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Academics
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Explorations
in Sci. & Tech.
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Grades
9-10 Credit: 1/2 (local); may be repeated
Prerequisite: None
Academy students are required to earn 14 Exploration
Credits over two years which then generate one-half
unit of local credit for the Explorations course. Starting
with the Class of 2007, at least two credits must be
in Job Shadowing. Explorations focus on developing
self-reliance, responsibility, a greater understanding
of the importance of science and technology in our world,
and career opportunities and are announced during the
year. Academy-sponsored Exploration trips will be on
Saturdays and holidays. over weekends, and during breaks.
Timely documentation of each trip is required.
Each student is allowed one late report for credit annually.
You may earn an additional ½ local credit for
each 14 additional Exploration credits.
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Independent
Explorations: students
may earn Exploration Credit or comparable
travel/exploration experiences. Students
must submit a completed, signed Independent
Exploration Approval Form for approval
BEFORE the trip. See the next pages
for more information and the approval
form. |
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Exploration Policies
There are four kinds of Explorations - Academy Sponsored,
Academy-Approved Independent, Student-Proposed Independent
and Job Shadowing. Each Exploration requires timely
submission of required components to be eligible for
credit.
- An Academy Sponsored
Exploration, such as to the A&M
Entomology Department or to Keystone, involves
a general announcement to all students with
directions on how to participate in and get
credit for the Exploration. It also involves
a sign-up, transportation, teacher sponsor;
sometimes a cost, required preliminary or
follow-up research, etc.
- An Academy-Approved
Independent Exploration, such as
a Woodlands GREEN Lecture, the SciTech
Exploration or the Belize trip, also involves
a general announcement to all students with
directions on how to participate in and get
credit. However students provide their own
transportation and there may or may not be
an Academy sponsor. Preliminary and/or follow-up
research may be required.
- A Student-Proposed
Independent Exploration is set
up by means of a Proposal Form signed by the
student and parent that must then be approved
in advance by Dr. Laugen. Your proposal must
demonstrate relevance to you. Preliminary
and/or follow-up research and interaction
with professionals/experts will be required.
Exploration credit will not be awarded after
the fact. You may earn up to 1 credit for
college visit(s) through this process.
- Job Shadowing:
When you job shadow you spend a half to a
full day with a person who is doing a job
of interest to you. You become this person's
shadow, following them and observing what
they do. You must do the shadowing outside
of normal school hours for credit and, if
necessary, you may earn the number of hours
required over several visits. Vacation days
are perfect for shadowing. You may shadow
a family member or friend, as long there are
scientific/medical/technological aspects to
the job. You must submit a Proposal Form for
each shadowing. For full credit, you must
show some background research related
to your Job Shadowing. Starting with the
Class of 2007, you must earn at least two
credits of Shadowing.
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Student Independent Exploration
Proposal Forms are available in the Academy
Office or available for download below. You must turn
in your proposal and submission in the Exploration In-Box
and pick up your approved proposal and submission from
the Exploration Out-Box.
In your Independent Exploration proposal, you must demonstrate
that you have done some research about what you
are going to do and justify its relevance to you. Additional
pages may be added to the proposal. Depending on the
proposal, you may be required to keep a journal
- a daily log of what you did, the times you spent doing
different things, and personal reflections on your experience.
Documentation of your Exploration may also be
required - tickets, brochures, photos, etc.
You will always be asked to write a summary
report and given a deadline for submission.
In this report you summarize what you did, what you
learned, and what the experiences meant to you. Also,
show how time was spent in your Exploration.
You will be given a deadline for
your submission. No credit will be granted if you miss
this deadline - no late submissions will be accepted.
Poor submissions will result in less or no credit. Submissions
not picked up within 30 days of the deadline will be
discarded.
A maximum of seven (7) Exploration Credits may be earned
for any one Student-Proposed Independent Exploration;
no more than seven (7) of the required fourteen (14)
Exploration credits may be earned through Student-Proposed
Independent Explorations. After 14 are earned, then
there is no further limit.
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You must attach
the approved Proposal Form to your
submission. Credit will be based
on your submission and may be allocated
to different parts of your submission.
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You will be awarded
a letter jacket patch upon completion
of your Explorations. You must complete
your Explorations before doing Internship.
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