24
CASE C
Effective Partnerships in Action: Family Maths for Years
5 and 6
The school has had a strong commitment to homeschool partnerships in mathematics
for a number of years with the running of the Family Maths Program in Prep, Year 2 and
Year 4. The teachers and School Council agreed that this program, which had been so
successful and well supported by the parent community, be extended to Years 5 and 6.
However, it was agreed that the previous format of the program--one-off `theme'
nights run by the teachers, with some parent involvement in administration and
organization--was not adequate as it did not address the key objectives of the project:
For parents:
· become informed about the teaching and learning of mathematics in Years 5 and 6;
· have an opportunity to engage in ` hands on' activities that their children were
doing in the classroom;
· gain an insight into how children best learn mathematics, from recent research;
and
· be informed as to the transition from Year 6 to Year 7, in relation to mathematics
education.
For students:
· have an opportunity to work with their parents in t he types of mathematics
activities they undertake at school;
· provide them with assistance in mathematics through knowledgeable and
supportive parents; and
· provide them with positive role models as they see adults using and exploring
mathematics.
For teachers:
· build on the important links already established between home and school;
· see improved student engagement and confidence in learning mathematics; and
· gain further professional development.
It was decided to revamp the Family Maths Program by conducting four sessions over
four nights, three of which would be information nights for parents and the final night
would be a family maths night that would involve parents in the presentation of the
activities.
Background
This primary school of 395 students is located in a comfortable middle-class enclave in
one of Melbourne's most desirable eastern suburbs. It is an area of high
socio-economic families, with minimal numbers of people from non-English-speaking
backgrounds, and low proportions of Educational Maintenance Allowance recipients.
The school had a small number of international students for the first time in 2005.
Student achievement in all areas of the curriculum is very high, as indicated by the fact that
the school consistently performs above like-school and statewide benchmarks in numeracy,
literacy and the arts (visual and music). Family expectations for student achievement are
high and more than half the students go to independent schools after Year 6.