To give you an overview of many topics in math using a varied, problem-based learning approach (with many connections to the world we live in). This course has content that will spiral through Geometry, Algebra II, and Pre-Calculus. This allows you to continue to work with similar concepts throughout your math career instead of focusing on a few topics for one year and then moving on. The topics we will cover will range from basic algebra to applied statistics. We will work primarily through projects and activities done in class, though there will occasionally be a need to finish things outside of class time.
Pencil (preferred for assessments)
Either a 3-ring binder and loose-leaf paper OR 1-2 spiral notebooks
You can do work and notes on Notability, if you prefer
Charged school iPad
Set of ear buds (used to watch math tutorial videos if needed)
Come to class prepared every day. Each day you come to class you should have something to write with, something to write on, your calculator, your class notes, and any other materials we may need.
Be a learner, not a finisher. We will sometimes go through practice pages and work that takes more time to complete than is given in class. This is by design and provides you with extra practice work outside of class (as needed). When we work on things in class, the goal is to learn material, not to complete pages. There is no reason to copy things from other students (except, perhaps, notes). We care that you are thinking, not that you are finishing!
Be respectful. Respect means many things to many people. In this class it means that you will follow the rules, you will not talk when someone else is talking, you will do EVERY assignment, you will take good notes, you will keep your hands and feet to yourself, you will use your iPad as instructed, and you will try your best.
Own your education. You need to be honest when you do your homework and take your quizzes. Copying someone else’s homework will not help you on the quizzes. The daily work and practice problems are very important in learning the material for the test. Finally, you need to take notes on the topics we cover in this class so you have reference pages to look at when working problems.
Lean into the struggle. Everyone has bad days, me included, but do not bring that bad day into the classroom. If you are struggling with the material, don't give up! There are many ways to go about learning the topics, and any one of them could work well for you. Check in with me for new ideas if you are stuck on any of the major concepts we cover throughout the year.
A grade communicates your most current level of understanding you are able to demonstrate. That means that a grade is fluctuating as you learn new material and understand older material better through making connections and extending your knowledge.
There will be a quiz every 1-2 weeks (generally on Fridays). Each quiz will contain 3-5 major concepts. Each major concept will be on 4 quizzes in a row (that means that you will have a full month or more and 4 opportunities to prove you understand each one). After each quiz I will go into the grade book and change your grade on each concept to show your most current level of understanding on that idea. 85% of your grade will come from these quizzes. 15% will come from the final.
Your top two scores will be averaged together to go into your grade for every individual topic. That means that if you get a 4 twice on any concept, then your grade will not change on the quizzes in the future for that one topic only. It is still good to do the problem on the quiz, but it will not affect your calculated score.
Daily work will consist of investigations into ideas behind each major concept covered in this class. There are only a handful lectures and most of them are pretty short. I expect you to give each day an honest effort as this is where you will learn the major concepts and apply them to unique situations. The minimum expectation is that you take notes on things as we go so you have something to reference when you run into trouble with the problems.
There are short homework assignments between quizzes that contain 3-5 problems on them because getting better at math requires you to do more math problems (just like any other activity). These homework sets are assigned via Google Classroom and should be done either on paper or on Classroom. These are not collected for points, but two days before quizzes I post fully worked and explained answers to the problems on the homework set. This gives you the opportunity to address misconceptions before the quiz and gives you the chance to see if you need to come in for extra help, see a friend for some help, take a look at the tutorial videos, or do some extra practice problems before the next quiz comes around.
I also have tons of extra practice sets posted to this website that you can go to for extra work if you know that you need it. If you are struggling to remember an idea or you know that to get an idea down you need a dozen problems then I would strongly suggest that you go to the Major Topic Information section of the website and pick a problem set to do each week.
The first time you see a new concept on a quiz, it is strictly feedback unless you are at the 3-4 level of understanding. If you get a 0, 1, or 2, then I put feedback on the quiz, but I do not put the grade on JMC. This is because you are just starting to learn this concept and you don’t need to have the added stress of being graded on that concept as well. A blank score means that I do not currently have any information on the concept you are looking at (due to missing a quiz day), or that you did poorly on the first time you saw that concept on the quizzes. A blank score is not the same thing as a zero. A zero means you left a problem blank on the quiz (as noted in the rubric in the next section) while a blank means I do not have any information on the concept you are currently looking at.
JMC will report that you have missing grades. This is not true. There will never be any missing grades in class. Because of how grades have to be set up in the program it will detect quizzes that haven't happened yet. You are never missing any grades!
If you miss a quiz, and you want to take it, then you’ll need to set up a time to come in before you are gone. If you are sick that day or are absent for an unexpected reason (weather, family emergency, etc.), then you need to email me that day and let me know a time you have available to come take the quiz before the next class period (since I will have the answers posted by that time). If you do not do either of these things, then you will not be allowed to take the quiz. This will not affect your grade in any way, but you will be missing out on an opportunity to get formal feedback from me on your understanding and you will be missing out on an opportunity to prove what you know. Since each concept is on 4 different quizzes, missing 1 once in a while is not a major thing. If you start missing several quiz days, then we will sit down and discuss what solutions we can put in place on an individual basis.
**If you miss a quiz day with an unexcused absence, I will put zeroes into all concepts that were on that quiz if it is not made up the next school day. It is your responsibility to set up a time with me. This is per the student handbook at Durant High School.
**Since I need two quiz scores to calculate grades, if you miss 2 of the four quizzes then the first quiz becomes an actual score instead of a "first quiz" score.
In this grading system, you will be graded based on about 10-15 major concepts per semester (for example: “Box Plots” or “Creating Linear Equations”). These will be the only things that you see when you look at the grade book and they will be constantly in motion. This is helpful because it means that if you don’t understand something, then both you and I will know exactly which parts you need to study instead of being given a grade such as 15/20 on “Unit 1 Quiz 1” which doesn’t help you understand where you are missing knowledge and doesn’t help me pinpoint areas of weakness/strength.
A reassessment is a way for you to come in and prove that you understand a concept that you had previously not comprehended. You will have the 4 chances on the quizzes to prove you understand the idea, but if you happen to have a rough month, I still want you to understand the concepts presented in class. If you want to prove you understand an idea that is no longer on a quiz you will have to apply for a reassessment (applications can be found in the room or on the website). You must do some work outside of class (anything specified on the reassessment application) and then bring it in to show that you have done extra work and deserve a chance to show your newfound knowledge. This score is then averaged with your highest other score on the topic.
Each major concept is scored on a 4-point rubric. The following chart shows you what I look for when I am grading any concept in this class:
This is a list of the major concepts we’ll be covering this year.
Unit 1: Graphs and Data
Topics include: distributions of data and their shapes, dot plots, histograms, box plots, measures of center and their properties, measures of spread and their properties, percentiles, identifying outliers
Major ideas covered: Histograms, Box Plots, Measures of Center, Measures of Spread, Finding Outliers, Data Transformations
Unit 5: Vertex-Edge Graphs
Topics include: Euler circuits and paths, adjacency matrices, vertex-edge conflict resolution (through use of vertex coloring)
Major ideas covered: Euler Circuits/Paths, Vertex-Edge Conflict Resolution
Unit 3: Linear Functions
Topics include: graphing linear functions, rate of change (slope), modeling linear data patterns, solving linear equations
Major ideas covered: Creating Linear Equations, Solving Linear Equations, Systems of Equations, Linear Regression
Unit 4: Exponential Functions
Topics include: graphing exponential functions, modeling exponential growth and decay functions, properties of exponents, simplifying radicals, describing exponential functions from equations
Major ideas covered: Creating Exponential Equations, Solving Exponential Equations, Exponent Rules, Simplifying Radicals
Unit 5: Quadratic Functions
Topics include: graphing quadratic functions, expanding and factoring quadratic expressions, quadratic formula, solving quadratics
Major ideas covered: Quadratic Transformations, Solving Quadratic Equations
Unit 6: Probabilities
Topics include: sample spaces, probability distributions, simulations, geometric probability
Major ideas covered: Basic Probability, Geometric Probability, Probability Simulations