Core Skill: Estimation
How many trees does it take to build a house? How many grains of sand are in the beaches on Earth? How many habitable planets might exist in our galaxy? Tackling these kinds of questions combine two important skills: (1) breaking down a complex problem into a series of simpler problems; (2) researching and using your "gut instinct" to judge the quality of information sources. Through practice on weekly assignments, students will learn that by combining physical and mathematical reasoning with their own intuition, they can make progress on any challenge set before them.Core Skill: Writing
How might society be different if life had arisen and civilization developed on another planet within our Solar System? Describe a time you faced a significant challenge and how you overcame the problem. Clear, concise writing is a powerful tool for science and business. Students will have the opportunity to address scientific questions through writing, as well as construct drafts of documents useful to their professional and academic development including a resume, request for informational interview, and college essays.Core Skill: Show your work
Traditional education emphasizes getting the "right" answer, but many scientific and philosophical questions do not have a "right answer." Students will learn to write, draw, and explain solutions to problems that show their thought process and allow for instructors to follow their reasoning and identify any possible missteps. These skills will support students as they progress through high school through to university and beyond, where the ability to express complex ideas and work through multi-step problems become increasingly important.Core Skill: Art in STEM
Another way we build critical thinking skills is by providing students with the opportunity to write, draw, sing, and produce videos to answer problems. Students' understanding of a physical process is often expanded significantly through drawing, or making a video describing the process. This approach also offers students a chance to mesh their creativity and artistic skills with their STEM interests.Core Skill: Ethical use of AI
How and what should students learn in the age of always-present internet and AI tools to help search for and synthesize information? Students at YTL will be challenged to solve problems that are currently beyond the reach of AI, but where AI can play a role in helping summarize source information. They will learn how and when AI can help them, how to reference AI in assignments, and when to question AI-generated answers.
How We Give Feedback
Students will receive detailed written feedback on their assignments. On scientific problems, assessment is focused on how the student approached the problem and how much progress they made toward a solution. Students will also receive detailed solutions for the problems and have the opportunity to revise their solutions if they like. On writing assignments, students are given suggestions to improve clarity, tone, and scope. They may be asked questions designed to foster further development.
Overall, students in the courses are assessed on their growth, not on an absolute scale. For example, for some students merely attempting the problems or writing drafts of the mentoring materials may be a major victory. For others, we expect mastery.
At the end of the course, students and parents receive a portfolio of the student's work, including all comments, corrections, and suggestions. Students also receive a certificate of completion and can ask the instructor for a letter of recommendation that can be used for school, scholarship, or internship applications.