Planning a New Program

BEAM is receiving funding to develop a new program: a non-residential program in New York City that will reach students from a younger age, beginning the summer after 6th grade.  Students will learn mathematical reasoning, build basic mathematical skills, and become part of an intellectual community.

Now comes of the work of designing that program for a launch this summer.  I’m going to do that design here, on the blog, so that others can follow along with the process of creating a new program and see the ideas get developed and change over time.

To begin, I’ve created an outline of the major topics I plan to think through.  Each of these bullet points will become a link to a post.  Please note that both this post and all of the other posts in the series are likely to evolve over time.  They’re likely to get edited to reflect the final state of thinking as we move to launch.

Big Picture

• Program goals
• How do we measure achievement of our goals?

Before the Summer

• How is the program communicated to schools and students?
• How are students selected for the program?
• How will we hire staff?

Curriculum

• What topics should the program cover?
• What guidance/materials will be provided to the faculty?
• How closely must faculty stay to planned curricula?

Social Environment

• How do we create a vibrant community?
• What structures do we need to manage student behavior?

After the Summer

• What, if any, additional support is provided to students?
• How does this connect to the existing BEAM program?

Logistics

• What space will we use?
• What will the schedule be for students?
• How will we ensure that students attend the program for all four weeks?

The program will be known (for now) as BEAM 6, and all posts about it will be labeled as such.

Author: danzaharopol

I am a math geek. I love doing math, learning math, and teaching math. Nothing excites me more than working with young people who are discovering new and amazing things. Professionally, I founded Bridge to Enter Advanced Mathematics (BEAM), a program that makes it possible for low-income and underserved students to become scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and programmers. That's where I spend most of my time geeking out about math these days. Prior to BEAM, I was a math graduate student (studying algebraic topology) and taught math in places all around the country. I also co-founded and served as the founding CEO of Learning Unlimited, an organization that mentors college students to create enrichment programs for local middle and high school students. In my non-existent free time, I love board games, great plays, frisbee, and reading. View all posts by danzaharopol