Careers That Use Math

Due Date: ________________________________

Projects may be turned in early. Projects turned in one day late will receive 1/2 credit. Projects turned in later than one day late will not be scored.  The Career Activity Sheet / Poster Project will count similar to a UNIT TEST - that is 100 points.  The project will consist of the following parts:

   1.  Complete three "Activity Sheets" from the 10 choices listed on the left.  The questions must be answered in a typed paper as detailed on the Grading Rubric.  There will be a limited number of "spots" for each choice, so sign up early for the widest selection.
   2.  Interview someone that uses math in their job and prepare a poster.  This can be one of the jobs for which you did the activity sheet or any other job that uses math.  (See details below.)
   3.  Give a short (3-5 minute) presentation of the poster in class. 

DETAILS:

This project entails interviewing someone who uses mathematics in his or her job. Ask the person you interview to give you an example of a math problem used in his/her work. It does not have to be a problem related to the concepts of this class, (slope, linear equations, probability etc.) although it would be great if it were. You do not have to completely understand the problem yourself.

You will make a poster. The title of the poster should be the name of the career, such as "Engineer" or "Carpenter". On the poster you need to include the following information: A brief job description of tasks performed for this occupation. The mathematics problem given to you by the person you interviewed. A paragraph explaining the the problem and how it is used. A picture to illustrate the job. It can be a photograph of the person you interviewed, or a picture from a magazine or from the computer of a person in that occupation, or it may be drawn. On the back of the poster, you must include these three items:

1. Your name
2. The name of the person interviewed and the name of the place where she or he works.
3. The daytime phone number of the person you interviewed.

You will present and explain your poster to the class. You will be graded by the criteria listed on the rubric.

Interview Basics: Please be sure to explain to the person you have chosen to interview, that the purpose of the project is to make connections from classroom mathematics to the business world applications. The interview should not be longer than 20-30 minutes. I know that you will offer thanks for their time and contribution, and I would appreciate it if you would also offer them my thanks as well.

Interview Guidelines: We all know that every occupation requires some application of basic math skills: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The main purpose of this project is to identify occupations that require highter-level math skills, such as formulas, trigonometry, geometry, algebra, etc.

I. Begin by asking the following question, "Does your occupation require any math skills beyond SIMPLE adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing?"  Remember that logic and problem-solving analysis skills are considered higher level math skills.  If the reply is, "No", say, "Thank you", and try someone else.

II. Ask the person for a brief summary of his/her job description. You will need to find a creative way to display the most significant aspects of this information on your poster.

III. Ask the person if it is possible to have examples of actual applications of the math they use. Be sure to make notes of any explanation that the person may offer, even if you don’t fully understand the topic or the explanation.

IV. Your quality of work is extremely important! Create a presentation that you would be proud to sign your name to, and display for others to admire and learn from.