- Syllabus
Erik Duffy • Contact • Home Page
Math Academy 1 is the first year of a two-year course that covers content from Math 2, Math 3, and Statistics & Research Methods, and more, but faster and more rigorously than in these courses.
Course Level: Math Academy 1 is offered as a rigorous option for freshmen intending on taking Math Academy 2 as a sophomore and IB Math HL 1 and 2 as a junior and senior. Math Academy covers more content than traditional math courses, but the more significant differences are the additional rigor, pace, and challenge. In particular, in Math Academy:
Units of Study: Fundamentals, functions, quadratics, right-triangle trigonometry, probability, spreadsheets, research methods, and hypothesis testing
Math Fundamentals: Every math course at SVHS has these Math Fundamentals as part of each final, as an understanding of these concepts and procedures is essential to most topics in all algebra-based high school and college math courses.
Purpose: The purpose of Math Academy 1 is to establish the content, criticial thinking, and study skills needed for Math Academy 2 and two years of IB Math HL.
Academic Goals: The academic goals of Math Academy 1 are to have a deep understanding of concepts of algebra, trigonometry, probability, research, and statistics, and to use these conceptual understandings as a basis for approaches, procedures, and applications.
Personal Goals: The personal goals of Math Academy 1 are to build academic resiliancy and agency.
Work done in class: ~20%
Work done at home: ~25%
Quizzes and Tests: ~55%
Calculator: A graphing calculator is required for this course and will be used for most or all future math classes as well. New TI-84 Plus CE calculators are available for around $100 at local stores or online. New or used Texas Instruments graphing calculators below the TI-84 Plus CE may not look as nice, but their functionality and syntax are essentially the same, making them perfectly fine for the course yet considerably cheaper. Other brands such as Casio, or more advanced models such as the TI-89, are significantly different and should not be used for this course unless you are willing to frequently consult the manual. There are a limited number of graphing calculators available for families who may not be able to get their own.
Computer: SVHS students are required to bring a Chromebook or other laptop to their classes. You can make arrangements with the school to borrow one if you are not able to get one of your own.
Other Materials: Bring whatever you would like to write with and stay organized.
Online Materials: Almost all aspects of the course are available at ewyner.com, including class notes and most other course materials.
Use of Resources: You can use the book, your calculator, your computer, and unlimited notes on almost all graded assignments except tests.
Extensions: You can change the due date of any assignement to any date before the test, for any reason, simply by submitting an extension request. The request must be submitted in person before the original due date.
Free C: You can request a “Free C” on any nontest assignment, in person before the due date, once per grading period. When the assignment is due, it can be turned in normally, or the Free C form can be submitted in its place for a score of 70%.
Quiz Retakes: Any time before the day of the test, you can retake any quiz that is not already a retake or makeup. The maximum score on a quiz retake is 80%.
Test Retakes: You cannot retake a test, but you can raise a test score with test explanations, in which you carefully explain how to do problems you had originally done incorrectly, as if you were teaching someone else.
Flexible Timelines: Quiz retakes, test explanations, and all late work can be turned in any time until the day before the test.
Math Academy is challenging enough as it is. Missing class makes it significantly harder. Math Academy students should be able to proactively deal with missed material from an occasional absence such as by contacting a friend, but frequent absences may be a dealbreaker. If you are someone who frequently misses class, Math Academy is not the course for you.
Participation Assignments: You do not need to submit missing participation assignments unless you have multiple absences within a single chapter.
Quizzes: If you are absent for a section and return the next day for the quiz, you will still take the quiz after we review it in class, but you can retake it later.
Tests: If you miss a test, be prepared to take it in class the day you return. Many students end up self-sabotaging by trying to put off tests indefinitely; this is not permitted in this class.