by
Robert Sanders
Media Relations

Berkeley High sophomore Nat Smith hits the books.

“Spark Your Child’s Success in Math and Science: Practical Advice for Parents” is based on the latest research about how children learn, and reflects the authors’ nearly 20 years of experience developing K-12
teaching tools. Jacqueline Barber, Nicole Parizeau, and Lincoln Bergman — who are part of the science
museum’s Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS) program — emphasize that their advice applies equally well to non-scientific subjects.

“There are a couple of decades worth of research that overwhelmingly shows parent involvement to be the single most important factor in children’s future academic success,” says Barber, GEMS director and the mother of three boys.

According to Bergman, the program’s associate diector and father of two girls, “The Lawrence Hall of Science has long been involved in giving advice to parents and doing research on how kids best learn science and math. The guide is a way to offer, in a trade book, rather than in a teacher’s guide or pedagogical handbook, some of the lessons we’ve learned.”

The three coauthors developed their book after reviewing questionnaires that asked East Bay parents what information they wanted. “The results weren’t what we expected,” Barber says. “In general, parents don’t want to know what their children should be learning, or how they compare to children in Japan. They basically want to know, ‘What can I do to make a difference?’ They want to know really concrete things, such as, ‘How do I interact around homework?’”

Homework, in fact, presents the biggest dilemma for parents. Says Barber: “There is no research — none — that shows that the amount of homework makes a difference, in the long run, to how well kids do academically. We try to distinguish between quality homework and lower-quality homework.” In the end, she says, what matters is that your child’s coming home with homework, “so how can you help them cope with it and do the best they can?”

“So many teachers assign more of it because of pressure from parents, rather than because that would be the best way for kids to learn,” adds Bergman. “But too much homework can lessen curiosity and smother the spark of learning.”

“Spark Your Child’s Success in Math and Science” demystifies testing and standardized tests, and urges parents not to take grades or the results of tests as the final word on their child.

“No matter how good the test,” says Barber, “one data point is not enough to draw any big conclusions about someone’s overall ability in mathematics or whatever. There are a lot of other data points — including information parents can get from schoolwork or just by observing their children.”

Parents tend to fall into two categories, Barber says: the uninvolved and the over-involved. The authors urge a middle course and detail a variety of ways to support your child, ranging from volunteering in the classroom or organizing a parent support group to simply showing interest in your child’s progress.

“Involvement is a collection of many small factors,” Barber says, “including your home environment, your expectations for your child, the support you provide, your attitudes about their school, and how your child is doing there. When one or more of those conditions are in place, there are tangible results: higher grades and test scores, better attendance, more homework done, fewer placements in special-ed classes, on and on.”

Involvement is reciprocal, she emphasizes. Teachers also need to find ways to draw parents into the learning process, if only by sending home notes informing parents what their children learned that day. This primes parents to ask their children relevant questions, rather than just a broad “What did you do today?” — a question that all too often elicits the answer, “Stuff.”

“Schools that are effective all have articulated parent-involvement strategies,” Barber says.

Larded with anecdotes from teachers and parents, the book comes with helpful “resource boxes” that summarize tips for parents, ranging from how to build a relationship with your child’s teacher and how to encourage inquiry in your child, to questions that can help you guide your child through homework without doing it yourself.

"Spark Your Child’s Success in Math and Science: Practical Advice for Parents” is available from the Lawrence Hall of Science for $14.95. To purchase the guide online or to visit the companion website, Parent Portal, go to www.lhs.berkeley.edu

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