Curriculum & Program Highlights
Each year, SUU PREP students will be challenged with three different courses designed to teach the whole brain. Each course is developed to complement but not compete with regular classroom instruction materials. A math skills course, a hands-on, lab-based course, and an abstract reasoning course are included in each Year. Students tend to work hardest in the abstract courses, but find the biggest sense of accomplishment there!
Year 1
Logic and Its Application to Mathematics: Students will understand how to write compound statements and truth tables, also understand elementary set theory, truth statements, and two column proofs.
Introduction to Engineering: : Introduction to the engineering profession, measurements, simple mechanics, work-energy and engineering design, in-class laboratory demonstrations of engineering principles, and team designs of bridges, rockets, and robots.
Topics in Problem Solving 1: Experiences with problem solving as a method of inquiry and application so that students can investigate and understand mathematical content, formulate problems, develop and apply a variety of strategies to solve problems, verify and interpret results, generalize solutions and strategies to new problem situations, and acquire confidence in using mathematics meaningfully.
Year 2
Algebraic Structures: Study of groups, rings, and fields using systems of integers and rational numbers as models, derivation of algebraic properties of these systems.
Introduction to Physics: Students will understand mechanics and physical quantities, equilibrium of a particle, various laws of motion, work and energy, inertia and momentum, Electricity and Magnetism, Coulomb’s Law, electric field, potential, direct current circuits, magnetic fields, capacitors in series and parallel.
Topics in Problem Solving 2: Numerous and varied experiences with problem solving as a method of inquiry and application so that students can: use problem solving approaches to investigate and understand mathematical content, formulate problems, develop and apply a variety of strategies to solve problems, verify and interpret results, generalize solutions and strategies to new problem situations, and acquire confidence in using mathematics meaningfully.
Year 3
Math Innovation: This course builds on the concepts taught in Engineering, Problem Solving, and Physics and complements Computer Science. It leverages mathematical thinking to build skills and interest in coding and robotics.
Probability and Statistics: Students will understand basic probability theory-counting procedures, probability models, exponential and normal, descriptive statistics- tables and charts, measures of center and spread, analytical statistics- c, simple regression, how to collect, organize, evaluate data, and use R Programming to better understand data sets.
Computer Science: Introduction to basic computer programming skills such as: code writing, problem solving and testing using Arduino and the associated hardware.
All Years
Career Awareness Presentations: Local industry leaders, business professionals, scientists, professors and more give daily 45-minute presentations to the students to encourage them to pursue careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields by providing information about the actual occupation, the career path, necessary schooling, etc.
Field Trips & Special Events: Fridays are reserved for on-campus special events such as Year 1 Challenge Course and field trips. Field trips are designed to expose students to real applications of STEM fields ranging from Biology to Computer Science and Engineering.