This spring, when students will be choosing their new classes, they may see a few new options under the math section. Beginning next year, the district is offering these new math classes: Sports Math and Game Theory, Math in the Arts, Skilled & Technical Math, Trigonometry, Discrete Math, and Math for Life.
Brett Keim, who teaches AP Statistics and Calculus III at Millard South is involved in writing the curriculum for some of these new classes.
The sports math and game theory class, Keim says, is going to focus a lot on sports statistics and how they’re used to calculate and create team. It will also be about the business side of things inside a stadium, or owning a team, or things of that nature.
“The game theory aspect is a lot of logical-type problems where you try to understand a choice against another player,” Keim said.
Although Keim is not as involved in creating the Math in the Arts class, he does say that it will teach students how math plays a role in “designing things that are aesthetically pleasing.”
Some of the new classes do not have a decided upon curriculum direction yet. According to Keim, “Discrete Math will be a lot of base level programming language, like how to do an algorithm. It also has a lot of small types of proofs that help you a lot in programming. It could go heavy programming or it could be more proof-based math,” he said.
These new classes are aimed at encouraging seniors to enroll in math classes.
“A lot of students are one year advanced, or maybe even two, so they’re phasing out of math courses and they don’t want to take the higher-level ones,” Keim said.
AP Statistics and College Algebra have become the go-to classes for upperclassmen needing a math elective. However, Keim said he hopes that the addition of three new classes could increase the variety of courses offered by the math department and make it easier for students like junior Zach Stoj to choose a senior-year math class.
Stoj, who is currently taking AP Calculus BC, said he is excited by the new Sports Math and Game Theory class. Stoj said he originally planned to take AP Statistics or Calculus III during his senior year, but now, he is considering taking one of the new math classes.
When asked what he was looking for in a math class, Stoj said,“I like theory, philosophy, and also being in a high-level math class.” Sports Math and Game Theory could be the class that checks all of those boxes for students like Stoj, perhaps enticing them to take a math class senior year.
“I always want to do more math, Stoj said.” The math department hopes that, by introducing these classes, more upperclassmen will feel the same way.
