“Caching” in on Topography and Locus

Name of Participant(s): Karen Bisso, Scott Keeney and Tim Mulligan.

Overview:
Consultant Teacher Model (CTM) classes have been an integral feature of the Secondary Special Education program for the last 9 years. In CTM classes, a mainstream content teacher is paired with a Special Education teacher designed to bring their areas of expertise together in the delivery of instruction to classified students and those in need of AIS services. Effective placement of students into this program allows for classified and AIS students to be exposed to the support services necessary for them to be academically, socially and behaviorally successful.

Both teams use alternate learning strategies and a keen awareness of learning styles to deliver instruction to classified and at-risk 9 th grade students. Many of these students are 15 and 16 year olds in the 9 th grade due to previous academic failures(s). This unit will be attacked with students who participate in both Earth Science CTM (300 minutes/week) and Math A Part 1 CTM (200 minutes/week). The Earth Science CTM has been in existence for the last 6 years while Math A Part 1 is a young 3.

The amount of work devoted to creating a coordinated curriculum at this level, as well as the time necessary for reflection and modification due to the nature of the student involved is extensive. Steering the unit will be Earth Science’s Contour Interval instruction while Math A will incorporate simultaneously, instruction on Locus, the set of all points that meet given conditions. Lecture, lab, plotting on coordinate planes and familiarity with GPS devices will culminate in an activity using the new adventure of “Geocaching” to celebrate the accommodation of all instruction in both disciplines. Students will use GPS devices to locate various points.

They will then use their knowledge of locus to locate the mark of answer points. Thus, a “Treasure Hunt” using Locus and GPS will be constructed. Students will see real life applications of the often misunderstood algebraic curriculum and how interrelated Science and Math can be. The unit is projected to take approximately 2 weeks of class time in both disciplines. Due to the fact that all students will be in both programs and the flexibility allowed when a common teacher (the Special Education teacher) is in place, a multidisciplinary culminating activity will be prepared utilizing creative scheduling.

NYS Learning Standards Addressed:

MST Learning Standard 1:
Students will use mathematical analysis, scientific inquiry, and engineering design, as appropriate

Standard 2:
Students will access, generate, process, and transfer information using appropriate technologies.

Standard 3:
Students will understand mathematics and become mathematically confident by communicating and reasoning mathematically, by applying mathematics in real-world settings, and by solving problems through the integrated study of number systems, geometry, algebra, data analysis, probability, and trigonometry.

Standard 4:
Students will understand and apply scientific concepts, principles, and theories pertaining to the physical setting and living environment and recognize the historical development of ideas in science

Standard 5:
Students will apply technological knowledge and skills to design, construct, use, and evaluate products and systems to satisfy human and environmental needs.

Standard 6:
Students will understand the relationships and common themes that connect mathematics, science, and technology and apply to these and other areas of learning. Standard 7- Students will apply the knowledge and thinking skills of mathematics, science, and technology to address real-life problems and make informed decisions.