Parents' Roles

Parents need to be aware of the mathematics their children are learning in their classrooms and through TEAMS mathematics programs. For many parents, mathematics is simply arithmetic learned by drill and memorization. Whenever possible, send home letters with student work describing the mathematics behind the activities that are being taught in the classroom. Help make the connections between real world applications and the mathematics introduced to your students.

A program called "Family Math" from the EQUALS project, Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California at Berkeley, involves the family and the child experiencing mathematical thinking and problem solving in a non-threatening manner. The "Family Math" course introduces parents and their children to good ideas that help children improve their mathematics skills and gain appreciation for mathematics. On a "Family Math" night, parents and their children move from station to station solving problems together and playing games through a variety of hands-on activities. This program was developed to help parents help their children appreciate and understand mathematics.

Some hints (adapted from Family Math book) for parents in creating a mathematical environment are:

• Let your children know that you believe they can succeed.
• Be ready to talk with your children about mathematics and to listen to what they are saying.
• Be more concerned with the processes of doing mathematics than with getting a correct answer.
• Try not to tell children how to solve the problem.
• Practice estimation with your children whenever possible.
• Provide a special place for study... not always a desk and chair. Somewhere they are comfortable.
• Encourage group study, this will be important as they grow older.
• Expect that homework will be done, establish positive homework habits.
• Don't expect that all homework will be easy for your child or be disappointed that it seems difficult. Ask questions that encourage them to think and reason.
• Seek out positive ways to support your child's teacher and school. Join the parent group, help make materials for the classroom.
• Meet with the teacher to find out what skills will be taught that year and how to help your child be successful.
• Find time to sit in on your child's classes.
• Look carefully at the standardized test results, but do not use the test scores as the only measure of success, remember that many of the standardized tests do not indicate problem solving strategies or effort.
• Try not to drill your child on math content. Don't use math work as punishment.
• Model persistence and pleasure with mathematics. Ask counting questions while in the car, look for patterns or shapes in fabrics or wallpaper, estimate weights of fruits or vegetables in the store, count money, etc.

Helping at Home

Parents often ask how they can help their children with mathematics at home. Good questions-and good listening-will help children make sense of mathematics, build their confidence, and encourage mathematical thinking and communication. A good question opens up a problem and supports different ways of thinking about it. Here are some suggestions parents might try; notice that none of them can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no."

Getting Started

• What do you know now?
• What do you need to find out?
• How might you begin?

While Working

• How can you organize your information?
• Can you make a drawing (model) to explain your thinking?
• Are there other possibilities?
• What would happen if?
• Can you describe the approach (strategy) you're developing to solve this?
• What do you need to do next?
• Do you see any patterns? relationships?
• Can you make a prediction?
• Why did you ?
• What assumptions are you making?

Reflecting about the Solution

• Is your solution (conclusion) reasonable?
• How did you arrive at your answer?
• Can you convince me your solution makes sense?
• What did you try that didn't work?

Parent response is as important as the initial questions. Avoid stopping with the "right" answer. Have children explain their thinking. Responses like the following give your children a chance to clarify their thinking.

Responding

• Why do you think that?
• Tell me more.
• Can you explain it in a different way?
• Is there another possibility?

References

Coates, Grace Davila & Stenmark, Jean Kerr. Family Math for Young Children. The Regents of the University of California, 1977.

Family Math. Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California at Berkeley.

"Mathematics Resources for Parents." CMC ComMuniCator , Vol 24 #4 (June 1996):10-11.