Who We Are At EPGY

Who We Are at EPGY

History of EPGY

1963 - 1985

The Education Program for Gifted Youth grows out of over 35 years of research at Stanford University in both gifted education and computer-based distance learning. In 1963, EPGY's predecessor, the Institute for Mathematical Studies of the Social Sciences (IMSSS), began experimenting with the use of computers to present instruction in mathematics and logic to elementary school students. In 1968 work was begun on university-level computer-based courses in Logic and Set Theory. These courses were offered to students at Stanford each quarter form 1972 through 1992. From 1972 through 1981 a variety of experiments in computer-based education in subjects ranging from language instruction through vocational counselling were carried out at IMSSS.

1985 - 1995

The immediate forebear of EPGY was a project to develop a first year course in calculus that would be entirely machine-based. This project began in 1985, under the direction of Professor Patrick Suppes and with funding from the National Science Foundation. The motivation for creating this course was the fact that fewer than 25% of the high schools in the country offered calculus at that time. Computers were seen as a way to make calculus available at schools which had no other way to offer it.

In 1990-91, EPGY turned its focus to gifted students in middle school or early high school. We felt that the best of these students would be ready for instruction in calculus, and it was clear that few middle schools, if any, regularly offered a course in calculus. During the spring of 1991 we selected a group of roughly 40 interested students in grades seven to ten, who lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, to attend a special summer course at Foothill Community College. This course was designed to take students who had a basic understanding of algebra and prepare them to take the calculus in the fall. Out of these students we selected thirteen from seven schools to participate in the first test of our calculus course. In this group there was one seventh graders, five eighth graders, four ninth graders, and three tenth graders. All thirteen students took the AB Calculus Advanced Placement exam in May of 1991. Six of the students scored five, six scored four and one scored three. Of particular note was that the seventh grader and four of the five eighth graders scored five.

During 1991-1992 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. A second group of students took the BC Calculus AP exam in 1992 and did quite well.

During the summer of 1992 we moved the program from expensive workstations to multi-media 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.

In the Fall of 1992 we officially announced the creation of the Education Program for Gifted Youth and opened enrollment to all qualified students. At this point the only courses offered at EPGY were Beginning Algebra, Intermediate Algebra, Precalculus, Calculus A, Calculus B and Calculus C.

In December of 1992 we offered our first courses in physics, the Physics C: Mechanics course. This course is the equivalent of an introductory college course for students who have had a year of calculus. The enrollment in this initial course consisted of 10 students, six from the group that had taken calculus in 1991 and all four of the students who had taken calculus in 1992.

In 1993 we finished the windows version of our Calculus course and instituted the initial version of the reporting system. This allowed us to keep closer tabs on the performance of students in the courses. This also allowed students to get the results of their examinations immediately. During this time we also ported our Introductory Logic Course to Windows.

In December of 1993 we offered our second course in physics, the Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism course. This course is the equivalent of a second quarter introductory college physics course for students who have had calculus, and is the counterpart to the Physics C: Mechanics course. The enrollment in this course was thirteen, and included all of the students who had taken the mechanics course the year before and who remained in high school, together with four new students.

In 1994 we started our program for younger students. Originally dubbed the "Special Program for Elementary School Students," or "SPESS," a name that was eventually dropped, this program marked the first time that we had made instructional material available to students at the elementary school level. Beginning initially with courses for students in grades 4-6, this program was eventually expanded to cover the curriculum from Kindergarten through the end of Pre-algebra. This program, now called the K-7 Mathematics, has grown to have the single greatest enrollment of any group of courses.

The year 1994 also marked the beginning of our work on Expository Writing. The first course developed was the Advanced Placement English Language and Composition. The first group of students began work on this course in December of 1994 and took the AP Examination in May of 1995.

1995 - present

Mathematics

Since 1995 we have been making systematic improvements to the K-7, the secondary and the advanced placement level courses. At the university level in mathematics we completed courses in Number Theory (1997), Linear Algebra (1997), Multivariate Calculus (1998), and Differential Equations (1998).

We are about to release the 32-bit version of our course driver. This will modernize the general interface to the courses. We are also hard at work on our Honors Geometry course. We hope to start the first group of students in this course in the Srping of 1999. At the university level, we presently have funding from the Alfed P. Sloan foundation to develop a two-quarter sequence in Partial Differential Equations, together with one-quarter courses in Modern Algebra, Real Analysis, Complex Analysis, Theory of Probability, and Set Theory. We expect to complete work on these courses by Summer 2000.

Physics

Course development in physics has continued apace with a course being completed each year. In 1995 we completed our course in Optics. In 1996 we completed a course in Thermodynamics. A course in Modern Physics was completed in 1997. During this last year work has begun on what will ultimately be a three-quarter introductory sequence in physics for students who have had a year of algebra but no calculus. The first quarter of this sequence was offered for the first time during the summer.

We presently have funding from the Alfed P. Sloan foundation to develop a two-quarter sequence in Hamiltonian-Langrangian Dynamics, a three-quarter sequence in Intermediate Electricity and Magnetism, and a course in Quantum Mechanics. We expect to complete work on these courses by Summer 2000.

English

In 1997 we followed the example of the mathematics sequence and began offering courses for younger students. The first courses were designed for students at the fourth through sixth grade levels. During the latter half of 1997 we began work on our pre-AP writing course. During the 1998-99 academic year we hope to complete work on the pre-AP and pre-pre-AP writing courses. We also hope to complete work on courses designed for middle school students. When these courses are complete--sometime in 1999--we will have a sequence of courses designed to take students from the fourth grade level through the Advanced Placement Exam in English Language and Composition.

C Programming

The summer of 1998 marked the first time that our Introduction to C Programming course was offered. When complete this course will constitute a three-quarter sequence which will give students a thorough introduction to the C programming language.

Music Theory

During the Fall of 1998 we will begin developing an advanced placement course in music theory. We hope to offer this course for the first time in the Fall of 1999.

Instructional Services for Schools

In 1998, following several years of informal pilot school programs, EPGY began offering Instructional Services for Schools (ISS) in a formal way. The goal of the ISS program is to work with schools to incorporate EPGY instructional materials more formally into the school environment and in this way increase the number of students who are able to benefit from EPGY, while at the same time making it easier for those students who participate in EPGY to receive full recognition of their efforts from their schools.

Education Program for Teachers of Mathematics

With the start of the 1998-99 academic year, EPGY has begun working closely with the Stanford University Mathematics Department to develop the Education Program for Teachers of Mathematics (EPTM). This program builds upon the EPGY course model to offer courses designed to improve the mathematical understanding of teachers.

Some Interesting Numbers

***Enrollment Growth***
Quarter	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998
Spring	n/a	90	250	450	800	1200	1500
Fall	20	150	350	650	1000	1400	1650

Minimum Cost of a Computer Configured to Run EPGY Software
1992 1994 1996 1997 1998

$2299 $1499 $1199 $799 $499