July 6, 2001 UNT Inhouse publication: UNT to host intensive summer math camp

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UNT to host intensive summer math camp

While other seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders will spend July swimming, sleeping late or sightseeing on family vacations, 28 middle schoolers will spend most of the month learning algebra on a university campus.

These students will attend the first Summer Mathematics Institute at UNT July 8-28.

Sponsored by UNT's Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, the institute is aimed at students who are gifted in mathematics and want to learn up to a semester's worth of Algebra I or II in three weeks.

UNT previously offered a similar program through Investigations of Talented Students, a research center in the College of Education. However, that program was discontinued in the mid-1990s.

Each student in the Summer Mathematics Institute will be able to progress at his or her own pace, says Kalina Pohlmeier, the program's on-site coordinator and director.

"Students who are really gifted in math are often held back by others in their classes, since teachers may design classes around those at the lowest levels," says Pohlmeier, an academic counselor for TAMS.

Sixteen students will be taking Algebra I at SMI, while 12 will take Algebra II. Teachers from the McKinney and Brownsville school districts will teach the classes.

The students will stay in UNT residence halls. They will attend class for six hours Mondays through Fridays and for three hours on Saturday mornings. They will also attend study hall from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

"Some of our students are coming with pictures in their heads about what they want to achieve academically. They may want to take calculus this fall in school, so they want to place out of Algebra II," Pohlmeier says. "For others, SMI gives them a taste of what it's like to learn in an accelerated environment. We have some students from small towns or small schools that don't offer many opportunities for gifted education."

In addition, at SMI, these students may, for the first time, be in classrooms with students who are their academic peers, she says.

"Students who are very high-achieving in math may not fit in with other students in their schools, but they will fit in here," Pohlmeier says. "They will also see what it's like to live on a university campus and be on their own."

Pohlmeier says she hopes some of the students attending SMI eventually enroll at TAMS, the two-year residential program at UNT that allows talented students to complete their freshman and sophomore years of college while earning their high school diplomas.

Two former TAMS students – Katy Bold, who graduated in 2000, and Daniel Johnson, who graduated in May– will be the teaching assistants for SMI, leading study hall and working with individual students and small groups. Bold and several other graduates of TAMS previously attended the math institute offered by UNT's College of Education.

While most of their time at UNT will be spent in class or study hall, the SMI students will also have time for traditional summer fun. Pohlmeier says the students will go to a Texas Rangers game and Six Flags Hurricane Harbor. Miniature golf, bowling, swimming, ultimate Frisbee, a Trivial Pursuit tournament and trips for shopping and ice cream are all on the schedule.

"We want to provide not just academics, but a place where students can make friends and have some fun," Pohlmeier says.