Science
Bosque School’s science program actively engages students in authentic scientific investigation. Our students don’t just learn science; they do science.
Bosque School’s innovative academic approach to teaching our signature science curriculum prepares students to excel in college-level science classes. Having already participated extensively in scientific research throughout their middle and upper school years, our graduates stand out in university research environments. Beyond their coursework, many of our graduates begin interning or working in research labs before or during their first year of college.
Bosque School is well known for its signature field and community science program, initially developed in partnership with the Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program (BEMP) and reflecting a collaboration between Bosque School and the University of New Mexico's Department of Biology that dates back to 1996. Bosque School also partners with many statewide land management agencies in support of authentic research and skill development for our students through scientific inquiry and hands-on learning. Beyond field science, our students take biology, chemistry, and physics classes, along with opportunities to engage in design thinking, robotics, coding, and to solve real-world problems through labs and hands-on project-based investigations.
In addition to learning the science standards recommended in the Next Generation Science Standards, our 6th-grade students become working community scientists as they gather and analyze data about the Rio Grande. Middle school students learn about natural processes and develop problem-solving skills through our three-year integrated science curriculum, which provides extensive opportunities for frequent fieldwork. They measure leaf litter, investigate changes in the water table, and track small mammal populations. They learn how to ask scientific questions, gather and analyze data, and work in field and lab settings.
All upper school students take a college-preparatory science curriculum that includes biology, chemistry, and at least one additional advanced course in physics, chemistry, biology, anatomy and physiology, and other offerings. In addition, many upper school students choose to take field-based wildlife research or research methods courses. They have opportunities to assume peer leadership by teaching younger students, developing original research projects, collaborating on statewide initiatives with working scientists, and presenting their research findings to state legislators and at regional professional scientific and academic conferences.
Two-and-a-half-week immersive courses (offered each May) provide additional opportunities for students to apply their scientific passions, skills, and knowledge through interdisciplinary coursework. Some recent STEM-related immersives include Rocks Tell a Story (middle school), Intro to Video Game Design (middle school), Forensics (upper school), Medical Reserves Corps (upper school), Sports Psychology and Medicine (upper school), and Engineering the Future (upper school).
For students interested in pursuing personal passions and potential professional goals in the medical field, Bosque School offers the opportunity to join our signature Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) unit. Through our MRC program, students dual-enroll in a Central New Mexico Community College first responder course as part of Immersives. During the first responder course, students learn everything from taking vital signs and performing spinal immobilization to anatomy, medication administration, supraglottic airway placement, and delivering a baby in an emergency.
Seniors with a passion for science can deepen their commitment, knowledge, and expertise by grounding their yearlong senior capstone research in the science department. Tracks include wildlife research, medicine and public health, and natural and space science research. Some recent related capstone research topics include:
- A Mammal Inventory of a Wetland Oxbow and DNA Analysis of the Hispid Cotton Rat.
- DNA: The Ethics of DNA Evidence and the Criminal Justice System.
- Open Source Humanity: Linux as a Model of Software Collaboration.
In addition to core classes, there are extensive opportunities for science-based extracurriculars in robotics, coding, jackrabbit surveying, and environmental advocacy, including trips to the Santa Fe Roundhouse.
What we are doing at Bosque School is science that matters beyond the classroom. So we are always looking for ways for our students to do authentic work—work that they have to be accountable for to somebody other than themselves.
Dan Shaw, Science Teacher