Students are actively involved in the learning process and emphasis is placed on building positive attitudes and a sense of competence, as well as on specific academic goals. These goals include an understanding of mathematics as a language of communication and reasoning, and as a tool for solving a wide variety of problems involving many different approaches and styles. All students are encouraged to express themselves in mathematical language, and strategies for learning math are developed. Calculators and computers are used regularly in the math classroom to facilitate problem solving and to supplement the curriculum. These classes meet in heterogeneous groups four times per week.
Students design and carry out experiments to answer the questions raised in class.
Analyzing the data from experiments and making meaningful connections and generalizations is the culmination of each investigation. In this course, we examine the relationships between organisms and their environment. Through laboratory experiments, observations, and discussions, students investigate plants and animals as components of the environment in which they live. In the spring, particular animal adaptations that contribute to survival are studied. Classes meet for three 40-minute periods each week.