CIP Parental Involvement
Partner Institution: University of Massachusetts Boston
Activity: Making the Connection
The University of
Massachusetts Boston (UMass Boston) has involved a cadre of students and
parents in the development and implementation of Making the
Connection, an innovative program of interactive college and math
workshops designed to:
- Provide parents with guidance in and
strategies for helping their children successfully prepare for
postsecondary education.
- Provide parents and students with
guidance in and strategies for preparing themselves to pursue further
education.
- Emphasize the importance that
mathematics plays in the students’ ability to get into a
competitive college.
The workshop series was held once a
month for three hours. Before each workshop, each parent and student
team received a sheet with key points and questions to be addressed
during the session. After each workshop session, the teams received a
homework assignment. The workshop took place in the evenings to
accommodate parents’ hectic schedules. In addition to running the
sessions, parents were recruited to help encourage other parents to
attend the sessions.
During the four-session
workshop series, middle school students and their parents learned new
skills and increased their awareness of postsecondary opportunities.
Topics included early career awareness, high school course planning,
choosing a postsecondary program, and paying for college.
The parents and students
also engaged in math problem-solving activities based on the Connected
Mathematics curriculum currently used in all Boston public middle
schools. Connected Mathematics is a problem-centered curriculum that
looks different to parents than the math curricula they studied in
school. To understand how the students develop the mathematics concepts,
reasoning, and skills, it was important for parents to become familiar
with the curriculum. The Making the Connections workshop series
engaged parents and their middle school children in problem-solving
activities based on upcoming student units and demonstrated how
understanding and skills are developed using the curriculum.
The workshop series
culminated with an Education Fair at UMass Boston. Parents, educators,
and staff from the middle school were invited to participate in the
fair, which included a campus tour and lunch with UMass Boston students,
faculty, and staff.
For Additional Information:
Please contact UMass
Boston's College Is Possible liaison, Joan Becker, at joan.becker@umb.edu.
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