POWERED BY
The Curriculum
Explore. Analyze. Experience.
Learning.
Camp xSEL
style.
The Camp xSEL curriculum is structured around the student. The curriculum is designed to break the boundaries of conventional educational practices. Campers will be 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 of the 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.
BIOLOGY
Biology is where life begins, by definition it is the study of life. At Camp xSEL we will delve deep into topics that are important for future medical professionals to learn and understand.
Campers will explore life from the smallest particles to the largest systems. Starting with the very basics of what makes living organisms: DNA-campers will 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 will 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 in order 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 will demonstrate and conceptualize the structures and characteristics of atoms and compounds. Using the Periodic Table of Elements, campers will visualize how elements relate based properties and positions within the Table leading to practicing and writing correct reactions and equations.
Campers will 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 will physically see work, motion, and energy throughout the camp. By pinpointing how different variables affect reactions, campers will be able to decipher between simple and complex motions and explain how the variables change the outcomes.
Campers will be exposed to motion and waves. By using everyday examples, the physical properties of motion, electricity and light will be understood in a meaningful way. Light will be explained in a model that incorporates both waves and the anatomy of the human eye.
MATHMATICS
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 will review the basics and build on skills they already have built. Focus will be held on order of operations and word problems at the beginning to ensure that the skills needed are mastered.
Campers will be able to 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 will also be 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 will participate in various courses that are designed to better their skills in reading, writing and comprehension. In the Journal Club class, Campers will read scientific literature and discuss as a group the background, methods and conclusions to ensure the understanding of the materials. Campers will 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 will be working on the final project: a presentation and paper written off of the findings of one of their own experiments from a lab section of their choice. There will be multiple Writing Clinics a week where students will have the opportunity to work with instructors to edit and better their own writing skills.
The ULCHS CTLI is a national public-private-academic hub for research utilization education, training, and collaboration throughout Liberia’s health sector. CTLI provides a long-term institutional home for sustaining programs developed through BRIDGE-U: Applying Research for a Healthy Liberia (BRIDGE-U Liberia) and other funded projects. CTLI also provides a place for faculty, students, policymakers, clinicians, entrepreneurs, and others to gather for project activities and trainings as well as networking and collaboration.
