Quadrivium Engineering & Design

This student-centered course will engage students in reflective and critical analysis of their engineering experiences, and will explore engineering as a multidisciplinary practice. Students will develop and practice engineering design thinking and problem solving, learn about multiple engineering disciplines, and develop engineering professional skills including collaboration, communication, and engineering ethics. By developing an engineering identity and adopting an engineering mindset, students will apply these skills in a hands-on, authentic, self-selected engineering design project. Students will practice project management, trade-off, and work within a budget. Students will design for a client, pitch their ideas, collect and analyze user data utilizing qualitative and quantitative approaches, and present their final design. 

Prerequisite: Engineering 1, 2 and 3, Integrated Math 43 or equivalent or with instructor approval. (Exceptions may be made for students joining in the 4th or 5th form year)

In this course, students will analyze engineering disciplines such as aerospace, mechanical, civil, energy, biomedical and electrical engineering in a college-level training. Each term, students will select one engineering discipline as their exploratory field. Working through a scenario-based project, students will take a deeper dive into that discipline, work with industrial equipment, conduct industry-level engineering experiments in that discipline. They will have opportunities to interact with engineers of various fields and learn from their real-world experiences. 

Prerequisite: Engineering 1 and 2

This yearlong course is an integration of engineering, design, project management and marketing. This course advances students’ knowledge and skills within the engineering design process of product design and user experience. They will learn about advanced multidisciplinary engineering approaches such as human-centered design, bio-inspired design, design aesthetics, material processing, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Managing a given budget, students have the option to work for an actual local or non-local client, or to be their own client. They will conduct research on various existing creative and smart products, identify the needs and problems in society, ideate and prototype solutions, and finally design, test and manufacture a marketable solution. This is a collaborative course which allows students to practice effective and professional communication skills. This class may be taken as a seventh, graded course – no homework will be assigned.

Prerequisite: Engineering 1

In this course, students will explore the essential skills needed for designing smart products. Students will gain advanced 3D modeling skills in CAD, and be introduced to rapid prototyping using 3D printing, laser cutting and CNC machinery. Additionally, through engaging and collaborative hands-on projects, they will learn about the internet of Things (IoT), explore fundamentals of electronics with Arduino kits, and engage in coding to create smart products. Finally, working in small groups, students will engage in the engineering design process to define a need in the toy industry. They will experience building a prototype and testing the toy to address the identified need. This class can be taken as a seventh, graded course – no homework will be assigned.

Note: Students who have mastered the skills listed in this course will need to speak with the department chair, for a potential placement test for Engineering 3, if approved.

Embedded honors option: At the fall midterm, students may, with approval from their adviser and instructor, elect to pursue an embedded honors curriculum. Acceptance will be based upon the student’s performance, competencies, and ability to balance well their complete academic schedule. The embedded curriculum demands greater depth and commitment in all aspects of the course, including demonstrated classroom leadership. Unlike the broader Hill policy for drops/level changes, changing from honors to regular means that averages from completed terms, and scores from individual assignments in incomplete terms, shall carry over after the change, as though they had been earned under the regular course expectations.

Honors students will be expected to maintain an average of B+ or higher in the course at each marking period, and to consistently display classroom leadership and intellectual curiosity. Students who fail to meet the grade minimum at any marking period (midterm or term) will be dropped from the honors track.

In this yearlong course, students will develop and practice engineering habits of mind and thinking competencies through collaborative, hands-on, engineering design projects. Students will be introduced to the core of engineering design practices, including problem scoping, ideation, prototyping, and troubleshooting. They will also explore the fundamentals of engineering science and learn how to apply those principles to engineering design projects.

This class may be taken as a seventh, graded course – no homework will be assigned.

Term Course: Fall, Winter OR Spring (students may enroll in one term ONLY)

AI Literacy is an introductory course introducing students to the fascinating world of artificial intelligence, exploring its algorithms, applications, and ethical considerations. Through interactive lessons, hands-on projects, and real-world case studies, students
will play with AI and explore its potential to enhance learning and daily life. They will critically examine the societal implications of AI, from bias and privacy to job automation, and gain practical experience using generative AI tools and platforms. Students will be empowered by listening to guest speakers who are experts in the field of AI.

This project-based, interactive class prepares students to navigate and lead in an AI-powered future.

Prerequisite: Concurrent enrollment in or completion of Integrated Math 31 or higher

This year-long class utilizes a version of Harvard University’s CS50 curriculum to introduce students to the fundamental concepts of computing with a programming-centric focus, while simultaneously preparing students for the AP Computer Science Principles exam. Topics covered in this class include algorithms, abstraction, data, global impact, and internet technologies, among others. Students will also develop competence in several programming languages including Python and C. By the end of the year, students can expect to have a foundational understanding of core computer science principles, be comfortable programming in multiple languages, and most importantly be better problem solvers and computational thinkers.

This class will prepare students to take the AP Computer Science principles exam. Students who successfully complete this course can be recommended to take Computer Science 2 or 3 the following year.

Prerequisite: Computer Science 3 and departmental approval of project proposal

This yearlong course is an open research and development time for highly motivated and creative students looking to explore complex projects. Students must submit project proposals for approval prior to acceptance into this course.

Prerequisite: Computer Science 2, Integrated Math 42 or higher. Select students from AP Computer Science Principals may also enroll with departmental approval.

This college level course advances students’ knowledge and understanding of the world of technology by focusing on artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, and cybersecurity, and their real-life applications. Students explore the challenges of image analysis and consolidate their knowledge through machine learning and AR applications. Students use data sets in order to train machine learning algorithms.

Students also learn and evaluate the concepts of cybersecurity, and analyze the ethical ramifications of sharing data through digital networks, while exploring the mathematical concepts and computer science principals in cryptography. As a final project, students can apply AI and Data Science on multidisciplinary projects such as virtual reality, engineering design, sport, neuroscience.

Prerequisite: Computer Science 1

This college level, year-long class delves into the fundamentals of computing with a focus on programming in Java. The curriculum covers a broad range of topics including abstraction, algorithm development, memory allocation, and basic computer architecture. The course places a strong emphasis on both procedural and object-oriented programming using the Java language. Upon completion, students will be well-prepared to take the AP Computer Science A exam in May (optional).