I'm Jack Thompson, and this is my Pilot portfolio.
Here, I collect all the work I've done over the past few years of Pilot. So far, I've studied:
If you're one of my advisors who's going to be grading me, find the relevant subject area for the relevant year on the header bar up top. If you're a friend or just a curious person, check out my About page, and feel free to explore!
- 2020-21: Economics, literature, and algebra II
- 2021-22: US political history, AP Statistics, and precalculus
- 2022-23: AP Calculus, AP Biology, political science, & French IV
If you're one of my advisors who's going to be grading me, find the relevant subject area for the relevant year on the header bar up top. If you're a friend or just a curious person, check out my About page, and feel free to explore!
FAQ
How does Pilot work?
Pilot is U-32's independent study program, where students choose their own areas of study, meet with their advisors to figure out a plan, and do the work on their own to educate themselves, working with mentors & school resources along the way. Here's the Pilot website for more info.
What is this thing called "Anki" or "spaced repetition" you keep talking about?
Spaced repetition is an evidence-based learning technique for remembering information long-term. It's like flashcards, if you distributed your flashcard practice out to review cards at the exact moment you were about to forget them for an optimal memory boost. That's a pain to keep track of by hand, so I use the spaced repetition software Anki to manage my cards. Learn more about spaced repetition here.
How do you do an AP class through Pilot?
Self-study the material through Khan Academy, textbooks, AP classroom, etc. and take the test with everybody else in the spring. I got a 5 on AP Statistics this way, and I expect to score in the 4-5 range for Biology. (Calc free-response questions were surprisingly difficult; we'll see how it turns out in July.)
Why don't you just take classes like everybody else—especially when there are, say, calculus classes you could be a part of?
Because if my cognitive science research has taught me anything in the past two years, it's that high school classes are much less effective vehicles for learning than someone applying evidence-based techniques on their own. I get to set my own pace, try out different study styles, tailor content to my interests, make projects, set challenges for myself, use mastery learning, and all that good stuff. It's way more fun and valuable this way.
Pilot is U-32's independent study program, where students choose their own areas of study, meet with their advisors to figure out a plan, and do the work on their own to educate themselves, working with mentors & school resources along the way. Here's the Pilot website for more info.
What is this thing called "Anki" or "spaced repetition" you keep talking about?
Spaced repetition is an evidence-based learning technique for remembering information long-term. It's like flashcards, if you distributed your flashcard practice out to review cards at the exact moment you were about to forget them for an optimal memory boost. That's a pain to keep track of by hand, so I use the spaced repetition software Anki to manage my cards. Learn more about spaced repetition here.
How do you do an AP class through Pilot?
Self-study the material through Khan Academy, textbooks, AP classroom, etc. and take the test with everybody else in the spring. I got a 5 on AP Statistics this way, and I expect to score in the 4-5 range for Biology. (Calc free-response questions were surprisingly difficult; we'll see how it turns out in July.)
Why don't you just take classes like everybody else—especially when there are, say, calculus classes you could be a part of?
Because if my cognitive science research has taught me anything in the past two years, it's that high school classes are much less effective vehicles for learning than someone applying evidence-based techniques on their own. I get to set my own pace, try out different study styles, tailor content to my interests, make projects, set challenges for myself, use mastery learning, and all that good stuff. It's way more fun and valuable this way.