English Immersion and Inquiry-based Learning in Integrated Math III Class 

Our non-AP mathematics courses use a set of high-quality academic standards from the United States--Common Core State Standards. Adhering to these standards, NCPA Integrated Math III course not only focuses on helping students building a mathematical foundation and understanding of corresponding principles, but also guides them to use problem solving strategies to ask questions, make dialectical analysis, collect and form evidence, and make solid arguments to prove their hypothesis in class. In the current unit, our Math teacher Ms. Wikler asked students to use their statistical knowledge to design statistical questions based on their observations of life. After students completed their experiments, Ms. Wikler invited guests from our administration team and other subject teachers to join the class and hear from our students presenting their findings. In order to help students better engage in our English immersion environment and be more confident to present their learning outcomes to our guests, our EAL specialists also provide professional help to students on how to use English proficiently in their presentations. Moreover, in NCPA classes, it is common to see three adults co-teaching and collaborating to support students. The content teacher directs and plans students’ learning, the EAL specialist provides special guidance for students' academic English language skills, and the Chinese teaching assistant provides supplementary learning assistance on top of that. We believe that students learn best when teachers collaborate deeply across all areas of teaching.