UNC Asheville Offers Summer Math Camp for Girls
Rising middle school girls
will have a chance to explore the wide world of mathematics at
UNC Asheville’s “Math to the Power of Girls” summer camp. The camp will
meet from 9 a.m.-noon June 20-24 on the UNC Asheville campus. Cost is
$100 and includes all materials and snacks. A limited number of
need-based scholarships are available. Registration deadline is Friday,
May 20.
“It is in middle school when many bright girls lose interest in math and
science,” said Sam Kaplan, UNC Asheville assistant professor of
mathematics. “Positive experiences with math outside the classroom and
positive role models help counter this effect. With this in mind,
several departments on campus have joined together to offer this new
one-week summer camp for rising middle school girls.”
The one-week program, designed for female students interested in
enriching their math skills, will foster creative and analytical
thinking based on hands-on experience, cooperative learning, technology
and teamwork. Students will explore quilt patterns, kite making,
tangrams, optimal strategies, algebra tiles, mancala, tessellations,
fractals and geometry. The course will be taught by Aja Wright, a UNC
Asheville graduate with a degree in mathematics and a 6-12th grade
teaching licensure.
“Math to the Power of Girls” will open up the world of mathematics to
those who need it most as shown by the landmark study, “Shortchanging
Girls, Shortchanging America,” commissioned by the American Association
of University Women. It was the first national study to clearly link the
sharp drop in American girls’ interest in math and science after
elementary school. In elementary school, 81 percent of girls like math;
by high school that number has dropped 20 percent. And according to the
National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st
Century, of the 10 fastest growing occupations, eight are math, science
or technology related. Jobs requiring math and science skills will
increase by 5.6 million by 2008.
For more information or to register, call UNC Asheville’s Special
Academic Programs at 828/251-6558 or click on
www.unca.edu/sprog/conferences.
Media Contacts:
- Dr. Sam Kaplan, UNC Asheville Assistant Professor of Mathematics,
828/232-5192
- Jill Yarnall, UNC Asheville Public Information Assistant Director,
828/251-6526
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