Liceo Scientifico STEAM
Integrating Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics
The characteristics of Liceo Scientifico STEAM
The Formative Offer
A liceo tailored to the talents of today's young people
The Licei project at Gonzaga Campus combines the Italian National Guidelines (DPR n. 89/2010) with the distinctive features of Jesuit pedagogy, leveraging the opportunities of school autonomy. This integrates the Ignatian pedagogical tradition with the challenges of modernity.
The underlying perspective: a liceo tailored to the talents of today's young people. All programs adopt a common framework that emphasises the importance of orientation throughout the journey, as students' talents emerge, creating spaces of choice where they can be cultivated within the solid structure of Italian liceo programs.
The liceo becomes an itinerary that, with its progression, follows the growth of the student towards autonomy, effectively guiding them towards future commitments in study, work, and life:
Beyond this fundamental perspective, we have also focused on how to help students in the concrete transition towards their future academic and professional choices. We believe that school can do much to aid preparation for university admission tests — certainly with basic preparation but also by integrating the curriculum with preparatory subjects such as "Logic" or curricular extensions such as "Science and Models."
The first biennio serves to lay solid foundations — to "build the edifice of letters," as the Ratio Studiorum (the first pedagogical document of the Jesuit order, 1589) stated. Without solid foundations, a good edifice cannot be built. The biennio is a period that requires time to strengthen the tools of the "craft" that will then be needed to set sail during the subsequent triennio years.
After the biennio of solid foundations, we propose a triennio that aims to prepare students for their personal future. The triennio serves to discover, rediscover and promote one's personal inclinations, to know and recognise one's intellectual personality, following and supporting one's interests for further research and deepening. The idea of personalisation of studies begins to take shape.
We intend to encourage inclinations and interests through the introduction of options within which students can begin to choose, thus practising a concrete education in choice and discernment. This aligns with the desire of Ignatian pedagogy to give ever-growing space to the personalisation of studies, approaching the trends in Europe that focus on flexibility and personalisation of educational paths.
The final year is the crowning of the entire project and its philosophy: discovering one's personal originality to give the best of oneself, acquiring academic and human excellence placed at the service of building the world. The goal is to form a person who lives as a protagonist in their own existence in the world and at the service of the world.
Liceo Scientifico STEAM
The STEAM Scientific High School curriculum integrates scientific and technological disciplines with art and design, offering an innovative and interdisciplinary educational path. The two-year period lays the foundations of the STEAM method with a focus on science, mathematics, computer science and English, while the three-year period broadens the educational horizon with disciplines such as philosophy of science, geopolitics and design. Thanks to research laboratories and collaboration with academic and scientific institutions, students develop practical and reflective skills oriented towards the future.
Liceo Scientifico STEAM Curriculum
| Subject | Statale | Gonzaga |
|---|---|---|
| Italian Language and Literature | 4 | 4 |
| English Language and Culture | 3 | 4 |
| Chinese Language and Culture | 0 | 2 |
| Mathematics | 5 | 5 |
| Natural Sciences | 2 | 2 |
| Physics | 2 | 2 |
| History | 2 | 2 |
| Geography | 1 | 1 |
| Drawing and Art History | 2 | 2 |
| Computer Science | 0 | 2 |
| Design | 0 | 2 |
| Sports and Motor Sciences | 2 | 2 |
| Religion | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 27 | 31 |
| Materia | Scuola Statale Biennio | Gonzaga Biennio | Scuola Statale Triennio | Gonzaga Triennio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Italian Language and Literature | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
English Language and Culture | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
Chinese Language and Culture | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Mathematics | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
Natural Sciences | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
Physics | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
History | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Geography | 1 | 1 | - | - |
Drawing and Art History | 2 | 2 | - | - |
Computer Science | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Design | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Sports and Motor Sciences | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Religion | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
History of Art | - | - | 2 | 2 |
Philosophy | - | - | 2 | 2 |
Philosophy of Science | - | - | 0 | 1 |
Geopolitics | - | - | 0 | 1 |
Research Lab | - | - | 0 | 2 |
Optional Subject | - | - | 0 | 2 |
| Total | 27 | 31 | 27 | 38 |
Gonzaga Campus Courses
Chinese Language and Culture
In an increasingly interconnected world, the study of Chinese as a second non-community language becomes a precious ally, enabling confrontation with the East as generative of a new way of seeing the world. Immersion in the ancient richness of Chinese culture and its millennial traditions opens new cultural and linguistic perspectives, increasing professional opportunities and broadening intercultural understanding. With its growing economic and cultural influence, Chinese proves to be a strategic educational investment, looking towards new personal and professional relationships in an increasingly dynamic international context.
Sciences in English (CLIL)
In the perspective of a conscious and effective use of the foreign language, part of the science programme — a non-linguistic discipline — is carried out in English with CLIL methodology (Content and Language Integrated Learning). In particular, for the STEAM track this amounts to 33 annual hours (one hour per week).
Design — STEAM and Creativity
The course marks the evolution from STEM to STEAM. Design contributes to promoting the enhancement of complex thinking, the integration of creativity and the humanistic aspect in scientific and technological disciplines to face the global challenges that await us. It constitutes a stimulating opportunity to explore and develop one's creativity while acquiring practical design skills. The course introduces students to the fundamental elements of graphic, industrial and interior design with an engaging and experimentation-oriented teaching approach, encouraging them to develop original and innovative solutions.
Cultural Studies
A path in which the humanistic dimension and the artistic-literary tradition dear to Jesuit tradition are valued. It is a discipline that makes students aware of historical, artistic and social processes and dynamics in the relationship between different geographical and cultural areas. It represents the research aspect of the STEAM track in an interdisciplinary form in the humanistic and linguistic field, providing further and multiple opportunities to work on critical reflection and research methodology skills.
Symposia
Thanks to school autonomy, a formative container called Symposia is created. Half of the religion curricular hours are concentrated in a Symposia week, where students tackle formative and interdisciplinary themes involving various disciplines and the great ethical questions of our journey as men and women. • Biennio: An experiential laboratory discovering Planet Earth, acquiring keys to becoming aware and responsible citizens through active and ecological citizenship practices. • Year 3: Biblical dramatisation — through various biblical characters, questions about the meaning of life are explored. The Bible becomes, as Cardinal Martini said, 'the great book of humanity'. • Year 4: A Debate tournament. • Year 5: Autobiography and writing of the student's curriculum.
Customising Your Path Through Optional Courses
Optional subjects to choose for personalising the curriculum in view of orientation
| Subject | Statale | Gonzaga |
|---|---|---|
| Logic and Statistics | 0 | 2 |
| Science and Models | 0 | 2 |
| Advanced Design | 0 | 2 |
| Research Methods | 0 | 2 |
| Materia | Scuola Statale Biennio | Gonzaga Biennio | Scuola Statale Triennio | Gonzaga Triennio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Logic and Statistics | - | - | 0 | 2 |
Science and Models | - | - | 0 | 2 |
Advanced Design | - | - | 0 | 2 |
Research Methods | - | - | 0 | 2 |
Triennio Courses & Personalisation
Philosophy of Science
The course offers a profound and critical look at the world of sciences, encouraging students to reflect on the philosophical foundations underlying scientific theories. Through the analysis of epistemological roots and philosophical implications of scientific discoveries, students develop a broader understanding of the scientific process. This path promotes critical reflection and becomes a springboard towards a deep understanding of scientific disciplines and their philosophical implications. It allows students to refine philosophical reflection processes, which pass especially through ethical, epistemological and moral questions, focusing in particular on scientific themes, with an eye towards the ecological horizon.
Geopolitics
Giving space to the geopolitical dimension in the course of study means forming thinking and aware citizens, capable of connecting the past and the present, developing a critical understanding of the contemporary world and a sense of responsibility towards the future.
Research Days — Explore, Experiment, Design
A laboratory that is part of the curriculum, articulated in three hours of afternoon activities held with researcher teachers from partner Universities and Companies and the co-presence of a scientific teacher, during which students are introduced to scientific research through laboratory activities, teamwork and research projects entirely conducted by students. The annual Research Days path includes: 1. An introductory phase — students learn about the concept of scientific research, the scientific method and the general construction of a research project, with particular attention to bibliographic research, source consultation and reliability. 2. Students participate in applied laboratories at external partner institutions to broaden their perspective on the most innovative research topics. 3. Students formulate their own research project, truly experimenting with the phases of scientific research and becoming first-person authors. 4. The final product is presented with a public sharing of results, which is evaluated on the specific competencies expressed and contributes to the final evaluation of the school year.