Who says Algebra and English have to stay in the classroom? At Gilbert High School, students are now piloting a program in the Spyder Lab that blends Math and English learning with hands on, real world projects. Pictured are teacher Ricardo Torres and student Kevin JuanLuis creating a custom shirt a glimpse into Gilbert’s first year with the Spyder Lab program. As Spyder Lab’s fifth alternative education site, Gilbert is the first to integrate a Common Core Math and ELA curriculum in partnership with the Orange County Department of Education, aiming to help students connect academic skills to practical applications outside a traditional classroom setting.
Torres, who has experience in teaching interdisciplinary subjects, business, marketing & math, shares “I’ve seen students been more engaged these past few months, not only through the digital fabrication and multi-media graphic aspects of Spyder Lab but through the new concepts as well. Students are blending their technical, career and soft skills with academic subjects they weren’t interest in prior.”
Spyder Lab Mentor and Curriculum Specialist Chris Hoppe adds on, “The number one question in a math class isn’t what x equals, it’s a student asking where they are going to use these concepts. When we authored this pathway, we built this idea in my mind, how can we engage and teach students in a non traditional setting?How can we show students there is a practical application to what they learn, that it does leave the white board? “. Pictured second is Hoppe teaching a student how to complete a Linear Equation through making a budget and integrating with QuickBooks software.
The new Spyder Lab program has already proven impactful for both students and educators alike. Torres says “Spyder Lab has been fun, teaching for a couple years now, and being able to learn and teach digital fabrication streamlined now. Spyder Lab helps assist me in teaching the students. It’s a collaborative environment, having mentors come out and co-teach/train (pictured third Spyder Lab graphic designer Frank Felix teaching graphic design). For this school especially it will be better to teach students math in a Spyder Lab environment, not teaching theoretically. The learning process is authentic not forced, we try so hard to make particular subjects look fun but a lot of the time it doesn’t connect. “
