Courtnee Yasses' Portfolio Page

About Me

Hi everybody!! I am a high school math intervention teacher in the Rochester, NY area. I graduated from SUNY Geneseo in 2024 with a BA in Mathematics: Adolescent Education and a minor in Human Development. I am currently working towards my MS in Curriculum Development and Instructional Technology at UAlbany.

I just started my first teaching job and am currently loving my classes and my entire school environment!! Outside of teaching I love going to the gym and baking!

My Topic and Purpose

The purpose of this course, Real Life Applications of Mathematics, is to allow students to explore how mathematics plays a critical role in everyday life, from careers and shopping to managing finances and making informed decisions. By looking at practice applications of math, students will gain a deeper understanding of its relevance, which will hopefully spark a greater enthusiasm and engagement. I chose this approach since it would be particularly important in my intervention setting, where many students struggle to see the value of math. By showing them how math can be directly applied to situation they may understand a bit better and may matter more to them, I aim to bridge the gap between abstract concepts and the real world, making math more relatable and motivating.

Scope of Learning Outcomes and Content

Upon taking this course, students will be able to:

Recognize and explain how mathematics is used in real-world situations, such as budgeting, shopping, or career ﬁelds.
Identify how different careers incorporate math and understand how speciﬁc math skills are applied in various professions. Evaluate consumer choices by applying math concepts.
Apply mathematical concepts to a real world project, solving related problems and answering math based questions relevant to the project's context.

Needs Assessment

The Educational Problem or Opportunity

Many students struggle to see how mathematics is integrated into their everyday life, resulting in a lack of engagement and participation. Students may or may not be able to solve math problems in an academic setting, but they often struggle to understand how these concepts are used outside of the classroom. This gap in understanding leads to lack of appreciation for the practical value of mathematics, hindering their academic success and preparedness for future careers and everyday responsibilities. This problem presents an opportunity to design a course that bridges this gap by connecting mathematical concepts to real world applications.

The Learners/Participants Involved

This mini course will be aimed at middle or high school students, especially those who struggle to see the importance of math. High school students may benefit the most since they are starting to think about future careers and get involved in adult responsibilities.

Analysis of Gaps in Terms of Know vs. Need to Know

Although high school students typically have a solid understanding of basic mathematical concepts such as algebra and geometry, they sometimes lack the ability to see how these concepts are used in a broader sense. For example, students may know how to find the area of a rectangle or solve linear equations, but may not recognize that these skills are crucial in fields like architecture, business, and finance. The gap is in the difference between knowledge students get in the classroom and the practical knowledge they need to understand in order to apply it in different contexts.

Intent Statement

The goal of this mini course is to help students understand and appreciate the real world application of math by creating an interactive resource space that highlights key area where math plays an essential role. This space will cover topics such as careers that require math, personal finance, shopping, architecture, and other everyday scenarios where math is crucial. Student will have an opportunity to explore these topics in depth, learning how math is used in various situations.

In addition to this space, students will have the opportunity to engage in a hands on project where they choose a career that interests them and research how math is applied in that field. This project will require them to find specific examples of mathematical concepts used in their chosen careers and then create a small project or presentation to showcase their findings. The interactive portion of this will hopefully encourage students to make connection between math they learn in the classroom and how it can directly relate to their life and something that they are personally interested in.

Analysis of the Learner and Context

This mini course is aimed at middle and high school students, typically between 6th and 12th grade. At this stage in their education, students generally have foundational knowledge of math concepts, such as basic arithmetic, algebra, and geometry. However, many have not yet developed a deep understanding of how these concepts are applied in professional or personal settings. As a result, they may struggle to see the relevance of math in their daily lives or future careers, leading to a lack of interest or motivation to engage in the subject.

In terms of prior experiences, students in this age group likely have had exposure to basic problem-solving techniques, but they may not yet be aware of some more complex topics or how math is used in a professional setting or in the "real world". Things like budgeting, finance, and other math related concepts may not be on a student's radar at this age. Some may have personal interests in areas like technology, science, or even gaming, where math plays a critical role, but they may not recognize the connection between their interests and the subject itself. These prior interests and experiences can be leveraged to engage students more effectively, showing them how math connects to their hobbies and interests.

The learning environment may vary. In a traditional classroom setting, student could access this mini-course as a part of an end of the year unit. For instance, many math classes have finals or regents before the end of the year, so this would be a great thing to do to finish out the year. Alternatively, it could be used in an after-school program or as a resource for students seeking extra practice or enrichment. For instance, in an intervention class, this could be tied into our curriculum to give students some enrichment activities to do that may give them a different perspective on the subject matter.

To successfully complete the course, students will need access to a computer with internet connectivity. This is essential for engaging with course content as well as being able to research for their project.

Overall, this course will aim to shift this perspective, showing students the practical applications of math and how it is a valuable tool for problem solving in various areas.

Performance-Based Objectives

After completing this mini-course, learners will be able to:

Identify real-world scenarios where mathematics is used, such as personal budgeting, shoppings, and used in various career ﬁelds.

Learners should be able to explain how math helps to solve problems in these situations.

Analyze and describe how speciﬁc mathematical skills (e.g. algebra, geometry, statistics, etc) are applied in different professions. This will help them recognize the relevance of math in various careers such as engineering, ﬁnance, architecture, technology, and many more.

Complete a project that integrates mathematical concepts and addresses a real-world problem, using appropriate research and knowledge to draw conclusions about how a future career relates to mathematical concepts.

Demonstrate the ability to connect math concepts and material with professional practices and careers.

Task and Content Analysis

Before taking this course, the learner:

1. Should have a foundational understanding of basic math concepts. This includes arithmetic, algebra, and basic geometry.

2. Should have at least some sort of basic idea of real world scenarios that involve mathematical concepts. This includes but is not limited to budgeting, shopping, ﬁnances, taxes, etc.

3. Must be taking a mathematics course and looking to dive deeper into how real world scenarios are related to math.

Unit 1

Math in Everyday Life

After this unit the learner:

1. Will understand how math is involved in everyday decisions.

2. Will be able to identify how math can be used to make informed consumer choices.

3. Will develop a general understanding of budgeting concepts and their importance.

4. Will start to apply basic math skills to real world scenarios, such as shopping and budgeting.

Unit 2

How Math Solves Real-World Problems After this unit the learner:

1. Will recognize how mathematical concepts can help solve everyday problems and scenarios.

2. Will understand the role of math in organizing and planning.

3. Will continue to apply basic math skills to real world scenarios, such as shopping and budgeting.

4. Will explore how math helps in decision making across various situations.

Unit 3

Evaluating Consumer Decisions with Math After this unit the learner:

1. Will understand how to use math to evaluate different consumer choices.

2. Will be able to identify math concepts used in evaluating products, services, processes, etc.

3. Will begin to assess real-world ﬁnancial choices/decisions using simple mathematical tools.

4. Will be able to agree or disagree with consumer choices based on mathematical ﬁndings.

5. Will gain conﬁdence in applying math to make better consumer decisions.

Unit 4

Math in Your Future Career: Project Based Exploration After this unit the learner:

1. Will explore and research how math is relevant to different career paths.

2. Will gain an understanding of the role math plays in various professional ﬁelds, no matter how big or small.

3. Will apply basic mathematical concepts to a real-world project related to their career interests.

4. Will reﬂect on how the skills learned can be used in future professional ﬁelds.

Curriculum Map

References and Resources

eHow Education. (2010, September 28). Math Basics: How to Use Math in Everyday Life. YouTube. https://youtu.be/cZbz0MbM0Do

8 ways we use maths in everyday life. Mathematics Hub. (n.d.). https://www.mathematicshub.edu.au/families/for-parents-and-carers/why-maths/8- ways-we-use-maths-in-everyday-life/

YouTube. (2024, August 12). Comparing payment methods- Khan Academy. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSRJDrkH0oo

Math in the supermarket. Math Goodies. (n.d.). https://mathgoodies.com/math_articles/shopping-goodies/