by Eleanor Long, Pacific University

Modified by Kerri Mitchell, Hart High School

This WebQuest will allow students to apply their knowledge of trigonometric, geometric and measuring concepts to redesign a pedestrian foot bridge to make it ADA certified.

Teacher Introduction

I am a math teacher at Hart High School working on my Master's Degree in Education from CSUB.  For my final project I am creating a series of WebQuests using Calculus.  This WebQuest is designed for my Honors Pre-Calculus class, as a way to show the students how we can use Trigonometry in the real world.  My website, www.calcquest.org, contains all of the Calculus WebQuests I have published.

 

 

To my colleagues,

I designed this webquest based on a formal experience I had as crew leader for a youth corps.  I lead a crew of 10 teenagers on a project where we had to reconstruct a bridge approach to make it ADA certified.  The project was formidable, and the youth learned so much. However, many of the design decisions were made by the project sponsors before the youth began the project. As their crew leader, I saw a lack of motivation that I believe could have been avoided if the youth understood the mathematical principles behind the bridge design.  I see this webquest as an opportunity to give math students an opportunity to apply trignometry and geometric principles in tackle a real world situation and apply the math.

I realize that this project can be done without the web but including web activities helps the students hone their internet skills which are highly valued in today's world.

Good luck.  Please feel free to contact me with any questions or feedback.  Have fun building bridges.

 Sincerely,

 Eleanor Long