Process for applying for Duke TIP 2012 begins

Not many students, while still in school, get an opportunity to learn what a college student would learn in a semester. Duke University’s (USA) Talent Identification Program, is offering just that for the students of Class 7 in India. Duke TIP has been doing this program for over 30 years in the US. The program was introduced in India two years ago.

The search that began in India with 28,718 seventh graders, finally reached its most exciting phase on May 15. The top 90 students who were identified for the Duke TIP through Educational Initiatives ASSET commenced their 21-day summer studies program at the Infosys Campus at Mysore.

Duke TIP identifies academically talented seventh graders in India through ASSET scores. Students scoring 95th percentile or higher in English, Maths or Science are invited to take an above level ASSET test, which allows them greater insight into their academic abilities. Traditional testing often fails to measure the variation among many gifted students who reach the upper limits of scoring on grade-level exams.

Above-level testing is at least two years above a student””””s current grade. In addition, experts at Duke TIP have developed and compiled information to inspire academically talented young people to learn through exciting educational opportunities. Duke TIP provides participants with an exciting, stimulating and challenging opportunity to augment their capabilities.

On the day of the arrival at the campus the kids and their parents were addressed by the On-Site director, Mr Novotny Lawrence. This was a one-hour orientation program where the 5 Duke University faculties also introduced themselves. The students were trained in one of these topics – Environmental Engineering, Forensic science, Java for video games and Entrepreneurial Leadership. After the orientation the families interacted with the instructors, Teaching Assistants and Residential Counselors.

After the parents left, the students were given a warm welcome by the faculty and the residential counselors during the Welcome Dinner, where the staff prepared a Welcome Skit for the children to tell them about the rules, regulations, processes and how to be safe while staying for the program.

The children began their classes from May 16. Various simulation games were played in the class to introduce the students to their subjects. The instructors for each subject are among the best in their fields and within a couple of hours of starting class they had involved students in topics like ‘decision making tree’, ‘cyclone resistant structures’. The kids actually made models which could withstand cyclones and the stability of their structures was tested in the class with the help of a very powerful fan! The students in the forensic science class learnt how to pick up evidence from a crime scene. And this was just the first day of the class!

Duke TIP Summer Studies Programs are superb academic opportunities and dynamic residential and social experiences for the students. These three-week sessions are intense and demanding; students are challenged to think critically about themselves and their world. For Duke TIP 2012, students of Class 7 who take ASSET between August 1 and August 5 will be eligible.

Educational Initiatives

Educational Initiatives

Founded by a group of IIMA alumni, with ample personal experience of educational institutions, Educational Initiatives (EI) is an effort to ensure every child learns with understanding.

Established in 2001, Educational Initiatives believes in making a difference in education through personalized learning and ensuring that students learn with understanding.

EI has over 15 years of expertise in education, with a deep understanding of child psychology and efficient methods of teaching, based on detailed research and a formidable database of student learning through ASSET.

Our detailed research has proven that children today respond to rote-based questions relatively well, however, they fail to answer unfamiliar or application based questions due to unclear core concepts.
Educational Initiatives

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