Geometry, a class most commonly taken in students’ freshmen year, can come with an interesting twist at ETHS. Wearing brightly colored hard hats and working extensively to build a tiny house, students in the Geometry in Construction class are sure to have a unique math experience. The Geometry in Construction course is a dual-semester, dual-block elective that takes the place of a regular geometry class and takes an elective spot in one’s schedule. In this course, students learn the basics of geometry through constructing small buildings on campus. A fun and immersive way to learn geometry, students are exposed to a far different class structure than a regular geometry class.
In 2013-2014, the Geometry in Construction class built their first small house, which was moved to a vacant lot provided by the City of Evanston, so that it could be purchased as affordable housing. The students build the shell of the house, such as the floor, roof and windows. Once the house is moved, Evanston contractors set up the plumbing and electrical wiring of the house. The whole program is a collaboration between the ETHS, the city, and Community Partners for Affordable Housing, which is a nonprofit organization that allows the house to stay permanently affordable even as different families buy it. “Geometry in Construction is driven by how you build a home, and so from the start, students get to see that we have a different order in the way that we cover traditional geometry,” says Maryjoy Heineman, one of the Geometry in Construction teachers. “Our next unit is area and similarity because we are looking at the plans for building a home and scaling that up, and then looking at how much material we need to buy.” The course is also highly collaborative, requiring students to communicate well with each other while building. Because of this, students form meaningful connections with their classmates and get valuable feedback that may be different from what they have received before. “Looking at the class as a whole, it really is a nontraditional experience,” Heineman notes. “Teachers and students work together as a team to build a house that the inspector will approve of and allow us to sell. In a traditional class you may just throw away your paper and do it over again, but out there it’s much more real because a house is built at the end of it.”
Students commend the class for its strong community aspect. “I thought the class would be really cool to take because I’ve never heard anything like it,” says junior Helena Van Engelen, who took the course as a freshman. “The concept of building a house with my friends and getting to know the same people every day was really nice, especially in freshman year.” Besides the connections she made through it, Van Engelen praises the teachers, Heineman and co-teacher Matthew Kaiser. “The class is structured very well and I love the way they teach it. I built new friendships, especially with the teachers,” she stated.
Interest in taking geometry in construction could be sparked in various ways. “I was inspired by my older cousin and older friends who took the class,” said Ivy Young, a sophomore who took Geometry in Construction last year. Other forms of curiosity about enrolling in the class come from a love of math or an interest in building or creation. Geometry in Construction might even be surprisingly enjoyable for those who do not consider math to be their favorite subject because of the hands-on, creative aspect it possesses. For many, Geometry in Construction is an opportunity to step out of their comfort zone and try something new. However, the workload of Geometry in Construction is not light. Because they have to be so precise in their construction work, students also have to master their understanding of all the math involved. But Van Engelen does not have any regrets about choosing the course. “I think it definitely is a bit more challenging than other classes are, but doing the projects gets you off to a good start with how intense high school can be, along with the connections you can make.” Whether it was someone’s first-choice elective or last, students have a lot to learn from the unique and challenging course. Alongside the construction of affordable housing for the community, the course builds something that students will take with them for the next three years: sturdy friendships and connections.
