# Archived Information

# 

# Slide 1:

# 

# Math Education at High Tech High

Slide 2:

# High Tech High

## Who am I?

## What is High Tech High?

## What's wrong with math education in this country?

## What is HTH trying to do about it?

## 

Slide 3:

# High Tech High

## Who am I?

## Ben Daley

## Director, High Tech High

## Chief Instructional Officer, High Tech High Village

Slide 4:

# What is High Tech High?

## Public, charter high school in San Diego

## In 5^th^ year

## Diverse group of students selected by lottery (all applicants placed in lottery)

## All staff on one year contracts

## 

## Slide 5:

## 

# What is High Tech High?

## 100% of graduates have gone to college (2 graduating classes)

## 60% were first in their family to go to college

## Alumni at MIT, Stanford, Berkeley, Haverford, Harvey Mudd

## High test scores (10-10)

## 

## Slide 6:

# HTH Replication Efforts

## National effort supported by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

### Sites in Tucson, AZ, Harrisburg, PA, Los Angeles (2 sites), Portland, Chicago, San Carlos, CA (Bay area), New Bedford, MA

## New Charter Management Organization

### High Tech Middle (opened in fall 2003)

### High Tech High International (opened in fall 2004)

### Will have 6 small schools at San Diego campus in fall 2005

# 

Slide 7:

Birds eye view of the High Tech Middle layout.

Slide 8:

# The HTH Design Principles

## Personalization

## Real World Immersion -- Adult Connection

## Common Intellectual Mission

## Teacher as Designer

Slide 9:

## 

# Personalization

## Small class size (22-25 students in core classes)

## Small teaching teams (44-66 students per team)

## Advisory program

Slide 10:

# Adult World Connection

## Site Visits

## Internships

## Presentations of Learning

## Exhibitions

Slide 11:

# Common Intellectual Mission

## High expectations for all students

## No ability grouping

## All students are on the college track

## Our challenge is to challenge and support a diverse group of learners in every classroom

Slide 12:

## 

# Teacher as Designer

## Hire great teachers, articulate a shared vision, remove obstacles

## HTH is a teacher run school

## Teachers design the curriculum. It does not come from legislatures, school boards, or principals

## 

Slide 13:

# Project Based Learning

## Learning in a context

## "Hands on -- Minds on" learning

## Students making, building, and doing

## School is both a vocational school and an academic school

## Students present their work to panels of experts from the community

## Less is More

## 

Slide 14:

# Textbooks

## "The teachers who don't rely on textbooks seem to know their subject matter better than teachers who rely on textbooks."

## - Kiel Bowman, HTH '03

## "The less the teacher relied on a textbook and the fewer number of topics the teacher covered, the better these students performed in college level physics."

## - Dr. Phil Sadler, Harvard University 

Slide 15:

# Middle School Math/Science

## 6^th^ grade: Math & Earth Science

## 7^th^ grade: Math & Life Science

## 8^th^ grade: Math & Physical Science

Slide 16:

# High School Math & Science

## 9^th:^ Math/Physics

## 10^th^: Math/Chemistry

## 11^th^: Math, Biology, Engineering

## 12^th^: Math, Advanced Science

Slide 17:

High School Math

  ----------------------------------- -----------------------------------
  [Student A]{.underline}             [Student B]{.underline}

  Math 1                              Math 1

  Math 2                              Math 2

  Math 3                              Math 3

  Calculus                            Math 4
  ----------------------------------- -----------------------------------

## 

## We emphasize algebra and geometry because standardized tests are a hurdle that students need to overcome.

## All entering 9^th^ graders take HTH Physics/Math 1.

Slide 18:

# What's wrong with math education?

## Most of what we teach in math classes is not important

## We are on a calculus driven system, which is linear and hierarchical, and has one entry point and many exit points

## Could be on a statistics driven system, which would have more flexibility and many entry points

Slide 19:

# The problems with arguments for traditional math curriculum

## It's fun

## It teaches "thinking" skills

## It's important for a career in science

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## Slide 20:

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# What HTH is doing about math education

## Teaching traditional boring math because of standardized tests 

## Teaching math and science integrated for grades 6-10

## Teaching real world, project based, integrated-with-science math as much as possible

## 

## Slide 21:

Chart of the break down of Math 1 -- 3 in Algebraic Operations, Linear
(First Order) Equations, and Quadratic (Second Order) Equations.

Algebraic Operations:

Math 1: Solve simple equations by applying the following operators to
isolate the necessary variable.

\+ -

x +

()2 Square root of (symbol)

Math 2:

Solve simple equations by applying the following operators to isolate
the necessary variable.

()n ()1/n

10x log(x)

ex In(x)

Math 3:

Solve complex equations (including rational functions) by applying all
of the operators (from Math 1 and 2) to isolate the necessary variable.

Linear (First Order) Equations

Math 1:

Concepts: linearity, slope, intersection, parallel, perpendicular, rate,
intercepts

-   Know y = mx + b

-   Generate graph given equation

-   Generate equation\* given graph

-   Solve for x given y

-   Solve for y given x

-   Determine if (x,y) is on line

-   Understand parallel and perpendicular slopes

-   Determine intersection of 2 lines

\*Involves solving for m and b

Math 2:

Review all math 1concepts

-   Generate equation given 2 points

-   Generate equation given point and slope

-   Generate parallel & perpendicular lines given line and other point

-   Graph linear inequalities

-   Generate slope given angle using trigonometry

Math 3:

Review all Math 2 concepts

Solve systems of linear equations

Optional:

-   Use matrices to solve systems

    -   Set up matrix

    -   Use Gaussian elimination

Quadratic (Second Order) Equations

Math 1:

Concepts: roots, acceleration, scaling

-   Know y = ax2 + bx + c

-   Generate graph from equation

Math 2:

Review all Math 1 concepts

-   Generate equation given general graph

Math 3:

Review all Math 2 concepts

## Slide 22:

# 

# Examples of Projects

## Who wants to be a millionaire?

## The human powered submarine

## The math & physics of rock climbing

## The math & physics of movies

## Slide 23:

# www.hightechhigh.org

## Student work

## Examples of teacher developed projects

## The HTH math curriculum

## The HTH resource center