Environmental Science
Full-year program designed for U.S. high schoolers (grade 10-11-12) - Ecole Américaine de Rennes (School Year Abroad France) - Academic Years : 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24
Context
School Year Abroad (SYA) is an exchange program for high school students from the United States. This program gives them the opportunity to spend a semester or an academic year in a European country (France, Italy, Spain). During this period, students live with host families and take classes in the language of the host country.
School Year Abroad France has been based in Rennes since 1967. Also known as the American School of Rennes, SYA France welcomes between 40 and 70 students each year. In addition to traditional courses in literature and mathematics, the program offers electives in Art History, Politics, Cinema and Environmental Science. Last but not least, the elective courses together run another course : French through Experience. As part of this class, students carry out a wide range of fieldwork (visits, excursions), meetings with people from outside the school and themed trips.
The Environmental Science Curriculum
Environmental Science is one of the elective courses offered at SYA. Environmental sciences involve the study of nature in the broadest sense, from the description of ecological organizations and physical or biological phenomena to the search for the fundamental laws that govern them. By definition, environmental sciences are at the crossroads of many disciplines, including geology, biology, ecology, biology, geography and the humanities.
The Environmental Science curriculum is designed to develop students' general knowledge of geosciences and ecology. The initial focus is on geology and landscape dynamics. This is followed by a description of the climate system and the physical processes that govern its equilibrium. Finally, we study the distribution of the great terrestrial biomes, the biodiversity of ecosystems and the question of their conservation.
These concepts are approached through numerous examples, exercises and case studies, carried out in small groups and then presented orally to the rest of the class, to build team spirit and oral fluency.
Main topics
- Earth sciences (geology, climatology, mineral resources)
- Life sciences (general ecology)
Learning objectives
- Acquire general knowledge on the major themes covered
- Develop scientific curiosity and an investigative spirit
- Learn to report on personal work in a well-constructed and argued manner
- Develop a sense of team spirit
Teaching approach
- Project-based learning
- Research-oriented
- Collaborative projects and peer-review
Assessment
- 40% formative assessment (homework assignments, group presentations)
- 60% summative assessment (written, individual and in-class assignments)
Have a glimpse on EnviroSya YouTube Channel to discover students' research presentations :
NB : Please note these presentations are made in French by young non-native speakers. These are both exercises of scientific communication and language acquisition.