Family Math and Family Science

Pre K-Elementary School Leadership Workshop

Focusing on the academic needs of children in preK-5^th grade

 

 

Training Dates: April 23 – 25, 2007

Each participant must attend all 3 days

 

Northern Michigan University Graduate Credit 1.5 Available 

(Registration Details Available at Workshop)

 

Training Schedule:

Monday, April 23; noon – 5pm

Tuesday, April 24; 9am – 4pm, AND

6pm-8pm (Family Math Night at Nah Tah Wahsh)

     Wednesday, April 25; 9am – 5pm

 

 

 

Schools that participate will:

 

 

TO:                 Administrators and Prospective Workshop Participants

 

FROM:           Marta Larson, Program Manager, Michigan Family Math & Science

                        Programs for Educational Opportunity

                        University of Michigan

                        1005 School of Education

                        Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1259

                        PHONE: 734-763-9910

                        FAX: 734-763-2137

                        Email: mlarson@umich.edu

 

SUBJECT:    Partners for Achievement in Mathematics and Science, 2006-08

 

We are pleased to inform you of our funding to offer workshops through the Michigan Title II, Part A(3) Improving Teacher Quality Professional Development Grant program during the 2006-08 school years. Through this project we are especially interested in working with elementary schools in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Priority for enrollment will be given to schools with significant populations of Native American students and/or with difficulties making AYP or MDE identification for Corrective Action or Improvement. If space in the workshop exists after these priorities are met, other schools will be allowed to enroll.

 

The Leadership Workshops will focus on Family Math and Family Science curriculum components that are most effective with students in grades preK-6 and particularly with Native American families. Participants are encouraged to attend the workshop as a part of a team that includes at least three persons. Teams often include administrators, teachers, aides, and parents, including members from Bilingual Education, ESL, Title I, Indian Education, Head Start and Even Start Programs, among others. After attending the workshop, this team will work together to offer math/science/parent-involvement programs in their local school. Each team member must attend all 3 training days.

 

Workshops in this training series are funded by the Michigan Title II, Part A(3) Improving Teacher Quality Professional Development Grant program and are at no cost to the participants. Materials, textbooks (one set per building), parking, breakfast, lunch (on Tuesday & Wednesday), and breaks will be provided.  These workshops are sponsored in partnership with Northern Michigan University's Seaborg Center, Delta-Schoolcraft Idol's Northwoods Mathematics, Science and Technology Center, Nah Tah Wahsh Public School Academy, U.P. Center for Educational Development, and the Diocese of Marquette.

 

On Wednesday, there will be a session Oligopoly on the Oreo developed by students and staff of the Hannahville Indian School.  It will also include financial information for students as part of the Native Youth Money Smart program of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.  Staff from that program will also be at the session.

 

Questions about these workshops may be addressed to Marta Larson, Program Manager, Programs for Educational Opportunity, University of Michigan, 1005 School of Education, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-1259, phone 734-763-9910, fax 734-763-2137.

Email, mlarson@umich.edu                                                      Web Site: www.umich.edu/~eqtynet

 

Please share this opportunity with your colleagues. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. We look forward to the upcoming workshops.

Partners for Achievement in Mathematics and Science

 

Description of Programs

 

Family Math and Science along with their partner program, Playtime is Science, give parents and children (grades preK-8) an opportunity to work together to develop hands-on understanding of math and science. Parents become more involved in their children's education, and children gain confidence in their ability to learn both math and science. Both children and adults contribute to the process as they learn from each other.

 

These nationally-validated programs combine the best in math and science education, equity, and parent involvement. They create opportunities for parents, educators, and students to work to encourage female and minority children to talk and think about math and science; encourage risk taking, persistence, and intellectual self-esteem; and use materials commonly found around the house to make mathematical and scientific games. The emphasis is on collaboration, confidence building, and cultural inclusion. Many of the activities feature a cross-curriculum emphasis on building literacy skills.  Many of the materials are available in Spanish, Hmong, Arabic, Polish, Russian, Japanese, Chinese, and other languages.

 

These models focus on the process of thinking rather than finding any one right answer. They value alternative strategies for thinking about problems, and create an awareness that mathematical and scientific thinking leads to many types of well-paying jobs.

 

These models support a problem-solving approach, with students and families working together in groups, using active learning methods, and incorporating a broad mathematics and science curriculum presented in a variety of contexts. Participants learn to encourage parents and students to develop confidence in thinking and exploration skills (even when working with unfamiliar concepts in math and science), see connections between students' everyday experiences and mathematical and scientific thinking, and increase parent advocacy skills.

 

Previous participants have commented that the project "built confidence and familiarity with math and science and increased student ability to vocalize strategies. These activities taught students to break down problems into steps and use manipulatives to solve them."

 

Participating schools report their amazement at the changes in student confidence and skills in math and science that often result from successful family involvement in these programs. Schools that have implemented these programs report that they have been able to involve even the most hard-to-reach families in helping their children increase their success in math and science.

 

Partners for Achievement in Mathematics and Science

 

Alignment with Michigan Curriculum Framework

 

1. Content Standards: FM, MSFM, and FMYC are aligned with the Michigan Curriculum Framework in Mathematics, including activities in patterns, relationships, and functions; geometry and measurement; data analysis and statistics; probability and discrete mathematics. FS and PS are aligned with the Michigan Curriculum Framework in Science, including activities such as constructing new scientific and personal knowledge, and reflecting on scientific knowledge. Sixty percent of the content for FS and 100% of the content for PS is physical science, in which children can predict, observe, and repeat their explorations.

 

2. Teaching and Learning Standards: Connections to the world beyond the classroom are a substantial part of these programs through the context of the activities, inclusion of conversation with nontraditional career role models, and extensive discussion of families own culturally congruent experiences. Activities are designed to elicit reflection, promote higher order thinking skills and deep knowledge. Participants use content standards and student assessment information to plan classes.

 

3. Assessment Standards: These programs align well with the seven assessment standards in the Michigan Framework, including helping students organize information and consider alternatives, extensive writing, and enhancing in-depth understanding and ability to transfer skills.

 

4. Professional Development Standards: This project promotes teacher improvement which will promote high standards of achievement for all students, including high content expectations, original classroom research, reflective homework assignments, mastering new technology, understanding key ideas from social science research, mastering new content concepts and revisiting concepts that may have been difficult for them when they were in school. The learning process fits adulator varied learning styles, respects their prior knowledge, is discovery-based, and links participant-constructed ideas to well known theories and knowledge bases.

 

Participant Activities

The project will develop a network of educators who can increase achievement and participation of girls and students of color in math and science by implementing parent/child programs at the local school level to increase parent involvement and encouragement in the mathematics/science education and related reading skills of their children.

The content of the program includes hands-on participation/observation activities in:

Family Math and Science Leadership Workshops

Partners for Achievement in Mathematics and Science

 

 

WHAT IS THE PERCENTAGE OF YOUR STUDENT ENROLLMENT THAT IS NATIVE AMERICAN? _____.

 

_____ CHECK HERE IF YOUR SCHOOL HAS HAD DIFFICULTIES MAKING ADEQUATE YEARLY PROGRESS (AYP) OR HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED BY MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (MDE) FOR CORRECTIVE ACTION OR IMPROVEMENT

 

PLEASE REGISTER BY APRIL 13, 2007

 

Contact Persons Name, Title, email:                                                                                                   

 

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Team Members Name, Title, email:                                                                                                     

 

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