High School

Last updated on Feb 16, 2023

LSU Pathways for high school is a robust curriculum designed for in-depth study of one of four available STEM pathways. Students can choose to study biomedical, computing, digital design, or pre-engineering.

Who Does LSU STEM Pathways for High School in 2022-23?

This image shows that in 2022-23, LSU STEM Pathways enrolled 56 teachers, 70 schools, 37 districts, and offered 25 courses for this program. There were over 7100 students enrolled. This image shows a map of Louisiana with the participating parishes highlighted in shades of yellow. The data shows that we are serving 70 schools this year. For more detailed information, please email stempathways@lsu.edu.

Basic Career Readiness Course (All Pathways)


Introduction to STEM Pathways and Careers is a Jumpstart 2.0 Basic Career Readiness course that can be taken in either high school or in middle school for high school credit. It can be applied toward any of the four STEM Pathways or any of the Jumpstart 2.0 pathways.

Introduction to STEM Pathways and Careers

Introduction to STEM Pathways and Careers was developed for the Louisiana Department of Education through a partnership between Louisiana State University and the East Baton Rouge Parish School System, with partial funding from the National Science Foundation. This course is a high school credit basic career readiness course that counts on all STEM Pathways as well as towards traditional Jumpstart diplomas. While the course is designed to be taken in high school, it is available to students as early as seventh grade.

This year long project-based course explores four main pathways of STEM education and possible careers in the fields of 1) Computing and Computer Science, 2) Pre-Engineering, 3) Digital Design and Emergent Media, and 4) Biomedical Sciences. This course is meant to expose students to these overarching concepts:

  • To expand awareness of various careers and occupational pathways related to STEM
  • To stimulate the understanding of higher order thinking processes such as the engineering design process, the scientific method, and computational thinking
  • To develop foundational knowledge and skills in the JumpStart pathways and careers as related to STEM, and utilize the knowledge and skills in their current educational setting.
  • To increase interest in the four core areas of STEM related to this class through project-based activities that are also standards based.

Course Objectives:

  • Identify career opportunities in various STEM fields.
  • Use computing technology for creative expression.
  • Explain the Software Development Process through projects and activities where students design and code.
  • Explain the Engineering Design Process and utilize the process in various engineering projects.
  • Describe the role of visual communication and its cultural implications in society.
  • Use various forms of digital and emergent media to design their own products.
  • Explore and analyze medical scenarios in the areas of forensics, comparative anatomy, ecology studies, biochemistry, microbiology, and bioinformatics.

For a complete list of LDOE Jump Start universal courses please click here.


STEM Pathways Options


Click a dropdown to learn more about each pathway, including a syllabus for each class.

Biomedical Sciences

Overview:

Core Courses:

LSU Electives:

For additional courses, please see Biomedical STEM Pathway brief.

Computing

Overview:

This pathway is currently a key part of two major grants from the National Science Foundation and US Department of Education. The computing pathway is part of a research partnership with the East Baton Rouge Public School System. For more information on BRBYTES please visit brbytes.org. For an outline of recommended courses in the computing pathway, please see the recommended order of courses flyer.

Core Courses:

LSU Electives:

For additional courses, please see Computing STEM Pathway brief.

Digital Design and Emergent Media

Overview:

To view the full DDEM website please visit ddem.lsupathways.org.

Core Courses:

LSU Electives:

For additional courses, please see DDEM STEM Pathway brief.

Pre-Engineering

Overview:

Core Courses:

LSU Electives:

For additional courses, please see Pre-Engineering STEM Pathway brief.




STEM Pathways course catalog accessible version can be found here.



Looking for a grant for supplies for your classroom? Follow the link here for the QSM Grant. Want more tips and tricks for writing classroom grants? Please watch this video to learn about other classroom supply grant opportunities.