Tangletown Math Camp: Prospective Parents & Students

Mission

The mission of the Tangletown Math Camp is to provide the opportunity for young people in the Twin Cities to continue learning, exploring, and mastering Mathematics when school is not in session. Additionally, we aim to provide aspiring teachers from the Twin Cities with a fun, successful, and meaningful introduction to leading classroom activities.

If I sign up for TMC, what should I expect?

TMC is a mini-course for students who enjoy Math and are excited by the opportunity to solve fun problems over the summer. Lessons are designed to promote problem solving, hard thinking, and teamwork. We aim to help students sharpen their math skills, improve as problem solvers, and practice communicating their thinking with classmates.

If I sign up for TMC, what shouldn’t I expect?

The mini-course is not designed for remediation or drilling. It’s not designed to replace any particular course, nor is it meant to align with the content of a specific course. Some of the content may be new to your student, and some of it may be familiar. The aim of TMC is to provide fun, challenging, engaging material to students who are excited by the opportunity to learn Math and build teamwork skills.

What does a typical TMC session look like?

Sessions are 1.5 hours long. Sessions will have an introduction that may include examples or videos, followed by time for students to work on a problem set or a project, and then a summary of solutions. Some sessions may include more than one activity. Additional take-home practice will be made available to students upon request from the parents. Small, formative quizzes may also be administered to help inform planning.

What does it cost?

The cost per student is $250 for the camp, with $100 down at signup and the remainder due on the first day of camp. This is a flat fee that will not be discounted for missed sessions.

How many openings are there?

The maximum number of students per course is 12.

When is the camp offered, and how long does it last?

Each course consists of 6, 1.5-hour classes, spread over 2 weeks. Our aim is to offer each course several times over the summer, although this is subject to change depending on the number of participants. Check out this calendar for dates and times.  

What role will Teaching Assistants have?

As mentioned in the mission, this Camp is also designed to benefit aspiring teachers. TA’s will help students complete their activities by answering and asking questions. Depending on the difficulty of the problems, TA’s may serve as “group leaders,” which would entail working alongside the students.  As the camp progresses, TA’s will be provided with teaching responsibilities that are commensurate with their readiness. These may include working examples for the large group, leading summaries, preparing documents, and planning activities.

How will I know which course to sign up for?

We will request information about the classes a student has taken so far, and the success he/she has had in them, to help us find the right course for the student. Additionally, we’ve created a placement exam for students entering either course for high schoolers. Looking over the content previews will help students and families gauge which course makes the most sense to take.

Where will classes be held?

We will be reserving a classroom at one of Minneapolis’ public schools in south Minneapolis.