A Highly Successful Summer Accelerator Math Program in a Hispanic Serving Institution

Ivan Lopez Hurtado; Charles Knight; Raul R Peralta; Jorge Crichigno

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Conference: 2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Publication Date: June 23, 2013
Start Date: June 23, 2013
End Date: June 26, 2013
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: Beyond the Classroom: Summer and Scholarship Programs to Engage Minorities
Tagged Division: Minorities in Engineering
Page Count: 16
Page Numbers: 23.55.1 - 23.55.16
DOI: 10.18260/1-2--19069
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/19069
Download Count: 513

Paper Authors

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Ivan Lopez Hurtado Northern New Mexico College

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Dr. Ivan Hurtado received his B.S. degree in Industrial Physics Engineering from Tec de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico, 1995. M.S. degree in Automation from Tec de Monterrey, Monterrey, Mexico, 1998 and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA in 2008. He is currently the Department of Engineering, Chair at Northern New Mexico College.

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Charles Knight Northern New Mexico College

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B.A. Philosophy, Baker University, 1962; Ph.D. Candidate (Genetics), The Rockefeller University, 1963-65; M.A. Philosophy of Science, University of Toronto, 1972; Free-lance Writer, 1973-1993; Adjunct Instructor (Math), Northern New Mexico College, 2007-13.

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Raul R Peralta Northern New Mexico College

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Raul Peralta-Meza received the B.Sc. degree in Electronic Engineering from San Agustin National University in Arequipa, Peru, in 1993. He obtained a M.Sc. degree in Computer Science at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru in 2000. He earned a M.Sc. degree in Computer Engineering from The University of New Mexico in 2007 as well. Since March 2012, he has been a Lecturer in the Department of Engineering at Northern New Mexico College, Espanola, New Mexico.

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Jorge Crichigno Northern New Mexico College

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Dr. Jorge Crichigno received a B.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering from the Catholic University of Asuncion, Paraguay, in 2004, and M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Engineering from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, in 2008 and 2009 respectively. In 2007, he was visiting the School of Electronic, Information and Electrical Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University as a research assistant. Dr. Crichigno is currently an Associate Professor in the Engineering Department at Northern New Mexico College, Espanola, NM. His research interests include wireless and optical networks, graph theory, mathematical optimization, network security and undergraduate STEM education. He has served as reviewer and TPC member of journals and conferences such as IEEE Transactions on Mobile Computing and IEEE Globecom, and as panelist for NSF STEM undergraduate education initiatives. He is a member of the IEEE Computer Society.

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Abstract

Topics: Attracting young MINDS - outreach and recruitment of minority engineeringstudents (including K-12); Innovative retention and development programs forundergraduate minority engineering students (including bridge programs). A Highly Successful Summer Accelerator Math Program in a Hispanic Serving InstitutionFor three years in a row, the Department of Engineering has offered a Summer Campfocused on accelerating students to prepare them for college math and to increase theirinterest in Information Engineering Technology and Mechanical Engineering. Theprogram has been very successful, as measured by the quick progress that students madein their math skills.The institution and the participating students are located in a highly underserved ruralcommunity. The local high school, for example scores among the lowest in the nationaccording to Great Schools. Our Summer Camp has allowed participating students to leapone or two courses of remedial math courses, saving one term or more of tuition andpermitting them to more quickly the entry-level courses in the STEM programs.The student body is 85% Hispanic. The first two summers of the camp targeted high-school students and the last summer focused on freshmen college students with low-levelmath skills.The summer camp strategies include:a) Recruitment of students giving priority to students with low grades in their previousmath classes; b) Pre-test used to categorize students according to their level of math andto arrange student groups that are a similar level; c) Individualized study plans for eachparticipant; d) Problem-generator software that includes video and tutoring capabilities;e) Low student/instructor ratio per class; f) Freedom to advance students to higher levelsat any time of the program by monitoring weekly progress; g) New topics are releasedupon mastering has been proof on the previous topics; h) Breakfast, snacks and/or lunchprovided; i) Post-test measurements to measure improvement; j) Student involvement incomputer programming assignments; k) Tutoring hours beyond class time for thestudents; l) Student on-line homework (study plans); m) Weekly progress exams; n)Graduation ceremony (families invited); and o) Stipends, bookstore vouchers as rewardsfor successfully completing the program.This paper describes the above strategies, the recruitment tools used, and the resultsobtained for three years of Summer Camps. One of the main results shows that anaverage participant student has improved in their math skills the equivalent to onesemester or even one year of math after working 60-90 hours, three hours a day, five daysa week for four-six weeks. This is an increase in efficiency compared to the number ofweeks that students spend on math courses either at the high school or in remedial mathclasses at the college.

Citation
Format

Lopez Hurtado, I., & Knight, C., & Peralta, R. R., & Crichigno, J. (2013, June), A Highly Successful Summer Accelerator Math Program in a Hispanic Serving Institution Paper presented at 2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Atlanta, Georgia. 10.18260/1-2--19069

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Topics: Attracting young MINDS - outreach and recruitment of minority engineeringstudents (including K-12); Innovative retention and development programs forundergraduate minority engineering students (including bridge programs).  A Highly Successful Summer Accelerator Math Program in a Hispanic Serving                                 InstitutionFor three years in a row, the Department of Engineering has offered a Summer Campfocused on accelerating students to prepare them for college math and to increase theirinterest in Information Engineering Technology and Mechanical Engineering. Theprogram has been very successful, as measured by the quick progress that students madein their math skills.The institution and the participating students are located in a highly underserved ruralcommunity. The local high school, for example scores among the lowest in the nationaccording to Great Schools. Our Summer Camp has allowed participating students to leapone or two courses of remedial math courses, saving one term or more of tuition andpermitting them to more quickly the entry-level courses in the STEM programs.The student body is 85% Hispanic. The first two summers of the camp targeted high-school students and the last summer focused on freshmen college students with low-levelmath skills.The summer camp strategies include:a) Recruitment of students giving priority to students with low grades in their previousmath classes; b) Pre-test used to categorize students according to their level of math andto arrange student groups that are a similar level; c) Individualized study plans for eachparticipant; d) Problem-generator software that includes video and tutoring capabilities;e) Low student/instructor ratio per class; f) Freedom to advance students to higher levelsat any time of the program by monitoring weekly progress; g) New topics are releasedupon mastering has been proof on the previous topics; h) Breakfast, snacks and/or lunchprovided; i) Post-test measurements to measure improvement; j) Student involvement incomputer programming assignments; k) Tutoring hours beyond class time for thestudents; l) Student on-line homework (study plans); m) Weekly progress exams; n)Graduation ceremony (families invited); and o) Stipends, bookstore vouchers as rewardsfor successfully completing the program.This paper describes the above strategies, the recruitment tools used, and the resultsobtained for three years of Summer Camps. One of the main results shows that anaverage participant student has improved in their math skills the equivalent to onesemester or even one year of math after working 60-90 hours, three hours a day, five daysa week for four-six weeks. This is an increase in efficiency compared to the number ofweeks that students spend on math courses either at the high school or in remedial mathclasses at the college.
AU  - Ivan Lopez Hurtado
AU  - Charles Knight
AU  - Raul R Peralta
AU  - Jorge Crichigno
CY  - Atlanta, Georgia
DA  - 2013/06/23
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - A Highly Successful Summer Accelerator Math Program in a Hispanic Serving Institution
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/19069
DO  - 10.18260/1-2--19069
ER  -