The value of Math-in-CTE.

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ALWAYS MINDFUL OF CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT, THE SEACOAST SCHOOL OF TECHNOLOGY made a commitment to be one of the first career and technical education centers in the state of New Hampshire to implement Math-in-CTE. A team consisting of welding technologies teacher Jonathan Theberge, and mathematics teacher Rudy Morosoff, made the trip to ACTE's Annual Convention in 2007 to learn about Math-in-CTE. The school, about to enter its 30th year, serves students in the southeastern part of the state from Epping, Exeter, Newmarket, Raymond, Sanborn Regional and Winnacunnet High School; about 650 students attend this regional career tech center.

Theberge and Morosoff attended trainings during the spring and summer of 2008. During the 2008-2009 school year, several staff meetings were set aside for Math-in-CTE and each was led by Theberge. The fact that this initiative has been teacher-led at the school level has made all the difference. Theberge introduced the concept and explained what he did at the Convention; shared the lesson plan template and the specific elements required in a Math-in-CTE lesson; and shared one of his lessons, putting things in a very relevant context for his colleagues. Throughout the year, teachers were very responsive, asking lots of questions and participating in his presentations. Theberge suggested that other teachers try using the template to implement Math-in-CTE lessons of their own, and he asked that teachers bring a Math-in-CTE lesson to a future staff meeting to share.

Sharing Math-in-CTE Lesson Plans

Though this initiative was not mandated, teachers showed up to the appointed staff meeting armed with Math-in-CTE lessons. Math lessons using the Math-in-CTE model were shared in programming ranging from automotive technologies to pre-engineering to digital communications to preschool. Teachers were willing to expose themselves and their lessons to criticism; two strangers in the room math teachers from one of our sending schools were there to assist Theberge in making math-related suggestions for improvement. I sat in the back of the room wishing I had a video camera because this type of sharing is rare among faculty members in any school. I believe it happened because the teachers saw the value in the Math-in-CTE lessons being used in the welding technologies and building construction classes. Since the initiative was teacher-led, teachers felt safe sharing their lessons in a public forum.

We were unable to view all the lessons that were brought to the staff meeting on that day. However, two lessons shared came from two very different programs--early childhood education and preengineering. Preschool teachers Janel Holmes and Stacey Jordan developed a math lesson on patterns. Math concepts for young children can be fostered through developmentally appropriate play activities. Holmes and Jordan encourage preschoolers to make observations about patterns in their environment. From these observations preschoolers are able to sort, repeat, segment, compare and create their own patterns.

Norm Messa, pre-engineering teacher, wrote a lesson on vectors. The lesson gives students a mathematical foundation required to understand several topics in the pre-engineering program such as truss analysis necessary for the design and building of bridges and the calculation of ballistic paths. Students are introduced to trigonometry from the perspective that sine, cosine and tangent are merely the ratios of sides of a right triangle. They learn that the concept of the vector is nothing that they are unfamiliar with by relating it to an example of speed versus velocity one has magnitude and the other has both magnitude as well as direction. For example, a car is moving at 50 mph and a car is moving 50 mph due north, one is a scalar with magnitude only and the other a vector with magnitude and direction. These concepts are then applied to several real-world examples.

Jim Klingensmith, building construction teacher, wrote a lesson on determining the amount of concrete to purchase when pouring a foundation. He partnered with math teacher Jim Muthig.

Two more teachers, one in culinary arts and the other in marketing education, have volunteered to attend statewide summer training. The buy-in has been tremendous and the results of increased student success are already becoming evident in CTE classes.

Fostering Collaboration

An incidental, though very important, benefit of Math-in-CTE has happened through the partnerships between CTE and math teachers. Seacoast School of Technology is a standalone CTE center and staff had to work very hard to attract math partners to join us on this venture. Math teachers are not in our building and really do not know what we do. Our current math partners teach at Winnacunnet High School, one of the regional sending schools. By participating in this program they have developed an increased awareness of the amount and the high level of math that is taught in CTE programs. It has been eye-opening for them and they have been able to share their experiences with colleagues in their comprehensive high schools. Since one of the issues CTE struggles with is image, having math teachers become ambassadors for CTE will certainly prove to be a benefit.

Seacoast School of Technology teachers and their math partners were recognized at a year-end meeting held at our school, and Klingensmith's lesson plan was presented in May at the state leadership training, an event with representatives from around the country, held at the University of Louisville's National Research Center for Career and Technical Education.

These relevant lesson plans will enable students to be more successful when taking tests, including high-stakes state tests. While most students hope to remember the correct formula for a given problem, CTE students will be able to put problems into a relevant context and know exactly how to solve them.

The Math-in-CTE experience has been transformational for the school's faculty and staff. It has led to an increased sharing of professional ideas, collaboration among programs, and openness to seeking advice and constructive criticism from one another. The number of initiatives that come and go cannot be counted. But Math-in-CTE is something that we believe in and something we are going to stick with!

Margaret E. Callahan is the principal of Seacoast School of Technology in Exeter, New Hampshire. She can be contacted at [e-mail].