Organizing Committee
  • Ruth Crane
    Brown University
  • Maria Lorenz
    Temple University
  • Irina Mitrea
    Temple University
  • Katharine Ott
    Bates University
  • Allison Pacelli
    Williams College
Abstract

GirlsGetMath is a weeklong mathematics summer day-program for 9th and 10th grade high school girls in the Providence, RI area.

GirlsGetMath occurs in an encouraging environment that builds young women's confidence in math and science.

GirlsGetMath expands participants' understanding and knowledge of mathematics through computations and experimentations.

GirlsGetMath provides expert mathematical training and mentoring.

GirlsGetMath@ICERM 2014 is the first of what will become a replicable national model of mathematical outreach for high school girls, with an emphasis on mathematical experimentation.

This five-day non-residential mathematics program is open to high school girls from the greater Providence, RI area who will have just completed either grade 9 or grade 10 by July 2014.

GirlsGetMath@ICERM will encourage 25 young women to explore, and invite them to excel in, the mathematical sciences. Accomplished professional women, enthusiastic about serving as career models as well as scientific mentors, will lead the program. Potential topics include: cryptography, the mathematics of voting, image processing, prime numbers and factoring, and fractals.

The goals of the program are:

  • to show high school women that the study of mathematics can be exciting, beautiful, and useful
  • to build confidence in students' mathematical knowledge through engaging and expert mathematical instruction
  • to introduce high school students to a variety of career opportunities in which sophisticated mathematical ability plays a key role
  • to emphasize the strategic role mathematics plays for success in STEM careers
  • to provide the participants with a support group and expert mentors who are successful undergraduate, graduate students and professionals from the STEM workforce
  • to have a positive influence on the way students view their mathematical interest and ability

Image for "GirlsGetMath@ICERM: Summer Math Camp for High School Girls"
2014 GirlsGetMath@ICERM students and instructors.
The GirlsGetMath@ICERM program is made possible solely through grants and donations. The 2014 program was co-sponsored by a grant from the Phoebe Snow Foundation and the Mathematical Association of America (MAA)

Program Details

Instructors
The faculty organizers will be joined by undergraduate, graduate students and postdocs who will serve as teaching fellows in the program.
Location
Pandemic permitting, the program will take place at the Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics (ICERM) on the Brown University campus.
Participant Requirements
  • Students must not have attended a previous GirlsGetMath@ICERM program
  • Students must be in the 10th or 11th grade in the fall of 2014
  • Students must live in or near the greater Providence, RI area
  • Students must ask one math teacher to submit a letter of reference
Tuition
Tuition is $100. Full financial aid is available. Daily lunch included.

GirlsGetMath Schedule

Monday, July 14, 2014
TimeEventLocationMaterials
9:00 - 9:50am EDTWarm Up Session: Thomas Jefferson and Codes11th Floor Lecture Hall 
10:00 - 10:50am EDTNature, the Fibonacci Numbers, and the Golden Ratio  
11:00 - 11:50am EDTHow Long is the Coast of Britain?: An Introduction to Fractals11th Floor Lecture Hall 
11:50 - 1:00pm EDTLunch11th Floor Collaborative Space 
1:00 - 1:50pm EDTGirlsGetMatlab - A First Look at MatLab Coding11th Floor Lecture Hall 
2:00 - 2:45pm EDTLAB - Let's Matlab Code  
2:45 - 3:30pm EDTLAB - Lab Matlab  
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
TimeEventLocationMaterials
9:00 - 9:50am EDTWarm Up Session: Polyhedra and Origami11th Floor Lecture Hall 
10:00 - 10:50am EDTLife is Linear: Introduction to Matrix Arithmetic11th Floor Lecture Hall 
11:00 - 11:50am EDTFactoring Matrices11th Floor Lecture Hall 
11:50 - 1:00pm EDTLunch11th Floor Collaborative Space 
1:00 - 1:50pm EDTBuilding a Search Engine11th Floor Lecture Hall 
2:00 - 2:45pm EDTLAB - Matrix Arithmetic in Matlab  
2:45 - 3:30pm EDTLAB - Search Engines  
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
TimeEventLocationMaterials
9:00 - 9:50am EDTWarm Up Session: The Blue-Eyed Islanders11th Floor Lecture Hall 
10:00 - 10:50am EDTIntroduction to Modular Arithmetic11th Floor Lecture Hall 
11:00 - 11:50am EDTIdentification Numbers and Check Digit Schemes11th Floor Lecture Hall 
11:50 - 12:00pm EDTGroup Photo11th Floor Lecture Hall 
12:00 - 1:00pm EDTLunch11th Floor Collaborative Space 
1:00 - 1:50pm EDTElementary Cryptography11th Floor Lecture Hall 
2:00 - 2:45pm EDTLAB - Check the Digits  
2:45 - 3:30pm EDTLAB - Break the Code  
Thursday, July 17, 2014
TimeEventLocationMaterials
9:00 - 9:50am EDTWarm Up Session:The Fold-and-Cut Problem11th Floor Lecture Hall 
10:00 - 10:50am EDTImage Transformations using Matrices11th Floor Lecture Hall 
11:00 - 11:50am EDTImage Filtering 111th Floor Lecture Hall 
11:50 - 1:00pm EDTLunch11th Floor Collaborative Space 
1:00 - 1:50pm EDTImage Filtering 211th Floor Lecture Hall 
2:00 - 2:45pm EDTLAB - Transforming Images  
2:45 - 3:30pm EDTLAB - Filters  
Friday, July 18, 2014
TimeEventLocationMaterials
9:00 - 9:50am EDTWarm Up Session - Jeopardy!11th Floor Lecture Hall 
10:00 - 10:50am EDTIntroduction to Prime Numbers and Modular Exponentiation11th Floor Lecture Hall 
11:00 - 11:50am EDTExponentiation Ciphers11th Floor Lecture Hall 
11:50 - 1:00pm EDTLunch11th Floor Collaborative Space 
1:00 - 1:50pm EDTPrimality Testing11th Floor Lecture Hall 
2:00 - 2:45pm EDTLAB - Break the Code, II  
2:45 - 3:30pm EDTLAB - Is it (not) Prime?  
3:30 - 4:30pm EDTAward Ceremony11th Floor Lecture Hall 

2014 Participating Institutions

  • Barrington Christian Academy
  • Barrington High School
  • Beacon Charter High School for the Arts
  • Cumberland High School
  • LaSalle Academy
  • Paul Cuffee Upper School
  • Portsmouth Abbey School
  • Rocky Hill School
  • South Kingstown High School
  • St. Mary Academy Bay View
  • Tiverton High School
  • The Wheeler School
  • West Warwick High School

Purpose of Program

Despite the fact that jobs in STEM are multiplying and pay better than other careers, women remain woefully underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and math jobs. Some of this imbalance may be traced back to attitudes about mathematics and sciences in middle school and high school. There is a documented decline in girls’ positive feels about mathematics beginning in middle school, and from this point forward girls are far less likely than their male peers to choose elective courses in mathematics and the sciences[1][2]. The absence of girls in mathematics and science elective courses is especially severe among low-income and disadvantaged students. Research has shown that school-aged girls may not realize that their preferred career choice requires coursework in mathematics and sciences[3], so these decisions can have long lasting consequences.

GirlsGetMath@ICERM aims to build knowledge and confidence in mathematics ability early in education, ultimately shaping the way the students view themselves and their mathematical interests and potential. The program will:

  • Demonstrate through hands-on activities, games, and computer simulations that the study of mathematics can be exciting, beautiful and useful;
  • Introduce the high school participants to a variety of career opportunities for which sophisticated mathematical ability plays a key role, with an emphasis on the central role mathematics plays for success in STEM careers; and
  • Provide the participants with a support group of like-minded peers and mentors.
  • An outstanding feature of the GirlsGetMath@ICERM program is its commitment to quality. The program content is created by Ph.D. mathematicians who collectively have many years of experience as researchers and educators. The content is chosen to be at the appropriate level for the participants, but at the same time challenging, useful, and engaging to high school students. The Faculty Organizers of GirlsGetMath are college and university faculty in mathematics with experience leading summer mathematics programs for students. The Teaching Assistants are undergraduate and graduate students in mathematics and computer science.

References:
[1] J. Blue and D. Gann, When do girls lose interest in math and science?, Science Scope, (2008).
[2] J. Wilkins and X. Ma, Modeling change in students attitude toward and beliefs about mathematics, Journal of Educational Research, (2007).
[3] L. Pettitt, Middle School Students’ Perception of Math and Science Abilities and Related Careers, 61st Biennial Meeting of Research in Child Development, (1995).

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