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What are the objectives of EPGY?Our main objective is to present gifted students with the chance to take courses they would not normally have access to. This includes affording them the opportunity to progress through the standard primary and secondary school mathematics curriculum at their own pace, and making it possible for them to move on into university level courses in several subjects before leaving high school. In this way they will have the necessary background to begin serious study of mathematics, the physical sciences or the mathematical social sciences when they start college. Because the EPGY courses are computer-based, students can take advanced courses without leaving their schools and traveling to the local high school or college, only to sit in a classroom full of much older students.
EPGY also offers students a chance to receive intensive individualized instruction in writing. It is our hope to make it common for students to complete the Advanced Placement Examination in Language and Composition by their freshman year in high school.
EPGY's other main objective is to deepen and improve the nature of computer-based distance learning instruction. We collect copious data on all of our courses and make revisions on a regular basis. We also evaluate new technologies as they become available and incorporate them into our courses when we feel it is appropriate to do so. In this way we hope to continue to improve upon the quality of the educational experience we provide.
How do the courses work?Because there is some variation in the instructional models used in the K--8 Courses and the EPGY Secondary and Advanced Courses, we will examine each of these in turn.
The K-8 course software, Arithmetic and Geometry, is based on a series of textbooks written by Patrick Suppes. We expect students to spend approximately 30 minutes a day working on the program.
The Arithmetic and Geometry program has been designed to be very sensitive to differences among students and to tailor the exercises that a student does to focus on the student's weak points.
The program divides mathematics into different strands and monitors each student's progression in each of these areas of mathematics. As students work problems on line, the computer keeps track of the student's strengths and weaknesses in each of the strands, forcing the students to do more work in their weakest areas.
Each time a new concept is presented to a student, the student is given a brief lecture using sound and graphics which explains the concept. The lectures are often followed by example problems which show the student how to approach a particular question.
In addition to the required exercises students work on the computer, they may be assigned review exercises which they are expected to work on off of the computer.
Note: Homework is not a requirement for the EPGY K-8 course, but rather an option. If you choose to print and complete homework, please correct it and keep it at home. If you have questions pertaining to the homework you did, you may contact your EPGY tutor for assistance.
As with the primary school courses, these courses consist of on-line and off-line components. The on-line component consists of three main parts, the most fundamental of which is the lecture. Lectures are presented using digitized sound and graphics, which resemble what a teacher would write on a chalkboard while lecturing. This lecture environment gives the students a feeling similar to that of a real classroom, and emphasizes the informal nature of spoken mathematics. The lectures are followed by on-line exercises which vary according to the course. These may be quizzes in which the student answers questions about the lecture or interactive expositions in which a student is led through detailed arguments step by step. The third component is derivations, in which the student is asked to prove mathematical facts using a symbolic computation environment.
In your Course Folder, you should have a list of homework assignments. It shows the minimal progress schedule, tells you which sections of the book correspond to each computer lesson, and gives the list of homework problems for each lesson.
You can read the textbook sections before or after listening to the lectures on the computer. All the homework problems should be written up on paper just like you would write up homework for any other class.
Most of the courses have homework checking lessons in addition to the normal lessons. A homework checking lesson is a lesson that consists of a series of questions about a particular homework. These lessons ask you type in your answers to a particular question and then tell you whether or not you were right.
Tests are important as they are the main way the instructors have of evaluating your progress. We require you to be prompt in taking tests and submitting them, and we request full assistance from your parents in seeing that this is done.
University level courses consist of four parts, the most fundamental of which is the lectures. Lectures are presented using digitized sound and graphics, which appear on the screen and resemble what a teacher might write on a chalkboard. This lecture environment gives the students a feeling similar to that of a real classroom, and emphasizes the informal nature of spoken mathematics. The lectures are followed by on-line exercises which vary according to the course the student is in. The third component is exercises using the Maple symbolic computation program. Maple provides students with a powerful environment in which they can explore the properties of mathematical objects. It also allows students to solve problems that would be impossible to do using paper and pencil. The final component is off-line problem sets. These problem sets are designed to be comparable in difficulty to the problem sets given in traditional courses at Stanford. Students should expect to spend up to 5 hours a week working on the problems in the problem sets.
Problem sets play a more important role in the university-level coruses than they do at the secondary or AP-level. This is because the subject matter becomes more abstract, it becomes progressively more difficult to assess a student's understanding of the subject matter with the computer. At the same time, the types of problems given in a course become more complicated. By making students submit their problem sets, it makes it possible for the instructors to evaluate student work closely throughout the course, and not just on examinations.
Many of the courses have homework checking lessons in addition to the normal lessons. A homework checking lesson is a lesson that consists of a series of questions about a particular homework. These lessons ask you type in your answers to a particular question and then tell you whether or not you were right.
When do the courses begin?
All courses begin on prescribed dates. New students should have all their application materials in by the first week of the month prior to the date they wish to begin.
Students currently in the primary and secondary mathematics courses (M00A - M042) may start the subsequent course as soon as their course is completed. Since the mathematics courses are billed on a per-time basis rather than a per-course basis, we generally assume that a student submitting a final exam who still has time remaining in a quarter will be continuing with the next course.
Students in university-level or other courses billed on a per-course basis may begin new courses at any time. Please give us a week to get the materials to you. New students registering for these courses start on the first of any month.
How do I decide what course to begin with?EPGY generally leaves the question of initial placement in the courses up to the students and parents. However, we have produced some placement tests and charts to aid students and parents in making an initial placement decision. If you need assistance in choosing a course, please contact InfoKids.
Generally, we recommend that students begin at their current grade level, unless they have demonstrated that their mathematical knowledge is well advanced. We do not yet have a placement exam for these courses; students should consult the K-8 pages to find a detailed list of topics covered in each grade level. Although the courses begin at the start of every odd-numbered grade level (1, 3, 5, and 7), it is not necessary that a student begin at that level when they start the program. For example, a fourth grader may begin the 3-4 mathematics course at gradwe level 4.0 in all strands. Once the student begins the course, consult with the tutor to make a more fine-grained placement decision if the material turns out to be either too easy or too hard.
Students who are currently in a first-year algebra course or equivalent should take M011, Beginning Algebra. Students who have had a year of algebra should take M012, Intermediate Algebra. Students who are ready for trigonometry and precalculus should take M013, Precalculus. EPGY does not currently offer a course in geometry, although one is under development. All EPGY students have had to take geometry at their local schools. If it is still unclear which course in this sequence a student should start with, we do offer a placement exam for these courses.
Students who are prepared to take a first-year calculus course should take Calculus A. Students who have had a semester-long course in calculus in which they have covered the basic concepts of limits and derivatives may begin with Calculus B. Students who have been prepared for the AB Calculus AP exam or equivalent should begin with Calculus C. Contact EPGY if you have any questions regarding placement into these courses.
Both Linear Algebra and Multivariate Calculus have Calculus C as prerequisites; while either may be taken first, it is recommended that students take Linear Algebra before Multivariate Calculus. Number Theory only requires having taken Precalculus first; however, students should be familiar with constructing mathematical proofs with full rigor. The University Logic course requires only having a background in algebra. Contact EPGY if you have any questions regarding placement into these courses.
Mechanics has prior or concurrent enrollment in Calculus A or equivalent as a prerequisite. Electricity and Magnetism has prior enrollment in Mechanics or equivalent as well as prior or concurrent enrollment in Calculus B or equivalent as a prerequisite. Optics has Electricity and Magnetism as a prerequisite; Thermodynamics has Mechanics as a prerequisite, and Modern Physics has both Optics and Thermodynamics as prerequisites.
All students registering for these courses are required to submit a writing sample to determine placement into the writing program. Students preparing to take the AP exam in Expository Writing may register for the E01A-C sequence directly, however.
Are there instructors?
In addition to the instruction they receive on-line from the computer in the real classroom, students can ask questions of instructors at InfoKids or Stanford as the courses determine by electronic mail. This contact between students and instructors is an important part of the EPGY experience. To facilitate this type of interaction, the instructors keep detailed records on each student. Towards this end students are required to file weekly electronic reports in which they transfer a complete record of their recent work to computers at Stanford. In this way students get rapid feedback on their work, while the instructors are able to maintain detailed records on the work of each student. These records enable the instructors to closely monitor student progress and help to isolate particular student difficulties which can be addressed by the instructors in a later tutorial session.
The function of EPGY instructors is to answer questions students have about mathematics or about particular features of the EPGY program. It is not the job of instructors to offer basic instruction in how to operate a computer.
How much time does it require?Students should expect to spend 5 to 10 hours per week working on the course material, depending on their grade level. The 5 to 10 hours corresponds to the amount of work expected in a standard class that meets 5 days a week for an hour with 45 minutes of homework a night. (Of course this will be less for younger students.) Students are expected to move rapidly through the primary and secondary school curriculum, and frequently begin calculus while in middle school.
Students in EPGY are required to complete a certain minimum amount of work each week. Students failing to keep up with the minimal progress schedule will be dropped from the program.
What is the role of the parent?For the participation of your son or daughter in EPGY to be successful, parents need to take on several responsibilities. The most important is to make sure that the students are in constant contact with us electronically. The programs have been designed to let us keep an eye on each student's progress. In order for this to work the students need to be comfortable using these facilities. It is up to you to make sure that they are. If they are not, you should call us for help.
In addition to making sure that the students are in regular electronic communication with us, parents also need to be sure that the students keep up to their schedules and, for students in the secondary courses, that they take their exams when they are supposed to. Each student is given an exam packet which contains tests for each of the chapters in the book, a schedule telling them the minimum acceptable rate of progress and an assignment sheet telling them which problems to do out of the book after they finish a given lesson on the computer. Students should expect to spend about an hour a day running lessons on the computer and another 30-45 minutes a night doing homework. Parents should make sure that the students are doing their work at regular intervals and not saving everything up for weekend spurts. Parents should also administer the tests at the appropriate times.
It is up to you to make sure your student is doing this work and staying in touch with us. If at any point we feel that a student has lost touch with us, we will drop him or her from the course.
In addition to the above duties, parents of K-8 students are encouraged to participate in the K-8 course as much as they like. It is important that students thoroughly understand the concepts which they learn from the Arithmetic and Geometry course. Student questions may be answered by parents whenever they arise and/or parents should encourage students to call their EPGY tutor or to write questions and comments to be read and answered through the electronic mail as often as necessary.
What is the connection to Stanford University?
The Education Program for Gifted Youth is a part of the Center for the Study of Language and Information (CSLI) which is itself a research organization at Stanford University. The EPGY courses are offered through the Continuing Studies Program (CSP) at Stanford University.
The EPGY courses have been developed under the supervision of the EPGY faculty advisory board which at present consists of;
EPGY began in 1985 at the Institute for Mathematical Studies in the Social Sciences, under the direction of Professor Patrick Suppes and funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation, as a project to develop a complete first year calculus course which would be entirely machine-based. This project grew out of 15 years of teaching university level courses in logic and set theory at Stanford. The motivation for doing a calculus course was the fact that fewer than 25% of the high schools in the country currently offer calculus. Computers were seen as a way to make calculus available at schools which had no other way to offer it.
In 1990-91, we decided to turn our attention to middle schools, because they provided situations where there might be a couple of students capable of taking the course, but no one available to teach it. We selected a group of 30 interested students in the area, in grades 7--10 to attend a special summer course at Foothill Community College to prepare them to take the calculus. Out of these 30 students we selected 13 from seven schools to participate in the first test. All of these students took the AB Calculus Advanced Placement exam in May of 1991. Their results are detailed elsewhere in this brochure.
Following this success we extended the calculus course from just the AB curriculum to cover the entire BC curriculum, the equivalent of a full year of college calculus. We also developed courses designed to take students from Beginning Algebra up to the point where they are ready to begin calculus.
During the summer of 1992 we moved the program from expensive workstations to personal computers, making it possible for students to have machines at home on which to run the course. It also meant that the number of students who could participate in the project was no longer limited by our computing resources.
Click here for more information on the history of EPGY.
What about textbooks?
Students in the K-8 courses who need to do off-line work either use work books which are distributed by EPGY or work on exercises generated automatically by the course software. A CD-ROM containing the Sets and Numbers textbooks on which the Arithmetic and Geometry course is based on can be purchased directly from EPGY.
All other textbooks can be purchased by mail, both new and used, from the Stanford Bookstore at (800) 533-2670 or mailorder@bookstore.stanford.edu They are listed in the textbooks section under Continuing Studies, EPGY.