ROSEVILLE HIGH SCHOOL GEOMETRY IN CONSTRUCTION PARTNERS WITH ACRES OF HOPE

High School Geometry Students Build Park Model Trailers for Mothers and Children in Need.  Students Built Cottage at Acres of Hope in Auburn, CA.

Students enrolled in the Roseville High School 2012-2013 Geometry in Construction Program had a little extra incentive to build their project to the highest possible standards.  They knew from the beginning that it would soon be housing a very grateful family in need of a little help.

This year, the program partnered with the Placer County non-profit, Acres of Hope (www.acresofhopeonline) to build two small Park Model Trailers for use at their new Auburn facility.  This incredible nonprofit organization had outgrown their Applegate location and was upgrading facilities to better fulfill their mission of providing homeless women with children a home and an environment of structured programming, that includes, providing encouragement, practical life-skills training, job skills, and mentoring.

For the RHS GIC program and the Roseville Joint Union High School District, the opportunity to develop a partnership with a service oriented non-profit made the decision to switch and move from Factory Built Housing to Park Model Trailers an easy one.

The 2012-2013 RHS GIC program was made up of two classes of 40 students; primarily Freshman and Sophomores with little or no building experience.  After a crash course in teamwork, blueprints and modeling, it was time to get to work.  In addition to completing highly rigorous coursework in college preparatory Geometry, students began framing these models in November.  Throughout the year, they installed the plumbing, electrical and HVAC systems; installed windows and doors; hung and finished drywall; installed a roof, finished the exterior and painted the units.  The installation of trim, fixtures, cabinets and flooring added the final touches.

Work on professional trades and systems was supported by industry professionals who taught students the skills, supervised the work and helped assess the outcome.  Along the way, students learned how the math they have been learning applies directly to the design and building of the houses. 

In addition to the year long help of our professional industry partners, students also got a helping hand from their parents on “Bring Your Parent to Work” Day in May.  This annual event allows our parents to roll up their sleeves and show off their own skills, while seeing what their students have accomplished during the school year.  Without the help of our extraordinary parents, we could not achieve the levels of academic and building success that we do. 

The 2013 RHS GIC class finished the year with an awards banquet and celebration at Roseville High School. Students were recognized for their dedication and efforts, and special thanks was given to Bob Radcliff from Beutler Corporation for his support, dedication and “over the top” commitment to the RHS GIC program over the past two years. 

The moving trucks came to move the units the first week of June to their new home at the newly remodeled Acres of Hope facility in Auburn, CA. Once in place, they were leveled, skirted and hooked up to the necessary utilities. The addition of curtains and furniture turn these small trailers into cozy little “homes” for those helped by the amazing work of Acres of Hope.

RHS GIC is proud to have been a part of Phase 1 of Acres of Hope and has agreed to build 2 more units that will be used in Phase 2 for the 2013-2014 school year.  We are looking forward to meeting the next group of students who will rise to the RHS GIC challenge.

Thanks to Jeff Bailey and Tyson Maytanes, teachers at RHS for allowing reprint of this article.  Roseville, CA is located near Sacramento.

Habitat for Humanity Home Comes Together

Agency, two Evergreen district high schools collaborate on modular dwelling

Story by Tom Vogt

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

An innovative high school course, combining math and construction, demonstrated an important principle.  Two halves make a home.

Two sections of a modular home were rolled onto their foundation Monday, capping a yearlong partnership between the Vancouver-area Habitat for Humanity and two Evergreen district high schools.

The local nonprofit partnered with Mountain View and Evergreen high schools on the project. The work was done by students in a class called Math in Construction.

“Students can learn about geometry at the same time they learn about construction,” said Anita Jenks, who represented the school district in the agreement with Habitat for Humanity. “It’s not an apprenticeship; it’s an introduction” to construction.

As they work alongside Habitat for Humanity volunteers, “Our students have some wonderful role models,” Jenks said.

The home will be occupied by Nikki Danforth and her two sons. Danforth, a medical assistant, was working Monday and wasn’t able to watch her new home take shape. But her dad, Dan Price, was on hand to take photos and video, and he transmitted updates to her.

“It’s kind of surreal,” Danforth said later Monday after work.

“I’ve worked on all three sites,” she said: the back half of the house at Mountain View High, the front half of the house at Evergreen High and the property on the 3700 block of Lincoln Avenue. But as she spoke, Danforth still hadn’t made it down to the property to see everything in one place.

There still is work to do before the family moves in next month, said Josh Townsley, executive director of Evergreen Habitat for Humanity.

The three-bedroom house is about 1,100 square feet. It’s the 29th home built by Evergreen Habitat for Humanity, Townsley said. Funding came from the owners of the previous 28 Habitat homes, whose zero percent mortgage payments are rolled into new projects.

And one of those new projects will be another collaboration with high school students in the Evergreen district.

“The class is going now. We’re hoping to use the same plan,” Jenks said. That would give instructors a running start on the work, and they’d have a chance to amend an issue that popped up Monday.

“They forgot about crawl-space access,” Townsley said.

A workman corrected that Monday with a power saw.

New Data: GPS or Understanding?

In Geometry in Construction, we believe that what gets measured gets improved.  Throughout the past six years, our math program is analyzed by a third party research team of doctoral candidates from the two largest universities in Colorado.  During this time, we have experienced staff turnover, district and state budgetary crises, increased pressure to push a higher level of mathematical standards (Common Core), and local demand for more credits to graduate.  Despite these challenges, data analyses continue to show a trend where students from Geometry in Construction perform at a higher level than other Geometry students.  More information about data analysis is available at www.geometryinconstruction.org.  

The following section summarizes research conducted by Susan Thomas, a doctoral student from the University of Colorado at Boulder in Research Evaluative Methods.  The figure below illustrates these trends by averaging state test scores for the past three years (2010-2012).    

Colorado State Test Scores Longitudinal Mean Average

(2010-2012)

GIC:  Geometry in Construction at Loveland High School

LHS:  Traditionally taught Geometry classroom at Loveland High School

MVHS: Mountain View High School Geometry, our district’s school of the arts and Project Lead the Way high school

TVHS:  Thompson Valley High School Geometry, our district’s AP high school

BHS:  Berthoud High School Geometry, our district’s math and science high school and Project Lead the Way high school

Important Note:  This is an average over 3 years, which provides a general idea of performance trends. 

Method of Evaluation: Linear Regression modeling.

How Linear Regression Modeling Works: Using current data, the linear regression model will predict state standardized test (CSAP/TCAP) Geometry scores based on several variables, such as previous test scores, demographic student information, as well as enrollment in particular Geometry courses (e.g., Geometry in Construction and traditional Geometry classes). 

Results: These variables explain 66.3% of the variance of state standardized test (CSAP/TCAP) Geometry scores.  Geometry in Construction at Loveland High School was a significant variable in the model, with a coefficient of 14, which means that on average, being enrolled in Geometry in Construction at Loveland High School added 14 points to a student’s state standardized test (CSAP/TCAP) Geometry score.

Why do we believe Geometry in Construction students outscore their peers?

On a recent trip we discovered an intriguing explanation to answer this very question.   Simply stated, students in Geometry in Construction have fewer opportunities to “GPS” their way through the program. 

On our last consulting trip we used a GPS unit we affectionately refer to as Maggie (Magelan).  These smart devices are great for getting people from point A to point B.  However, we found ourselves lost when Maggie malfunctioned mid-drive.  We had simply followed the step-by-step directions Maggie provided without paying attention to where we were headed.  We had done what thousands of people do daily and put all of our trust in the technology; this is very similar to how students use memorized formulas in many traditionally taught math classes. We could not back track or trouble shoot our route without some serious remediation; this is the very same thing that often happens when students attempt to solve unfamiliar math problems.  In this case, our solution was to find a gas station and do exactly what the majority of men hate to do while in unfamiliar territory: ask for directions.

As math teachers, we are often times guilty of “GPS-ing” our students.  We are really good at giving 5 steps to completing the square or 3 steps to solving the equation.   Many of us have had successful careers by doing this.  Have our students been as successful?  Do our students have a solid understanding of the mathematics?  Do they understand why they are doing “the steps”?  Can they apply it to real world situations?  

The Value of Service Learning

Service learning is defined as “a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities”.

Future Habitat home owner with our students

As Geometry in Construction expands into more schools across the United States, there is a small growing subgroup of schools that are implementing service learning into the curriculum.   From the inception of Geometry in Construction, we have had a desire to see partnerships develop between high schools and non-profit organizations to enable service learning to take place. 

At Loveland High School, I knew this would be good for our students due to experiences I have had with students in giving of service to others.  However, I did not realize the body of research that backs this up.  Below is a summary of some of the research compiled by Phi Delta Kappan on K-12 School-Based Service-Learning.  Students who engaged in service learning…

·          Reported a higher sense of responsibility to their school than did comparison groups.

·          Were more likely to treat one another kindly, help one another, and care about doing their best.

·          Were more likely to increase their sense of self-esteem and self-efficacy.

·          Were less likely to be referred to the office for disciplinary measures.

·          Became more dependable, and felt more comfortable communicating with ethnically diverse groups.

·          Feel that they can “make a difference”.

·          Came to class on time more often, completed more classroom tasks, and took the initiative to ask questions more often.

·          Showed greater gains in measures of school engagement and in mathematics achievement than control groups.

·          Showed greater mutual respect to teachers.

·          Had increased attendance.

At Loveland High School, we have built 5 out of the 7 homes for non-profits.  Two homes were built for Angel House (aka Family Promise) for transitional housing for homeless families.  Three homes have been built for Habitat for Humanity.   With this year’s home, the Habitat family receiving the home has worked alongside our students daily.  The students are excited to be able to get to know the family as well as be able to build them a decent, affordable home.

If you have interest in moving towards service learning by helping a non-profit consider what your partnership would look like.  At Sturgis Brown High School, Sturgis, SD, the small class builds a 26 ft wide home that is moved in 1 piece down the street.  They build the home as far as they can get it and then the local Habitat finishes it.  In Vancouver, WA, two high schools, Evergreen and Mountain View, are building a 28’ X 40’ three bedroom home for their Habitat.  Their unique approach is that each school is building half (14’ x 40’) of the home on each of their respective campuses. 

If you have questions how to proceed, contact us with your questions.