Pre-freshman enrichment program. Past accomplishments and results from prior DOE and NSF support

摘要

This PREP was designed to increase participation in the University of Minnesota Talented Youth Mathematics Program (UMTYMP) of female students and students of color. Summer enrichment institutes were followed by a series of monthly half-day academic-year programs designed for females and students of color in their first year of UMTYMP. This post-intervention program was designed to support these students in their early experiences in UMTYMP. The first year of the DOE PREP program operated during the 1993--94 academic year. NSF and the Bush Foundation provided additional support for the pre-intervention project. Students invited to participate in the academic year enrichment program included females, students of color and economically disadvantages students who nearly qualified for the UMTYMP program in the spring, summer, and fall 1993 tests; current UMTYMP Alternative course students; and other students identified through community or school contacts. The summer enrichment institute was a four-week non-residential summer program for students interested in exploring mathematics enrichment topics and mathematics-related careers, who were entering grades 6 through 8 and were from populations traditionally underrepresented in mathematics and science related fields. The institute consisted of two two-week sessions. Activities and curriculum were designed to engage students in mathematics using hands-on, investigative and discovery approaches to learning. The central mathematical themes emphasized were geometry, probability and statistics, visualization, approximation and estimation. A portion of the first two weeks of the Institute focused on career awareness and the connection of math and science to real world applications. The last two weeks of the summer the institute focused on geometry and made extensive use of the NSF sponsored Geometry Center.