Math and Science Instruction


Success in math and science depends not only on the acquisition of knowledge, but also on skill-building.
  • Reading comprehension:  Effective reading comprehension skills open the window to success in math and science.  Students must develop the ability to understand word problems and assimilate information from textbooks, which are often filled with jargon.
  • Translating words to numbers: While basic numeracy skills are fundamental to success in math at any level, those skills cannot be accessed without the ability to interpret word problems and generate the appropriate numerical formulas. For example, students must be able to translate a phrase like this one into a formula: “Bill is five years younger than Jane; the sum of their ages is twenty.”
  • New study skills: The study skills required to succeed in math and science classes are vastly different than the ones needed to score an ‘A’ in a language arts or a history class. To prepare for a math or science exam, reviewing notes and textbook chapters are not enough. Students need to learn the appropriate vocabulary and complete dozens, if not hundreds, of practice problems to master the material.
  • Metacognitive strategies: This is a fancy phrase describing the ability to understand one’s own learning profile and to apply the right tools in the appropriate situation. Math and science are subjects which require students to engage a particularly wide range of academic skills.  As a result, we teach students to take an inventory of these skills, choose the appropriate situation for each of the skills, and to monitor progress while the skills are engaged.
  • Instructors: Our instructors are prepared to teach all levels of the grade-appropriate math curriculum from K-12, including AP Calculus. Our science instruction covers all levels of science, from earth science to college level biology, chemistry and physics.