Houston Prefreshman Enrichment Program (Houston PREP)

Transcription

1 Houston Prefreshman Enrichment Program (Houston PREP) WHAT? Houston PREP is an intensive pre-college Mathematics based summer program which stresses the development of abstract reasoning and problem solving skills WHY? WHERE? When? To identify achieving middle and high school students with an interest in science, technology, engineering and other mathematics-related areas and to increase their potential for careers in these fields. University of Houston-Downtown and Houston Community College 6 weeks every summer, 8:30 am 2:30pm # of students 350 per summer NSF HRD Center for Computational Sciences 1

2 Outreach and Retaining students in mathematics Presenters Sharon Sledge San Jacinto Community College Texas Sangeeta Gad University of Houston-Downtown Houston, Texas NSF HRD Center for Computational Sciences 2

3 Houston PREP Course Summary *1st Year Students* Engineering Introduction to Logic Computer Science Infinity Project Problem Solving Computational Science using STELLA, STAR LOGO and similar tools NSF HRD Center for Computational Sciences 3

4 Houston PREP Course Summary Physics Algebraic Structure Engineering II Problem Solving Introduction to Computer Science using SCRATCH tool *2 nd Year Students* NSF HRD Center for Computational Sciences 4

5 3rd Year Curriculum SAT Math/English Probability and Statistics Engineering III Technical Writing Robotics NSF HRD Center for Computational Sciences 5

6 Houston PREP Academy 4 th year students are enrolled at the Dual Credit program. They get 6 UHD credit hours which can be applied to high school credit Introduction to Computer Science Introduction to Psychology NSF HRD Center for Computational Sciences 6

7 ENGINEERING DAY NSF HRD Center for Computational Sciences 7

8 NASA DAY NSF HRD Center for Computational Sciences 8

9 Program Staff Houston PREP faculty consists of high school teachers and college professors College students who serve as Program Assistants supervise students and serve as mentors, tutors NSF HRD Center for Computational Sciences 9

10 Field Trips Museum of Natural Science Holocaust Museum Johnson Space Center The Health Science Museum University of Houston Texas Southern University NSF HRD Center for Computational Sciences 10

11 State wide Follow- Up Surveys Since 1979, over 25,000 middle and high school students have successfully completed at least one year of the summer program in the state of Texas. 99.9% are high school graduates 99 % are college students 74% of the senior college graduates are members of underrepresented minority groups 47% of senior college graduates are engineering, mathematics, science, or computer science majors. NSF HRD Center for Computational Sciences 11

12 The Center for Computational Sciences at UHD received NSF funded Luis Stokes-Alliance for Minority Participation (LS- AMP) and similar grants and helped to create the UHD Scholars Academy in 2000 NSF HRD Center for Computational Sciences 12

13 The UHD Scholars Academy is an academically competitive program in the College of Science and Technology that promotes scholarship and student success for undergraduate students majoring in the Natural Sciences, Engineering/Engineering Technology, Computer Science, and Mathematics.Currently 200 students are participating NSF HRD Center for Computational Sciences 13

14 Tutoring Tutoring is provided by all three departments involved. Computer and Mathematical Sciences Engineering Technology Natural Science All departments have established Collaborative Learning Community Centers (CLCC) Since UH-D class size is on average 35 students, Professors also provide assistance during office hours. NSF HRD Center for Computational Sciences 14

15 Peer Mentor All students accepted into the Scholars Academy are subdivided into smaller groups based on their major. At the head of each sub-group is a carefully selected upper-level Scholars Academy member known as the peer mentor. Peer mentors are selected based on academic success, interpersonal and leadership skills. All Peer Mentors report to the Faculty Mentor in their majors NSF HRD Center for Computational Sciences 15

16 PLTL (Peer-Led Team-Learning) The Peer-Led Team Learning Workshop Project is a coalition of faculty, students, learning specialists organized around a peer-led, team-learning model of teaching mathematics, Computer Science and science courses. A PLTL workshop is a group of 6 8 students that meets for approximately 1.5 to 2 hours each week to solve problems in a course under the guidance of a peer-leader. NSF HRD Center for Computational Sciences 16

17 Internship Fair and Students Research Conference Held yearly, these events give students the opportunity to apply for internships, graduate schools and showcase their research. NSF HRD Center for Computational Sciences 17

18 Numbers.. # of STEM degrees awarded: Increase of 500% Minority 108 Non Minority 106 NSF HRD Center for Computational Sciences 18

19 Contact us.. Sangeeta Gad Sharon Sledge Houston PREP Scholars Academy NSF HRD Center for Computational Sciences 19