New Ford PAS Curriculum Under Development

New Lessons: Financial Planning for Business Success: Using Mathematics to Make the Right Decisions
New Module: Calculating Your Future: Planning for Financial Success
New Course: Working Toward Sustainability
Modules:
- We All Run on Energy

Financial Planning for Business Success: Using Mathematics to Make the Right Decisions

Description of Supplemental Lessons
Financial Planning for Business Success allows students to learn how business is really done—and how to use mathematics to plan and revise plans in order to succeed. The six lessons teach a variety of mathematics related to the content of Planning for Business Success. The lessons—which range in length and number of sessions—are included at points throughout the original module where the business content relies upon mathematical ideas but the original module does not teach the mathematics needed to analyze the business content in depth. The new math content reviews some pre-algebraic concepts and foundational skills and introduces students to data analysis and statistics, but it focuses primarily on the Algebra 1 concepts that are central to high school mathematics and that students often struggle to master. Because a visual approach is more accessible to many students than the analytical approach used in most Algebra 1 classes, the lessons approach the teaching of algebra through functions, with an emphasis on graphing. After learning how to solve these problems, students see how to apply the relevant concepts to content they may have encountered in previous math coursework.

Ford PAS at a Glance

Semester-long module primarily for grades 11 and 12 (may also be suitable for grade 10):

Academic areas: business, mathematics
Professional development in mathematics content to prepare business teachers to use this module in their classrooms

Calculating Your Future: Planning for Financial Success

Can I really become a millionaire? How will I pay for college? Why should I think about saving for retirement when I’m still in high school? In Calculating Your Future, students learn the skills and knowledge needed to take ownership of their own finances. Students apply concepts of algebra and data analysis to making short- and long-term real-world financial decisions, such as how much to spend on a daily and monthly basis; whether to apply for a credit card, and, if so, which one; what to consider before making a major purchase, such as an automobile; how to pay for college; weighing the risks of different investment options; and when and how to plan for retirement.

Students use critical-thinking and problem-solving skills to set financial goals and evaluate strategies for meeting those goals. Throughout the module, they use algebra and data analysis to analyze financial situations. For example, students construct and explore functions that express relationships among the variables of principal, interest, and time in order to maximize their investments and minimize debts. Students also consider how personal values and other non-economic factors affect financial decisions, and they examine the short- and long-term effects of different financial decisions.

At a Glance

Eight- to ten-week module for grades 10–12:

Academic areas: Business, Mathematics, Economics
Piloted in classrooms in January 2008
Available in fall 2008

Working Toward Sustainability

This course consists of four four-week modules that engage students in investigating fuel sources that can serve as alternatives to fossil fuels. This course builds students’ knowledge of the key physical science concepts essential for understanding how energy is stored and used as fuel. The first module offers an introduction to the scientific concept of energy and how stored energy is released in order to fuel human activity. The other three modules each focus on a particular fuel source: biomass, hydrogen, and nuclear. These modules can be used in various configurations in a high school science classroom. The modules are designed for the ninth grade level but may be used in any relevant high school course.

In addition to the four modules, this course includes a one-week introduction to the skills needed to work effectively in teams, which can be used in the first module taught. Students also build their skills in scientific literacy by learning how to read scientific documents and interpret data, and by keeping scientific logs and creating lab reports. Over the course of each module, project teams are assessed on their demonstration of the targeted skills.

We All Run on Energy

We All Run on Energy introduces students to energy and its role on Earth and in human life. Students learn that energy is a complex concept, but one that is crucial to our daily lives, and is one of the central issues of the 21st century. Over the course of the module, they both learn about energy itself and about essential science concepts related to energy, such as transformations and conservation of energy. At the same time, they learn why scientists and governments are working to find sustainable, renewable energy sources, why fossil fuels are no longer the best solution to meeting all of our energy needs, and why they, as members of the next generation to deal with the challenges of energy, need to understand and be engaged with the subject.

Energy from the Sun

Energy from the Sun introduces students to the use of biomass to meet human energy needs. Students take on the role of staff members of a nongovernmental organization (NGO) consulting for a developing country that is trying to choose a biomass-fueled stove to distribute to people as well as explore ways in which biomass can help to sustainably meet its citizens’ other energy needs. The NGO will explore the different stove designs available and also look at the other uses of biomass for power generation, including biogas, which can be used to create electricity, and ethanol, which can be used as a fuel to run engines and generators.

In Energy from the Sun, students learn all about biomass as a source of solar energy from the perspective of biology and chemistry.

Is Hydrogen a Solution?

In Is Hydrogen a Solution?, students explore the possibilities of a future in which vehicles run on hydrogen-powered fuel cells. Students take on the role of employees in the research and development department of a major auto manufacturer. The CEO of the company has asked their department to consider whether or not the company should invest in the development of vehicles that run on fuel cells. Student teams consider this question as they investigate the properties of hydrogen and learn how fuel cells work. Over the course of the module, students learn what hydrogen is, how it can be made available to use as a source of fuel, how it can be stored, and what obstacles currently prevent its use on a large scale. At the end of the module, teams make their decisions and share with their classmates the reasoning behind those decisions.

The Nuclear Revolution

The Nuclear Revolution introduces students to the potential to generate power from radioactive elements found on Earth. Throughout the module, students take on the role of advisors to the prime minister of a fictional Eastern European country. Working in teams, they act as members of a governmental commission appointed to examine nuclear energy as an alternative energy source that is more sustainable than fossil fuels. Nuclear energy is seen as a potential way for the country to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and attain greater energy independence. Students investigate the potential and challenges of nuclear power and make a recommendation to the prime minister as to whether their country should build new nuclear power plants.