Andrea Xu ‘25
In the past two years, the most significant change to St. Mark’s academics in the past two years is Integrated Science. In the fall of 2022, the science department implemented this curriculum change. Instead of following the “freshman physics and sophomore chemistry” track, all incoming freshmen take two years of Integrated Science before taking any Advanced courses in their upper-form years.
Mr. Palmer, the science department head, proudly lists two reasons he initiated the Integrated Science curriculum: “Every student leaves an understanding of important science issues, and prepare students for higher-level science regardless of the discipline they pursue, not just to cover a whole bunch of content. That’s why I think it’s better.”
Ms. Glenn, who taught Integrated Science last year, debriefs her experience teaching the course, “It is mostly difficult to teach, especially when teachers are not experts in all fields of science. But since it’s an introductory-level course, it was alright.” Like Mr. Palmer, Ms. Glenn likes how Integrated Science helps students understand that science is not a vacuum. The course fosters the idea that different disciplines are not independent; instead, we cannot learn one without the other. For example, teaching Advanced Physics: Electricity and Magnetism this year, Ms. Glenn finds chemistry necessary to understand the concepts in physics.
Admittedly, the curriculum is “constantly changing.” The science faculty met over the summer to reflect on their new ways of teaching. For instance, the final project for one of the units last year was to write a letter to the local officials about a water issue. However, this year, students will do an infographic for the water unit. Improvements come over time when teachers observe how receptive students are to the materials.
Pursuing her master's in biomechanics, Ms. Glenn felt comfortable answering students’ deeper questions about biology and physics. Yet, when students probed into the mysteries of chemistry, she shrugged, saying, “I’ll let them ask Mr. Buchholz, who is the chemistry teacher.”
In our conversation, I also broached a sensitive topic of discussion: grading. Ms. Glenn is not afraid to admit that students hated the grading,, which was a point of anxiety for them. In St. Mark’s, many classes use standard-based grading, including Integrated Science, biology, and others. However, as the teacher, Ms. Glenn likes the standard-based grading system because it diverts the students' focus on learning the basic skills, especially in lower grades. Further, standard-based grading shows progress over time. Students make mistakes in the beginning, but over time, they will improve throughout the windows and show mastery later in the year.
Do students concur with the teachers’ sentiments?
A returning sophomore, Sherry Mi ’26, shares her opinion about Integrated Science. She says, “It helps me to find a way to study science that suits me the best.” Sherry also enjoys the broad gamut of subjects Integrated Science covers and project-based learning. “Projects were effective in summing up the contents I studied in class, ” she adds.
Ada Chen, ’27 is a new freshman. Overall, Ada thinks science at St. Mark’s is fun, but she elaborates that some content in Integrated Science overlaps with what she learned in her previous school. For example, “right now, we’re learning how to draw ionic bondings. I already know how to do it but we’re asked to draw it in a different way, which is off-putting.”
This is the second year of running Integrated Science. The student bodies have varied stances on this new curriculum. Teachers are adjusting to this new teaching system. There is a lot to unpack. With the testimony of time and trials, we hope to see more positive feedback on Integrated Science and leave students with the critical skills to learn science anywhere in the world.