Developing New Courses to Meet the Needs and Interests of Govs Students

This year, three Govs faculty members brought two new courses to their classrooms in Byfield. Using faculty professional development funding, they spent last summer developing all aspects of the courses they began teaching this fall.

Mathematics teachers Ryan Badecker and Amy Block ‘06 developed Honors PreCalculus AB, a challenging course option for students who hope to advance to AP Calculus AB. “Honors Precalculus AB provides honors-level rigor and prepares students for AP Calculus AB. Developing this course allowed us to include different topics not previously covered and to dedicate more time to reinforcing important skills necessary for success in AB Calculus,” described Block, Mathematics Department Chair.

This past summer, Badecker and Block created the syllabus, course problem sets, problem set rubric, and course assessments. The problem set evaluation rubric criteria are reasoning, organization, and clarity. In reflecting on the first quarter of the course, Badecker shared, “I’m encouraged by the progress and understanding our students have demonstrated so far. I’ve also really enjoyed seeing the teamwork that developed in the classroom as students work towards the common goal of learning the material well.”

English teacher Tori Davis developed two semester-long electives available to juniors and seniors—Postcolonial Literature and Bad Girls: Villainesses in Literature. Like her colleagues in the Mathematics department, Davis spent the summer selecting texts and creating syllabi for her new courses.

Davis was inspired to create a postcolonial elective because she believes it is important to confront the reality of the Eurocentric point-of-view that has dominated history and to establish an Afrocentric view in learning about this time. “I am fascinated with the topic of identity and other cultures. I think it's important to share a variety of voices with our students to broaden their perspective and the lens through which they examine themselves, the human experience, and how that all fits with their sense of place in the world,” shared Davis. Students will read texts such as Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga, and Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.

In the second semester, Davis will teach Bad Girls: Villainesses in Literature, focusing on identity, specifically as it relates to gender. “I'm forever examining my experience as a woman and how that informs or influences how I experience the world. Far too often, we see powerful women being vilified simply because of their gender or for exhibiting traits that are celebrated in a man yet demonized in a woman.” In this elective, students will explore the intersectionality of villainy and femininity in literature, film, fairy tales, and memes.

Each winter, Governor’s faculty are invited to apply for professional development funds to support creating new courses, attending conferences, and participating in other activities to grow as professionals during the summer.