|
High school, middle school students to spend July at UNT studying math
What: Summer Math Institute 2007 (SMI) -- A program at the University of North Texas for middle and high school students who are particularly talented in mathematics. The students take Algebra I, geometry, Algebra II or pre-calculus from high school teachers and may complete up to an entire semester's worth of the subject in three weeks. When: July 8 (Sunday) through July 28 (Saturday) Where: Students will take math classes from 8:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. Mondays-Fridays and from 8:30 a.m.-11:30 p.m. in UNT's Biology Building, located one block east of Chestnut Street and Avenue C, UNT campus. Students will live in McConnell Hall, located on the southwest corner of West Sycamore Street and Avenue C. Contact: Wendy Boyd-Brown, SMI director, (940) 565-4033 DENTON (UNT), Texas -- After attending a three-week camp a few summers ago, Catherine Kingry was able to skip taking geometry during high school -- a required course for most students. But this wasn't just another summer camp in July with sun-soaked days of swimming, playing sports, hiking or horseback riding, and evenings spent around a campfire. Kingry went to the Summer Math Institute (SMI) at the University of North Texas, where up to 60 middle school and high school students work algebra, geometry or pre-calculus problems in a university classroom for 33 hours a week, and spend another hour each evening in a mandatory study hall. The program provides accelerated instruction for students who are particularly talented in mathematics, allowing them to complete up to a high school semester's worth of Algebra I, geometry, Algebra II or pre-calculus in three weeks. "The way the program is set up helped me to move at my own pace. I didn't feel pressured, and I had the time I needed to work through the problems in the book," said Kingry, who is from Tyler. "I also met a bunch of friends." SMI, which began in 2000, is sponsored by UNT's Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, a two-year residential program that allows talented students to enroll at UNT at the time they would normally be juniors and seniors in high school. At the end of two years, TAMS students receive at least 60 hours of college credit and the equivalent of a high school diploma. Kingry first attended SMI in the summer of 2003, and enjoyed it so much she went back for three more summers. Her younger brother, Roy, will be attending this year's SMI, which begins July 8 (Sunday) and ends July 28 (Saturday). This year's SMI will include students from the Allen, Birdville, Coppell, Dallas, Denton and Plano school districts as well as students from outside the Dallas-Fort Worth area and three from out of state. Nine will be returning for a second or third year. The classes, led by public and private school teachers in Texas, are limited to no more than 20 students so that each receives individual help, said SMI director Wendy Boyd-Brown, a TAMS academic counselor. "Many parents have told me that their students are bored in regular classrooms because teachers design classes around other students who aren't accelerated in math," she said. On their first day at SMI, the students are tested to determine their levels of competency in the subject they will be studying, then assigned to do certain chapters in textbooks. Once a student completes a chapter, he or she will take a test, and must score at least 90 to go on to the next chapter. Before starting a new chapter, the student will take a pretest. SMI students are in class from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, breaking for lunch, and from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. on Saturdays. Their evening study halls, led by teaching assistants who are current TAMS students or recent graduates, are from 6:30 to 7:30. At the end of three weeks, the students take comprehensive exams in their subjects. The teachers complete evaluations of each student and write recommendations to the students' school districts, noting if a student should receive academic credit for the subject. Even without high school credit, SMI is a "win-win situation" for students, Kingry said. "My school wouldn't accept credit for the Algebra I that I took my first year, but going to SMI helped me do really well in Algebra I during the school year," she said. Besides the accelerated learning and the experience of being on a college campus, SMI provides friendships. "You really get a chance to socialize with those who are on your same thought level and intelligence level," said Allison Arnold-Roksandich, who will be a sophomore at Allen High School and is going to her third year at SMI. Arnold-Roksandich said she was "only slightly interested in math" when she first went to SMI in 2005 to study Algebra I, but became more interested once she was there. During her second year, she completed a semester's worth of geometry in eight days, and went on to study Algebra II. She's taking pre-calculus this year, and said she now plans to major in math in college -- and become a TAMS student to take advanced courses in math. "In school, you don't get a chance to work ahead -- when others in the class don't get one thing, it takes forever to get to the next algebra problem," she said. "I'm glad SMI gave me the chance to pique my interest in math."
UNT News Service Phone Number: (940) 565-2108
Contact: Nancy Kolsti (940) 565-3509
Email: nkolsti@unt.edu
Latest News
TAMS student captures national Siemens title, $100,000 scholarship
Wen Chyan won the national Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology for his work engineering a polymer coating that could help prevent common -- and sometimes deadly -- bacterial infections resulting during hospital stays.
Former Togolese television producer to graduate from UNT after seeking political asylum in U.S.
Almost 6 years after Komlan "Richard" Lakpassa fled his native country of Togo in Western Africa he will receive a Master of Fine Arts degree in documentary film from the UNT Department of Radio, Television and Film Dec. 12.
UNT President Bataille elected regional representative of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
Gretchen M. Bataille was elected as an Associate Member Regional Representative and will actively participate and vote during the Annual Business Meetings of HACU's voting members.
New Graduate Certificate in Narrative Journalism at UNT will prepare professionals for changing media industry
The Mayborn Graduate School of Journalism has developed a program designed to give journalists a competitive edge in narrative journalism, a style of nonfiction writing that focuses on storytelling.
TAMS students to investigate ways to commercialize invention
UNT's Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science students received $7,860 to commercialize an invention that allows employees of a Fort Worth company who use wheelchairs to conduct work they previously could not do.
UNT branding earns five awards from international creative competition
The Division of University Relations, Communications and Marketing earned two platinum awards, two gold awards and one honorable mention from an international creative competition that recognizes outstanding achievement by marketing and communication professionals.
| 
