Summer Program
The five-week summer research component begins Monday, June 21, 2010 and ends July 22, 2010. The summer research meets from 9:00 am until 4:00pm Mondays through Wednesdays, 9:00 am until 12:00 noon on Thursdays and no Fridays. The ASCEND Scholars will participate in three activities during the summer: Math Enrichment, Structured Research Experience and Weekly Seminars.
Schedule
| Time/Day | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday |
| 9am-Noon | Math Enrichment | Math Enrichment | Math Enrichment | Math Enrichment |
| Noon-1pm | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch |
| 1pm-3pm | Research Experience | Seminar | Research Experience | |
| 3pm-4pm | Research Experience | Peer Workshop | Research Experience |
Math Enrichment:
ASCEND scholars participate in a small group math enrichment program led by a mathematics graduate student. Students receive an individualized assessment of their math skills through a customized diagnostic test. Math materials are selected based on students' performance, to strengthen the skill sets, understanding and use of mathematics materials.
Structured Research Experience:
This component is adapted from the National Science Foundation supported Center for Authentic Science Practice in Education. The research modules provide students with critical, technical and general skills needed to conduct research. Using self-designed research procedures, students complete a research project associated with the module. The research experience ends with a presentation of research results by the students. The research experience also includes peer leaders who introduce the ASCEND scholars to important topics such as experiment design, note keeping technique, research ethics and working with scientific literature.
Weekly Seminar:
ASCEND Scholars meet once a week in a seminar led by ASCEND co-directors and the academic advisor. The seminar focuses on academic advising, orientation to campus resources and discussions related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics opportunities at UIC.
