Although the school has offered AP Calculus AB for many years, math teacher Mike Fenton felt there should be another college-level math class offered to the student body.
As a result, students had the opportunity to take AP Statistics on campus this fall. After partially completing this course, Fenton and his students have expressed their thoughts about the advanced math class.
“Several years ago I remarked to someone that I would never teach statistics,” Fenton said. “For some reason, my thoughts have changed dramatically; now I love stats and especially teaching statistics. It probably has something to do with the widespread relevance of the course.”
After completing one semester of AP Statistics, junior Kendall Wheeler realized how the course differs from her previous math classes.
“I think stats is really interesting; it’s different from other math classes,” Wheeler said. “Mr. Fenton makes it fun because we do things together as a class; it’s so different from other math classes that if you aren’t super amazing at math, I’m pretty sure you could do stats. I would suggest this class to other people.”
Although the class has made progress, Fenton said that he and his students had difficulty at the beginning because they were unaccustomed to the material.
“I was in brand new territory in my teaching career. This brought with it a lot of challenges, and I think my lack of experience made my teaching less effective at the beginning,” Fenton said. “However, as we moved forward through the semester, I began to gain a rhythm, and I hope this made it a better learning experience for the students.”
As Fenton became more familiar with statistics, students gained a better understanding of what the course would entail, he said.
“We worked so hard to bring students into the class that many of them did not know just how challenging the course would be,” Fenton said. “In the end, I’m happy that we ‘advertised’ the class so widely and encouraged so many students to give it a try. I could never have predicted who would stick it out, so I’m glad we gave everyone a chance.”
Although Fenton has adapted his teaching style to accommodate the challenges of the new course, senior Danny Ibarra said he needed time to transition into this kind of math.
“I felt like stats was difficult in the beginning, but then I got used to it like any other math class,” Ibarra said. “I like how I have the option to take another math class that is challenging, but not as hard as calculus. I definitely feel this semester will be better, and it’s a class that I would suggest to others.”
Unlike her classmates, senior Mary Reynolds missed half of the semester, consequently relying on Fenton’s podcasts to learn the material.
“Even though I was gone half of the semester, I felt like stats went really well because the podcasts were very helpful,” Reynolds said. “Also, Mr. Fenton made an effort to help me pass the class. I didn’t realize how good the podcasts are until I was gone — it’s just like being in the class. The whole concept of statistics was new to all of us, so he did really well teaching the class.”
Despite the difficulty of last semester, Fenton said he is grateful to be able to teach the course. He encourages students to try out the class because of the practical applications of statistics.
“Nearly every person would benefit from an increased ability to think and reason and filter statistically,” Fenton said. “I am thankful for the opportunity to help train students up in this way.”
For more information on AP classes, read the Oct. 14, 2009 article, AP classes supply academic stimulation.
