
as
solutions
toward
a
more
sustainable
society.
Social Science
American
Government
(AP
option
available)
Offered:
Second
semester
Instructor: Michael Gwaltney, Marlborough School
Co
requisite: Students
must
have
completed
or
currently
taking
a
course
in
U.S.
History from
1600
to
the
present.
Course
Description:
American
Government
is
a
study
of
justice
and
power,
as
these
two
values
are
pursued
within
the
context
of
contemporary
American
society
and
politics.
This
course
investigates
the
historical
and
ideological
roots
of
American
government,
its
fundamental
institutions
and
practices,
and
the
political
and
social
landscape
within
which
they
operate.
Through
a
factual
study
of
American
government
and
a
philosophical
reflection
on
the
nation's
founding
documents
and
analyses--such
as
the
Declaration
of
Independence,
the
Philadelphia
Convention
debates,
the
U.S.
Constitution,
the Federalist
Papers,
and
the
astute
insights
of
Alexis
de
Tocqueville's Democracy
in
America,
as
well
as
numerous
Supreme
Court
decisions,
the
Lincoln
Douglas
debates,
and
many
reflective
essays
on
American
politics--students
will
gain
a
deep
understanding
and
appreciation
for
the
aspirations,
strengths
and
limitations
of
the
American
system
of
government.
Student
work
will
include
readings
from Think:
American
Government and
a
series
of
primary
sources;
weekly
reflections
on
articles
from
the
current
press,
including
The
New
York
Times,
The
Wall
Street
Journal,
The
Economist,
and
other
journals
of
opinion.
Students
will
view
and
comment
on
several
video
series
developed
for
college
courses
on
American
government;
participate
in
on
line
discussion
boards;
keep
a
reflective
journal
on
issues
of
the
day;
research
and
construct
a
wiki
based
web
site
on
a
public
policy
issue;
and
write
opposing
speeches
on
current
political
controversies.
An
AP
option
is
available
for
this
course.
While
the
factual
content
and
activities
will
remain
the
same,
students
who
wish
to
prepare
for
the
AP
American
Government
exam
will
have
the
option
of
practicing
AP
style
multiple
choice
questions
and
writing
and
receiving
constructive
feedback
on
AP
style
essay
questions.
Global
Issues
Offered: first
semester
Instructor
:
Michael
Gwaltney,
Marlborough
School
Course
Description:
"All
of
us
might
wish
at
times
that
we
lived
in
a
more
tranquil
world,
but
we
don't.
And
if
our
times
are
difficult
and
perplexing,
so
are
they
challenging
and
filled
with
opportunity."
Robert
Kennedy
This
course
is
designed
to
provide
students
with
a
framework
to
better
understand
the
world
in
which
they
reside
and
to
help
them
develop
a
more
global
perspective.
Some
problems
cross
national
boundaries
to
become
global
>
issues.
Population
growth
and
the
movement
of
peoples,
globalization,
environmental
challenges,
and
human
rights
are
examples
of
issues
that
need
to
be
addressed by all nations. Students will be challenged to put these issues into
a
broader
context
and
to
developed
informed
opinions
about
current
policy
decisions
that
will
affect
them
in
the
future.
Using
a
variety
of
resources
including
an
excellent
online
database
students
will
investigate
how
certain
issues
are
addressed
(or
go
unaddressed)
by
nation
states,
international
organizations,
and
non
governmental
organizations.
They
will
examine
public
policy
debates
and
weigh
the
relative
merits
of
different
proposals.
They
will
also
be
asked
to
reflect
on
how
these
issues
affect
them
personally
and
to
consider
how
they
can
make
a
difference
as
global
citizens.
Finally
they
will
be
>
asked
to
present
an
original
proposal
to
address
a
pressing
global
issue
within
their
school
or
community.
The
theme
of
this
proposal
will
be
thinking
globally
and
acting
locally.
This
course
will
place
a
heavy
emphasis
on
communication,
technology,
and
service.
Students
will
concentrate
on
developing
the
skills,
knowledge,
and
confidence
to
construct
and
deliver
sound
arguments,
to
take
part
in
vigorous
online
discussions,
and
to
hold
formal
debates.
They
will
also
make
extensive
use
of
technology
to
access
and
analyze
information
and
to
present
their
knowledge
and
understanding
of
the
world
to
a
broader
audience
within
their
school
and
community.
AP
Psychology
Offered: full
year
course
Instructors:
Chad
Sopata
and
Jennifer
Adams,
The
Harpeth
Hall
School
Course
Description: THIS COURSE IS CURRENTLY FULL
The
AP
course
in
Psychology
is
designed
to
introduce
students
to
the
systematic
and
scientific
study
of
the
behavior
and
mental
processes
of
human
beings
and
other
animals.
In
this
course,
students
will
be
presented
with
the
psychological
facts,
principles
and
phenomena
contained
within
the
major
branches
of
psychology.
A
balanced
examination
of
the
following
content
areas:
Biological
Bases
of
Behavior,
Sensation
and
Perception,
States
of
Consciousness,
Learning,
Cognition,
Motivation
and
Emotion,
Developmental
Psychology,
Personality,
Testing
and
Individual
Differences,
Abnormal
Psychology,
Treatment
of
Psychological
Disorders
and
Social
Psychology
will
provide
the
student
with
a
thorough
understanding
of
the
many
subfields
contained
within
psychology
and
the
connections
between
them.
In
addition,
students
will
also
be
exposed
to
the
history,
methodology
and
ethical
practices
associated
with
psychological
research.
Upon
completion
of
this
course
students
will
recognize
the
significance
of
psychology
and
it
practical
applications
upon
the
world
around
them.
Professional
Development
Introduction to Blended Learning:Theory and Practice
Course
for
Faculty
Members
Offered: 10/10/10 - 11/6/10
Instructors: Melissa
Wert,
Harpeth
Hall
School,
and
Craig
Luntz,
Holton
Arms
School
Course
Description: THIS COURSE IS CURRENTLY FULL BUT ACCEPTING WAITING LIST
In June 2009, the US Department of Education released their meta-analysis of online and blended learning (combination of online and face-to-face instruction), Evaluation of Evidenced Based Practices in Online Learning. That analysis found that: "classes with online learning (whether taught completely online or blended) on average produce stronger student learning outcomes than do classes with solely face-to-face instruction." And yet, many (if not most) teachers within independent schools still rely primarily or only on face-to-face instruction.
This course is designed for the secondary teacher who has limited experience engaging students online but is interested in learning more about the concept of blended learning and the variety of online tools available. As participants engage in several online activities, they will spend time exploring current research and theories to answer the questions: What is blended learning and why is it so powerful with this generation of learners? What are the considerations for designing a blended course? What are the principles of effective blended learning? What are the tools for facilitating effective blended learning?
Participants will connect and collaborate with each other through a variety of online activities averaging 4 hours a week. By the end of this four week experience, participants will understand the implications of blended learning on their own classroom and the pedagogical considerations for applying the blended learning model to their own courses. In addition, they will have established a learning community of peers with whom they may continue their exploration of blended learning going forward.
