Tenth Grade STEM Curriculum

STEM Disciplines and Skills

Science: Pharmacology (mechanisms of action), biochemistry (protein folding), statistics (clinical trials).
Technology: Molecular modeling software (Foldit), protein databases (PDB).
Engineering: Bioengineering (design of drug delivery systems, e.g. nanotechnology patches).
Mathematics: Statistical analysis (p-value, significance), dose-response, half-life.

Critical Thinking: Analyze the structure of a clinical trial (phase I, II, III). Why do so many drugs «fail»?
Collaboration: Simulate an FDA review panel to approve or reject a drug.

Hands-on activities

• Protein Folding (Foldit): Use the game/software «Foldit» to compete and solve protein folding puzzles, understanding the concept of pharmacological target.
• Clinical Trial Analysis (Simulated): Given a (simulated) data set from a trial, use Google Sheets to calculate efficacy and side effects.
• Debate: Cost vs. Cure: Investigate the cost of an innovative drug (e.g., gene therapy). Discuss: How is the price set? Who should pay?

Formative Evaluation

• Scoring and reflection on Foldit.
• Statistical analysis and recommendation (approve/reject) of the drug.
• Rubric for participation in the ethical debate.

Integration of Ethical Values

Ethics in Clinical Trials: Discuss «placebo» and informed consent.
Animal Testing: Debate the necessity and ethics of animal testing for drug development.

STEM Disciplines and Skills

Science: Physics (aerodynamics, photovoltaics), chemistry (battery storage).
Technology: Electrical network simulators (Microgrids), CAD software (turbine design).
Engineering: Electrical (load balancing), mechanical (turbine design), civil (site) engineering.
Mathematics: Efficiency calculations, cost-benefit analysis (ROI), network optimization.

Systemic Thinking: How do you balance an electrical grid when the source (sun, wind) is intermittent? The role of storage.
Data Literacy: Read and analyze energy production data in real time.

Hands-on activities

• Turbine Blade Design: Design wind turbine blades (with cardboard or 3D printing) and test them with a fan and a multimeter (connected to a DC motor) to measure the power generated.
• Smart Grid simulation: Use a simulator (online or Scratch) to manage a city. Balance demand (factories, houses) with supply (solar, wind, gas) without causing a blackout.
• ROI Analysis of Solar Panels: Use Google Project Sunroof to analyze the solar potential of a building. Calculate initial cost and payback time.

Formative Evaluation

• Laboratory report (blade design vs. power).
• Performance in the «Smart Grid» simulation.
• Calculation and presentation of the ROI of solar panels.

Integration of Ethical Values

Environmental Justice: Where are the power plants (solar, wind, gas) located? Who benefits and who suffers the visual/environmental impact?
Resource extraction: The ethics of mining lithium and cobalt for batteries.

STEM Disciplines and Skills

Science: Data science (complex systems modeling), behavioral psychology (economics).
Technology: Modeling software (NetLogo), pitch deck platforms (Figma, Canva).
Engineering: Software engineering (development of a MVP - Minimum Viable Product).
Mathematics: Modeling (supply/demand), finance (valuation, market capitalization, ROI).

Critical Thinking: What is a «valuation»? How does a VC (Venture Capitalist) decide what to invest in?
Planning: Create a convincing business plan and pitch deck.

Hands-on activities

• Macroeconomics Simulation (NetLogo): Use a NetLogo model (e.g. «Sugarscape») to simulate how simple rules (metabolism, vision) lead to macroeconomic outcomes (wealth distribution).
• Create your Pitch Deck: In groups, develop a (technology) startup idea, define the problem, the solution (MVP), the market and the team. Create a «pitch deck» of 10 slides.
• Simulation of «Shark Tank» / VC: One group acts as VC (investor) and the other groups «pitch» (present) their startup. The VC must decide how to distribute $1,000,000 of investment.

Formative Evaluation

• Reflection on the NetLogo simulation.
• Quality and feasibility of the pitch deck.
• Heading of the presentation and investment decision of the «VC».

Integration of Ethical Values

Impact Investing (ESG): Discuss the role of investment in solving social/environmental problems vs. just maximizing profits.
Inequality: How do VC models contribute to wealth inequality?

STEM Disciplines and Skills

Science: Physics (Standard Model of particles, fission vs. fusion, E=mc²), chemistry (isotopes).
Technology: Simulators (virtual fog chamber), data analysis (CERN - concept).
Engineering: Nuclear engineering (Tokamak/Stellarator design - conceptual), confinement (magnetic/inertial).
Mathematics: Orders of magnitude, balancing of nuclear equations.

Critical Thinking: Why is fusion so difficult to achieve on Earth (vs. the Sun)? What is a «boson» vs. a «fermion»?
Creativity: Explain a quantum concept (e.g., quark «flavor») with an analogy.

Hands-on activities

• CERN Data Analysis (Simulated): Use an online «fog chamber» simulation to identify different particles (electrons, positrons, muons) based on their trajectories.
• Magnetic Confinement Model: Simulate a «Tokamak» using magnets and iron filings (or ferrofluid) to show how a magnetic field can «confine» the (conceptual) plasma.
• Debate: Fission Now or Fusion Later? Debate energy policy: Should we invest massively in fission (nuclear energy today) to combat climate change now, or go all in on fusion (energy of the future)?

Formative Evaluation

• Particle identification report.
• Explanation of the Tokamak model.
• Argumentative essay on nuclear energy policy.

Integration of Ethical Values

Cost of «Big Science»: Is it ethical to spend billions on CERN or ITER (fusion) when there is global poverty?
Dual Use: The historical connection between nuclear physics and weapons.

STEM Disciplines and Skills

Science: Optics, neuroscience (how the brain sees), data science (classification).
Technology: Programming (Python with OpenCV - basic), AI (Teachable Machine).
Engineering: Robotics (sensor/actuator integration), navigation algorithms (e.g. A* - concept).
Mathematics: Linear algebra (matrices for image filters), geometry (spatial mapping - SLAM).

Critical Thinking: Why is «seeing» so difficult for a computer? What is «bias» in a CV model?
Collaboration: Train a team CV model and analyze why it fails.

Hands-on activities

• Train a VC Model (Teachable Machine): In groups, train a model (e.g. «recyclable vs. non-recyclable») using the webcam. Test it with new objects and analyze its failures.
• Autonomous Robot Simulation (Labyrinth): Program a robot (virtual or physical, e.g. Arduino with ultrasonic sensor) to navigate a maze and reach the end without human intervention.
• Debate: Autonomous Vehicles and the «Trolley Problem»: Discuss the «Trolley Problem» applied to autonomous vehicles. How should a car be programmed to decide in an unavoidable accident?

Formative Evaluation

• Teachable Machine model (with failure and bias analysis).
• Robot success in the maze (or functional code).
• Reflective writing on the «Trolley Problem» and the ethics of AI.

Integration of Ethical Values

Surveillance: The use of facial recognition by governments and companies.
Autonomous Weapons: Discuss the ethics of «killer robots» (LAWS).
Bias: What if a CV model is trained with biased data and used for recruitment?

STEM Disciplines and Skills

Science: Computational linguistics, data science (embeddings models).
Technology: Programming (Python with NLP libraries, e.g. NLTK), LLM APIs.
Engineering: Software engineering (design of AI «agents»), system architecture (RAG - Retrieval-Augmented Generation).
Mathematics: Statistics (probability of tokens), linear algebra (vector spaces).

Digital Literacy: Understand how fine-tuning and RAG make an LLM smarter.
Critical Thinking: What is an AI «agent» (e.g. Auto-GPT) and how can we «trust» them?

Hands-on activities

• Sentiment Analyzer (Python/Colab): Use Python and NLTK/VADER to build a simple parser that rates movie reviews as «positive» or «negative».
• AI «Agent» Design (Conceptual): Design a system of «agents» (e.g. «Research Agent», «Writing Agent», «Critical Agent») to perform a complex task (e.g. «plan a vacation»).
• Debate: »Stochastic Parrots» or «Sparks of AGI»? Debate whether LLMs «understand» the world (as Microsoft argued) or whether they are simply «stochastic parrots» repeating patterns.

Formative Evaluation

• Functional Colab Notebook (with precision analysis).
• Flowchart of the AI «agent» system.
• Argumentative essay on «understanding» LLMs.

Integration of Ethical Values

Ownership and Plagiarism: Is it «plagiarism» if an AI writes the 90% of your work?
LLM Security: «Prompt injection», «jailbreaking» and the risk of LLMs generating malicious code or disinformation.

STEM Disciplines and Skills

Science: Remote Sensing, GIS, oceanography, data science (satellite image analysis).
Technology: GIS software (QGIS - free), satellite databases (Landsat, Sentinel).
Engineering: Aerospace engineering (satellite orbit design), logistics (optimization of shipping routes).
Mathematics: Spherical geometry, optimization (e.g. «commuter problem»).

Creativity: Using satellite data to tell a «story» about a change in the Earth.
Critical (Systemic) Thinking: How does a «traffic jam» in the Suez Canal (logistics) impact satellite data (ships waiting) and the global economy?

Hands-on activities

• Deforestation Analysis (GIS): Use QGIS or Google Earth Engine (Code Editor) to compare Landsat imagery (e.g. of the Amazon) from 1990 and 2024. Calculate (approx.) area lost.
• Logistics Route Optimization: Given a map and 5 cities, calculate (manually or with a simple algorithm) the shortest route for a delivery truck (Commuter Problem).
• Satellite «Constellation» Design: Design a constellation (e.g. for global internet or disaster monitoring). Discuss: How many satellites, what orbit (LEO, MEO, GEO)?

Formative Evaluation

• Comparative GIS map (with deforestation analysis).
• Calculation of the optimized logistics route.
• Presentation of the constellation design.

Integration of Ethical Values

Light Pollution and Space Debris: The impact of megaconstellations (Starlink) on astronomy and orbital safety.
Privacy and Oversight (EOS): Who can «watch» from space? How detailed?

STEM Disciplines and Skills

Science: Advanced research methodology, data analysis (t-tests, chi-square).
Technology: Product development (MVP), version control (Git/GitHub), publishing (web).
Engineering: Software development life cycle (SDLC), user testing (UX/UI).
Mathematics: Statistical analysis, financial projections (business model).

Collaboration: Project management (Agile/Scrum), team roles (PM, Dev, UX, Researcher).
Critical (Systemic) Thinking: Take a project from an abstract idea to a tangible product/paper and defend it publicly.

Hands-on activities

• Track 1 (Entrepreneurship): «Pitch + MVP»: Identify a problem, design a solution (Figma), build a functional MVP (Replit/Glitch), and create a business plan/pitch to «launch» it.
• Track 2 (Research): «Hypothesis + Paper»: Formulate an original research question, design an experiment, collect data, analyze it statistically and write a full paper.
• Launch and Publication« Fair (Final): Present the project (MVP or paper) to a panel of judges (teachers, local professionals, other students) as if it were a Demo Day or symposium.

Formative Evaluation

• Quality of the MVP (functionality, design) or of the «Paper» (rigor, analysis).
• Project documentation (e.g. README on GitHub).
• Final presentation and defense of the project (rubric).

Integration of Ethical Values

Intellectual Property (IP): Discuss licenses (MIT, GPL) vs. patents. Who owns the project?
Launching« philosophy: Debate «Move fast and break things» (Facebook) vs. «Slow science» (rigorous science).
Resilience: The value of a «successful failure» (an experiment that disproves the hypothesis).