The Program Looking at current career goals, relating Calculus techniques to these goals, and creating a professional presentation combining the two allows students to experience a piece of their future while openly supporting the idea of continued math education. During the first class of the year, students share their career goals and must locate two career specific application problems in their text. These chosen problems are shared with the class the following day and cover topics as diverse as medicine, employment efficiency, environmental engineering, music, aerospace engineering, and computer programming. Throughout the first 14 weeks, students study limits and derivatives, relating textbook problems to specific careers. As students solidify their choices, research might involve library work or visits with local industries and experts.
All information is organized in chart form through graphs, calculation, and written explanations.
A physical representation such as waste treatment charts or student generated software is required. Students present their findings to the class and in the Calculus Gallery at the Math Fair. Each student functions as a career expert, responsible for questions from the audience. Oral presentations are not essential to the project, but allow students to improve their speaking and organizational skills. Overall Value Students actually step into the future, correlating Calculus to career areas.