At the heart of the Maine Coast Semester is a challenging academic program for students who love learning. Our classes require commitment, curiosity, participation, and a great sense of adventure.
Classes are small—averaging fewer than eight students each—and take place around tables where everyone contributes. Discussion is important in all classes, and our teachers expect and encourage lively questioning. During a visit, you might see students lead a discussion in Literature and the Land, teach a problem at the white board in Pre-Calculus, or present a project to the community in Environmental Issues.
Expectations for work in and out of the classroom are high. Students generally receive three to four hours of outside work each day, with significant reading, problem sets, or writing, depending on the class. For many writing assignments, whether creative or expository, teachers guide students through a multiple-draft revision process, essential for clear and concise writing.
All classes emphasize analysis of information. For example, in Calculus, students derive the derivative rules before being asked to use them in a problem set. Meanwhile, writing assignments in English or U.S. History challenge students to integrate an array of information and viewpoints to form one’s own thesis. Similarly, when out in the field for Natural History of the Maine Coast, students may be asked to explain why Pitch Pine grows on the top of Morse Mountain, based on the geology, climate, and ecology of the region.
Whenever appropriate, classes are held outside and teachers include applied topics. In science, students spend at least four hours a week along the Maine Coast. Both Art and Environmental Issues make use of our campus as well as sites throughout Maine. French and Spanish classes are taught entirely in the language at all levels, and French students visit Quebec City for a multiday immersion experience. Problems in mathematics may model tidal changes in our own Montsweag Bay or contribute to the design of a building on our campus. These real-world and hands-on experiences complement the traditional components of every class.
Visitors often describe the academic tenor of our campus as inspired and collegial. Students are given freedom to work within their own schedule and concurrently are expected to take responsibility for high quality work that can be either individual or collaborative. By the end of each semester, we expect students to lead classes with an invigorated intellectual spirit. Their desire for knowledge encourages them to pursue lifelong learning.
