Stories of Excellence in Teaching Learning

Stories of Excellence &Teaching Learning in

Anatomy & Physiology Class Performs Brain Dissections

Students in Dr. Marina Milinkovic’s Anatomy & Physiology performed a sheep brain dissection—a lesson which introduces them to the anatomy of a mammalian brain and an understanding of the central nervous system.

Interdisciplinary Archaeology Project

In Jane Zagajeski’s 7th-grade science classes, students examined artifacts from a dig to learn about data collection, scale, evidence, and inference. Kathryn Kao’s history classes studied life in historic Jamestown by making connections between the artifacts discovered there and the textual evidence found in primary documents.

Students Get a Closer Look at Cells

Seventh-grade science students have been learning about cells as part of their unit on life. The students used microscopes to examine plant and animal cells and to identify the various components of each. The students also contributed quotes and sayings to the “Life Is” bulletin board outside of their classroom, which includes some of their cell models and microscope drawings.

Makerspace Course Focuses on Problem-Solving

Students in Matt Martino’s Makerspace class built dodecahedrons and used the laser cutter to cut various shapes and patterns on each side. They also used different color filters to diffuse the light and create effects. After presenting their work to their classmates, each student discussed the steps in their creative process as well as the design challenges they encountered along the way.

Middle School Lab Project: “You Are What You Eat”

Students in 7th-grade science studied the makeup of food by using iodine to determine which foods contain starch, built Lego models to show how our cells make their own proteins, and measured the reaction of hydrogen peroxide to determine which cells have more catalase. They also graphed their data and observed the connections to cells, molecules, and their structure and function.

Drone Engineering Class

Heads up! Drones built by MBS students are soaring over campus. Dennis Evangelista’s Drone Engineering class built drones from scratch and were responsible for all the soldering, configuration, mechanical assembly, and testing—including preflight checks and initial flight testing. The students showcased some impressive maneuvers using the drones they designed which included a pizzalifting drone, a drone that drops hot dogs, and a drone to conduct HD filming of the campus.

Is There Life on Other Planets?

Dr. Jack Bartholomew’s Astronomy class explored this question and presented their findings using Science On a Sphere. Students discussed the requirements and examined the favorable conditions that make life on Earth possible. They also investigated the possibility of habitable worlds and the potential for life on several planets and moons.

Bright Ideas

Students in Matt Martino’s 2-Dimensional Design course designed and produced their own custom light fixture using the laser cutter and 2-dimensional fabrication techniques. They researched and analyzed light fixtures by industrial designers and architects, sketched and built rough cardboard prototypes, then translated their rough prototypes into accurate AutoCAD drawings to create a kit of parts to be laser-cut and assembled. The students alternated between prototyping, assembling, and problem-solving to build a unique, functional, and structurally stable pendant or freestanding light fixture.

Graphic Design Students Create Logos for Flavored Seltzer Line

Architecture Class Designs Corporate Towers

Deanna Whelan’s Graphic Design students were asked to create a unique design for a line of three flavored seltzers for a fictitious soda company that was looking to capture a new, younger audience. Using design software Procreate and Canva, the students were able to create their designs on a 3D model can and view it in augmented reality.

Matt Martino’s Architectural Design Studio class has been tackling a real-world architectural challenge. After speaking with architect Patrick Frahe, a Senior Associate at Pelli Clarke & Partners who recently designed a corporate tower in downtown Houston, the students were tasked with creating their own versions of the towers. They were asked to analyze the context of the sites and to design corporate towers that would complement Houston’s skyline. For their final projects, they presented site maps as well as a physical 3D model.

Students Design Circuits as Part of Physics & Engineering Class

Ninth-grade students in Dr. Payette’s new Physics & Engineering honors-level elective were tasked with proposing and building their own circuits. The students were introduced to some additional electronic components beyond what they learned in the 9th Grade Physics class including capacitors, integrated circuits, LEDs, thermistors, transistors, and potentiometers. Their resulting work included a quiz bowl buzzer system, an electric piano, and heat sensors.