Integrated Math Science
with Mrs. Mikkelson and Ms. Howell
The MathSci program at Verona Area High School is an innovation to the mathematics and science curriculum that benefits both students and teachers. The discplines naturally compliment one another, with science students utilizing the mathematics that underpin the theories, and the mathematics getting enhanced through concrete examples.
Historically, the two disciplines grew and evolved together, in many cases one directly gave rise to the other. We respect that the two are academically distinct, but we exploit the natural correspondence between them to align the curricula. The scheduling allows for a greater degree of flexability when covering topics, as having 2 courses over 2 hours encourages a greater depth of exploration of subject matter.
From the students perspective, all students are required to take mathematics and science, and this programs fulfils both requirements, catering to a slightly more rigorous standard. The entire program covers 2 years of 9th and 10th grade science, along with 9th and 10th grade Mathematics. Although some students will opt for just the 9th grade MathScience course. The benefits of having teachers team teach are well recognized by the students, as students will naturally gravitate toward the teacher whose style most fits their own; both teachers are equally accessible on the material.
The teachers benefit from having the students engaging the material in greater detail as well as being able to rely on the other member of their team. Flexability of classroom time one of the greatest benefits, allowing more lab time when needed, or more lecture time as the material demands. While team teaching often requires slightly more preperation when planning and scheduling, we find the overall time commitment turns out to be much less as redundant responsibilities are shared or split up.
