The Curriculum
Explore. Analyze. Experience.
Learning. Camp xSEL style.
The Camp xSEL curriculum is structured around the student. It is designed to break the boundaries of conventional educational practices. Campers are encouraged to think critically, investigate, actively engage with the material they are taught, and empirically explore the applications of the theoretical concepts that they acquire in class.
All course materials are designed to prepare the students for success in medical school. At Camp xSEL, we acknowledge that medicine is an interdisciplinary field, and hence we encourage students to draw connections between different courses, and understand how the concepts they are taught come together and relate to each other.
From biology and chemistry, to math and English, Camp xSEL tries to cultivate fundamental skills and critical thinking in the areas that we believe are the most central to success in the health sciences.
Instruction at Camp xSEL is delivered through a co-teaching model that emphasizes collaboration between university educators and high school instructors from government schools. This model fosters a dynamic learning environment where students benefit from the combined expertise of both higher education faculty and experienced secondary school teachers, ensuring a well-rounded and engaging educational experience.Class Frequency
Biology: 5 times per week
Chemistry: 5 times per week
Physics: 2 times per week
Math: 3 times per week
English: 4 times per week
Lab sessions: 6 times per week (2 per subject)
Instructional Staff
Lead Instructors
Lead Instructors are experienced university educators specializing in one of the core academic subjects. They are recruited from the University of Liberia (UL) and W. V. S. Tubman University (TU).
Co-Instructors
Co-Instructors are qualified high school educators from the Government of Liberia schools, recommended by the Ministry of Education.
Laboratory Instructors
Laboratory sessions for Biology, Chemistry, and Physics are led by UL or TU faculty with expertise in lab-based instruction.
Camp xSEL follows a well-established curriculum with weekly objectives for each academic subject. The curriculum, developed during the 2020 program design phase, is provided to all instructors, allowing them to tailor their instructional plans accordingly.
A typical class involves short lectures, small group work, individual exercises (especially in Math), poster presentations with peer feedback, and mini-labs (especially in Biology). Quizzes are used to reinforce learning at the end of each class.
Lab Sessions
Science labs are designed to be interactive, promoting teamwork and hands-on learning. Campers conducted experiments using simple materials, practicing data collection, and writing lab reports. Labs for each grade level are outlined below:
11th Grade
Biology: DNA model creation, heredity coin flips, infections spread
Chemistry: Chemical reactions, onion root observation
Physics: Periodic trends and reactivity, baking soda and vinegar gas laws
12th Grade
Biology: Enzymes and cellular regulation, heart rate recovery, DNA extraction from banana
Physics: Marble collisions, determination of ceiling height using a pendulum, Lenz's Law demonstration
Each lab reinforced the academic lessons, ensuring campers had a practical understanding of the science concepts they were learning.
The Courses
Biology
Biology is where life begins, by definition it is the study of life. At Camp xSEL we delve deep into topics that are important for future medical professionals to learn and understand.
Campers explore life from the smallest particles to the largest systems. Starting with the very basics of what makes living organisms: DNA campers discuss the foundational building blocks and the processes it undergoes to make life possible. While also looking at ecosystems as a whole and how energy moves through the various levels and why what we eat is so important.
Campers also explore the human body, a vital understanding to obtain. From anatomy and the various systems, to viruses and pathogens that attack it. They will study how all of the various systems work together to maintain a healthy life.
Chemistry
Chemistry is the study of the changes and transformations of all matter, both living and non-living. At Camp xSEL we know that an understanding of how both biotic and abiotic matter is structured and how they all interact together is very important in the health field.
Campers demonstrate and conceptualize the structures and characteristics of atoms and compounds. Using the Periodic Table of Elements, campers visualize how elements relate based properties and positions within the Table leading to practicing and writing correct reactions and equations.
Campers combine their chemistry and biology knowledge to focus on Organic Chemistry-the structures, the variability, the reactions and the importance of the abundance of carbon on Earth and how it relates to life.
Physics
Physics is the study of the relationship of objects, forces and energy; it explains how and when things move. Physics helps to explain how energy moves and behaves in and around the human body.
Campers physically see work, motion, and energy throughout the camp. By pinpointing how different variables affect reactions, campers can decipher between simple and complex motions and explain how the variables change the outcomes.
Campers are exposed to motion and waves. By using everyday examples, the physical properties of motion, electricity, and light is understood in a meaningful way. Light is explained in a model that incorporates both waves and the anatomy of the human eye.
Mathematics
Math helps us to become better problem-solvers. It allows us to look at a problem, or at the world, analytically and with better reasoning skills. As a medical professional, being able to problem solve and search for concrete answers is critical.
Campers review the basics and build on skills they already have built. Focus is held on the order of operations and word problems at the beginning to ensure that the skills needed are mastered.
Campers create and analyze various plots and graphs; a skill that is paramount in being able to read and interpret scientific data in the field. A sample of complex algebra, trigonometry and statistics area also explored throughout the camp.
English
It all begins with communication. Being able to read and write as a medical professional is of the utmost importance. From being able to read and understand the current scientific literature to spelling drug names correctly for prescriptions or notes on charts.
During Camp xSEL, Campers participate in various courses that are designed to better their skills in reading, writing and comprehension. In the Journal Club class, Campers read scientific literature and discuss as a group the background, methods and conclusions to ensure the understanding of the materials. Campers also have a Reading section where they individually work through passages for vocabulary building while checking for understanding.
Throughout the entirety of Camp xSEL, Campers work on the final project: a presentation and paper written off of the findings of one of their experiments from a lab section of their choice. There are multiple Writing Clinics a week where students have the opportunity to work with instructors to edit and better their own writing skills.
