Midway Math and Gov't/Econ

By:  George Jessup

 See an Interview of The Admiral!

For a historical perspective.

Mr. Jessup and Ms. Dykema instructors

 MVAPA and the Midway offer a special class to Seniors.  On Mondays 8-11 the class will meet on the Midway (just south of the Broadway Pier) and with Project Based Learning conduct two classes for two Senior Math credits and two Senior Social  Studies credits.  Be one of the first to sign up for this terrific experience.  Contact Mr. Jessup or Ms. Dykema ASAP.  You must get parental permission and agree to meet at the Midway by 8am Mondays for attendance.

Here’s the Classroom.

Our instructional model is to start Monday’s in the Midway classroom by 8:10. We’ll spend 15 minutes reviewing the previous weeks assignment (often with the Admiral who actually accomplished the mission), followed by a 15 minute launch of the new assignment.  This will be followed by a 10 minute restroom break.  Then we’ll start four 20 minute activities at four different stations; followed by a 10 minute restroom break and then back to the classroom for a 20 minute debrief.  Then to the school bus and Arts by 11am for lunch. 

With 32 Unifying  students who are all simultaneously enrolled in Senior Social Studies, we’ll have a great opportunity for peer teaching and collaborative learning.  The Midway is providing two experienced teachers so that we can divide into four groups to do activities at four different stations.  Each station will have a 20 minute activity related to the weeks’ assignment and will then rotate into the next position.  The units’ activities will be differentiated to allow low and high level successful performance.  The remainder of the week -- Tuesday thru Friday – will be spent completing the assignment with intense use of research and calculating possible solutions and then writing the individual solutions.  The assignments will increase in complexity as the students learn how to handle the database and the mathematical and social science skills required. 

We have set up a database of actual deployments (but withhold the Admiral’s decisions with an emphasis on the many humanitarian aid assignments) and set up the class on Mondays’ as “here are your orders” – and use actual orders.  Then the students will have to address the actual situation – that is consider weather, re-supply needs, other task force goals, distance to travel, manpower commitment – and state their assignments (or orders to task force members).  This would include rushing air supplies as well as ordering more fuel.  The course needs to be constructed to meet state standards so we’ll develop partial orders which will build on what they know and what they are learning with the end goal to do an entire deployment.  As we return to the ship the following Monday, we’ll have an opportunity to compare student results to what the Task Force actually ended up doing – many times with video showing the tasks being completed.

As the Midway is an aircraft carrier we must insist on appropriate dress – that is: good walking shoes, and pants or shorts.  Each student must be an exemplary model of our Arts School as they will be working in a museum that is open to the public during our class hours.  Many of the classes will be photographed and/or videoed.  This form authorizes the use the videos for instructional purposes. These restrictions together with the commitment to be at the Midway by 8am each Monday is what you must agree to in order to participate in this exciting opportunity.

By signing below you agree to abide by the restrictions and commitment stated above.

 

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Week 1 LCM's and Intro to Government

Week 2 Solving linear equations; Government Investigation techniques.

Week 3 Introduction Student tour of ship, half take historical other half the student tour. During the week they will present to each other the differences in tours.

Week 4 Coordinate plane to linear inequalities, introduction to compass and plotting. We’ll use the Flight Deck for developing inequalities as distances to edges.  Identify 4 areas to use (two forward, one mid, one aft) and spread the grids and measure to edge developing less than situations.  We’ll do an all group plane developing shapes and words and photo from above – idea is to research the actual dimensions of the Midway Flight Deck and Hangar and develop these without student knowledge of final shape.  Wait till remainder of week to show pictures taken from Bridge.  Use the pictures to develop coordinate points onto graph paper.

 

The Flight Deck

We need 4 Base grids—2 yellow ropes in 100’ lengths that are marked by yards.  2 dimensional grids will be done on flight deck and 3 dimensional on the Hangar Deck. Further coordinate plane development.  Introduce concept of slope and related angles.  Have positions on decks with rewards if they find the right solutions.

Week 5  Geometry and Reasoning Angles and charting, we’ll need onion skin, compasses, pencils, basic idea is to develop a ships course into San Diego Harbor and to the Midway berth and eventually from one location to where they are ordered to go with consideration for weather and other real world factors (we’ll use the database to provide these).

Damage Control
 

Week 6 Triangles, special polynomials, quadrilaterals use the existing wood and precut angles to do damage control exercises at 4 different stations, we’ll set it up as an exercise to solve and allow them to research and devise their own solutions, then the following week show what the Midway actually did.

Week 7  Trapezoids and introduce Measurement, take different shapes, draw the steam room process with the reduction gear; here we’ll break a main steam line and have the assignment be to research and figure out an optimal solution to reroute or what to shut down during repairs to the line to keep the maximum ship assignments able to continue.

Week 8 Continue Measurement follow up with 3d drawings of the above stations, the rest of week we will make up prototypes in classroom of their various solutions.

Week 9  Linear Equations lighting and charting activities, the Lens on launch deck, use cameras to get focal depth, line of sight, the Midway was in charge of the Persian Gulf war.  There were many night launches.  We’ll research capacity taking into consideration such factors as required maintenance and fatigue etc.

Week 10 Continue Systems of equations, research the database and assign materials and plot where they need to be and when.  Bring in plotting to develop intersecting points based on base grids (from week 4), make up equations which will develop into perpendicular, parallel, and intersecting lines.  This should be a well thought out and fun activity where constructing teams “meet”.

Week 11  Similar and proportional triangles.

Week 12 Parallel lines back to quads with the exercises on the decks involving Flight deck versus hanger deck positioning (decks are parallel) research how to best move planes up and down planning for such things as scheduled maintenance, pilots being hurt, types of planes needed for task.  Investigate the operation of the different door latches, research problems and advantages of each type.  Propose modifications and develop gear ratios etc. from each of the types of doors.

Week 13  Transformations of matrices, this will be a storage matrix where row and columns are carefully orchestrated to “fit” different cargos, planes, people to meet a specific need.  This would be a team exercise with competition to insure the timely delivery and safety of all personnel.  Different real assignments can be utilized.

The Chart Room

 Week 14  Safety probability exercise – scavenger hunt for and computation of dependencies – skits involving Independent versus Dependent events will be performed then their probabilities calculated.  We’ll film the skits and do the calculations the rest of the week.

Week 15  Scatter Plots skit involving injuries where report to nurse is x axis to develop plot or histogram.  Then research optimum Deck positioning of cargo to load various planes or ships that are delivering the humanitarian aid.  Develop a scatter plot leading to linear regression.

Week 16  Pythagorean Theorem – develop right angles using research of the ships grids.  Use 4 stations to create right triangles and find hypotenuses.  Again this will be most effective if the stations lead to rewards or interesting places on board. 

 

Like this phone which was used to launch the Persian Gulf war.

  

Or the Bridge!

Week 17 Construction of circles – measure helicopters and develop landing areas on the Flight deck.  Compute circumference required in each of the stations.  Research how many can actually land and plot the method used to optimize a Flight deck ballet.

Week 18 Conic sections and more Factoring.

Week 19 Simulator reward –YEA!!!