By Mary Headley 

Dr. Ruth Parker, a mathematics author and educator from Washington, recently spoke at two special programs at the Raintree Plaza in Longmont. The topic for Jan. 8 meeting was “Multiplication: Will Your Children Know Their Basic Facts?”  On Jan. 9, Parker spoke on “How Do I Help My Child At Home?”  Both programs were sponsored by the St. Vrain Valley School District.

Parker gave the following tips for parents to help their children with math:

• Be a learner yourself.  Show your children you have an interest in continuing to learn math and play mathematical games as a family. 

• Be a researcher.  Try to understand your child’s mathematical thinking by asking questions and listening carefully.  Teaching by telling is not how children learn best; ask leading questions in response to their questions, and let children think through the answer themselves.

• Be a communicator.  Talk to your children about different ways to use math in every-day situations and different ways to think about math problems.  Encourage different ways to solve math problems.

Parker applauded the Seymour Math Investigations program, which was introduced across the district in the fall of 1999.  This program emphasizes students understanding math concepts and attaining number fluency, rather than rote memorization of computational formulas. 

She explained that the problem with simply learning formulas is that, in a new situation, students aren’t able to extrapolate from that information to solve the problem at hand.  If students rely simply on calculators or rote formulas for getting an answer, without having a general sense for numbers, they easily make mistakes that are off by a factor of 10 or even 100 without realizing anything is wrong. 

Parker is scheduled to present two more lectures on April 23 and 24.  For more information, contact Janine Gallagher at 303-682-7247.