Research supports what teachers know instinctively – that what happens outside the classroom has significant bearing on students’ success in the classroom.
Education researchers have found that talking to children about numbers, playing board games, and even one’s own personal math anxiety can have a significant impact on children’s math performance in school.
“If parent math talk is important for children’s mathematical success, then adding opportunities for parents and their children to discuss numerical and spatial aspects of math throughout the school year should enhance children’s math achievement," wrote Talia Berkowitz and her colleagues in the magazine Science last year.
We recently participated in Capistrano Valley Christian Schools’ STEAM Night (science, technology engineering arts and math) which included a science fair, a live reptile exhibit, student art displays, engineering activities, student-created websites and videos, math games created by elementary school students with high school mentors, and ancient strategy games.
Their STEAM Night provided a great framework for engaging the whole family in STEM and STEAM education. A few key take-aways:
Second-grader Sophia is exchited to share the the math game "Castle Jam" which her class developed.
Elementary school students play math games they designed, with their high school mentors and with their parents.
Principal Tessa Samuelsen found that the mentor-mentee relationship extended outside of the classroom, as high school students started paying more attention to their younger schoolmates on campus, waving to them and showing up to an elementary school performance to support them. “High school kids don’t always understand what role models they are, and when they have those little eyes watching them, it helps them see themselves as role models,” Samuelsen said, “and at the same time provides real-world heroes for the elementary school kids.”
(One caveat: CVCS has a bit of an advantage here, because it houses its elementary, junior high and high school all on one campus.)
MIND team member Mike Limon introduces Capistrano Valley Christian School students to the ancient African game Tarumbeta.
The National K-12 Game-a-thon runs through July 1, 2016. To learn more about how you can participate in the Game-a-thon as a family or school-based activity, click here.
Christine Byrd writes about STEM and education issues for MIND Research Institute.