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Winter Term


Winter Term is an intense, three-week, one-topic course of study held each January. The goal of Winter Term is to put into practice the concept of “depth over breadth,” something that supports the school’s mission of providing the most meaningful educational experiences Brooks students will have. The single-course structure of Winter Term allows students and faculty to work together even more closely than they do in regular classes.
Murals, Murals on the Walls
Students' Winter Term work has lasting effects throughout campus.

That's a Wrap
Winter Term classes come to a close; students and faculty reflect on a month of experiential learning.

Art Installation
Students' work graces the storefront window of Newbury Street Anthropologie.

Exploring Undersea Worlds
Students in the Art and Science of Scuba put their skills to the test under the waves.

On Location: South America
Students take their Winter Term knowledge of Incan culture and history to Peru.


What's Your Story?
Students taking a genealogy class are learning all about their own stories and families.

Winter Term Class Conducts Mock Trial
Students argued their case in federal court at Boston's Moakley U.S. Courthouse.

Back to Elementary School
Students learn about early childhood education by spending time with kids at the local YWCA.

Change of Pace
Students learning how to care for their minds, bodies, hearts and souls.

Laugh Out Loud
Students are learning how to stand-up and deliver the jokes during their Winter Term class.

Bruins Banter
Former NHL star Mike Milbury visits class to talk about contemporary sports.

Winter Term Class Goes Ice Climbing
A trip to North Conway, N.H., introduces students to a challenging winter sport.

’04 Alum Visits Winter Term
Author Lindsay Harrison talks about family with Mark Shovan's and Bob Flanagan's class.

Underwater Classroom
Scuba students get to work on Day 1 of Winter Term.

Winter Term Begins
Jazz, boat-building, genealogy and more: The school's second Winter Term kicks off today.
About Winter Term
Check out this year's photos
Peruse the photos from the Winter Term 2013 classes here.

See the offerings
Check out the Winter Term 2013 course catalog here.

How does Winter Term work?
For starters, the Brooks faculty produced a master list of course proposals. The course concepts are the result of faculty brainstorming that’s focused on three different kinds of classes: experiential, topical and approach-based. Teachers were asked to dream big — in other words, “Think of your dream teaching moment; given boundless time and resources, what would you really like to teach?” And then, “How can we adjust that to fit the Winter Term model?”

In the fall, students were asked to sign up. Each class has it's own requirements, daily expectations and meeting times, however most of the Winter Term courses place an emphasis on collaborative teaching. 

To create time in the school calendar for Winter Term, final exams for first-semester courses were moved to before the holiday break in December. Second semester won’t start until February — leaving January open for a month’s worth of Winter Term courses.

Winter Term archive
Click here to check out our photo and video galleries of the Winter Term 2012 experience. Click here to read articles about 2012 Winter Term classes.
Weekly Wrap-Ups
There's so much going during Winter Term on campus — check out these "quick-hits" of Winter Term observations that Dean of Faculty John Haile made each week. Haile visited classes and reported back on all the great Winter Term activities. Along with the stories at the left, it will give you a glimpse into what Winter Term is all about.

Quick-hits for the week of
January 7–12

Quick-hits for the week of
January 14–18

Quick-hits for week of
January 21-25