The MathScape materials were designed to facilitate parent and community involvement in a number of ways. The teacher guide for each unit contains a reproducible letter that can be sent home to students’ families explaining what students will be doing in the unit and how families can help their child with the unit. In addition, because many of the units culminate in a large project, there are plenty of opportunities to have family math nights in which students showcase their work on unit projects. Furthermore, many MathScape activities are interesting investigations that lend themselves to use at a family math night or a parent workshop.
There are a number of things administrators can do to support teachers in the implementation of MathScape. However, administrators may or may not be knowledgeable about the current trends in mathematics education, and may be unfamiliar with how to respond to parent and community questions, with evaluation criteria for a standards-based classroom, or with the potential impact on standardized test scores. Therefore, it is important to provide opportunities for administrators to gain some familiarity with the curriculum as well. Including them in overview workshops or unit trainings can provide a worthwhile introduction to the materials for them as well as an opportunity to do some joint discussion and planning with teachers.
Download a sample Parent Night Presentation which can help explain the MathScape Curriculum to parents.
