Chapel Hill is offering a new two-period course this year, Math III-PC, with two classes taught by Aaron Ideus and one by Greg Zoltners.
Math III-PC, which until last year was just one period, covers a range of material generally taught over two years, first in Honors Math III and then in Honors Precalculus. The new longer format gives students more time to ask questions and tackle difficult concepts than a traditional class.
Ideus starts his class with a homework review and sometimes an assessment prompt for students to recall prior knowledge. Then they learn and practice with new material. During the five minutes between periods, students have a break.
“We’ve kind of settled into a flow,” Ideus said. “We shoot for one task per double period, so some of the longer ones will fit nicely, and for the ones that are shorter, they’ll get more practice.”
Zoltners’ class is progressing similarly. “The material is fast-paced,” Zoltners said.
Zoltners and Ideus teach a combined 96 Math III-PC students, mostly sophomores, with a few juniors, freshmen and an eighth-grader from Smith Middle School.
Sophomore Carly Pollock appreciates the extended time in Math III-PC. “You have more time and can ask more questions and go into detail,” Pollock said. Though after over an hour in class, she sometimes loses focus. Her attention span is “definitely worse” because of the class’s length.
Other block-scheduled courses offered at Chapel Hill are two separate AP Physics courses, taught by Jason Curtis; AP Chem- istry, taught by Eric Stoffregen and AP Biology, taught by Wil- liam Richards.
Stoffregen uses the extended time blocks to fit 100-minute labs required by the College Board.
“[The double period is there] to afford reinforcement based on what you just talked about, as opposed to waiting until the next day,” Stoffregen said.
Richards, who teaches AP Biology, includes a lab or activity almost every day. “Only once did I do a lecture both periods, and I’ll never do it again,” Richards said. “I was exhausted; they were exhausted. I brought them lollipops the next day as an apology.”
