Activities

The main goal of the project is to design and study a model of parental engagement in mathematics that is based on a two-way dialogue between school and home. The focus is on preK-3, but with some foundation setting for the upper elementary grades.

To support the development of this two-way dialogue about mathematics between school (teachers / administrators) and home (parents and other family members), we have devised a series of activities, that we briefly describe here.

1.  Leadership Development Sessions. In these sessions parents and teachers in the Leadership Team work together on mathematics tasks and engage in conversations to learn about each other's experiences with mathematics teaching and learning, including their uses of mathematics in everyday life.

2. Math for Parents Sessions. Parents from the Leadership Team, as well as other parents, engage in the exploration of mathematical topics relevant for preK-3 schooling, while encouraging connections to how these ideas appear in their everyday interactions with their children.

3. Mathematics Workshops for Families. Teams of parents and teachers from the Leadership Team facilitate workshops for other families from the school community.

4. Parents' Visits to Mathematics Classes. Through these visits parents become more familiar with what their children are learning in school and with the teaching approaches being used. The debriefings from these visits provide opportunities for teachers, parents, and researchers to explore their beliefs about mathematics education.

5. Teachers' Household Visits. Through these visits to some of their students' homes, teachers learn about the Funds of Knowledge in the family with an eye on resources for their classroom teaching. Through these visits teachers can gain a better understanding of the their students' lives and experiences.

6. Community Walks.

Examples:

Geometry Workshops:

Mothers in our program worked together with their children to built 3-D shapes. They were able to explain the defining attributes of these shapes and have fun with their children.