This course provides an alternative to Precalculus for students who wish to continue to study mathematics beyond topics found in Algebra II, and Functions, Statistics, and Trigonometry. The course curriculum focuses on answering the question, "Just what is math used for?" This course looks at how mathematical concepts, such as linear and exponential growth, percentages, unit conversions, basic statistics, and estimation are encountered in areas such as personal finance, demographics, economics, medicine, and the environment. These issues and related problems will be investigated in a way that conveys the power of modern mathematics. Students will engage in at least one student project throughout the course.
Standards for Mathematical Practice
The 2011 framework introduces Standards for Mathematical Practice. These standards complement the content standards so that students increasingly engage with the subject matter as they grow in mathematical maturity and expertise throughout the elementary, middle, and high school years. These standards are the same at all grades from Prekindergarten to 12th grade.
An explanation of how the standards can be highlighted in High School can be found here.
These eight practices can be clustered into the following categories as shown in the chart below:
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Habits of Mind of a Productive Mathematical Thinker:
MP.1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.
MP.6: Attend to precision.
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Reasoning and Explaining
MP.2: Reason abstractly and quantitatively.
MP.3: Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others
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Modeling and Using Tools
MP.4: Model with mathematics.
MP.5: Use appropriate tools strategically.
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Seeing Structure and Generalizing
MP.7: Look for and make use of structure.
MP.8: Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.
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