Participants rated highly the fact that they could see in the group that people approached problems in very different ways, and that there was no one, right way. They said it gave them confidence that their way would be acceptable, and would work.
When asked, in the final interview, what they didn’t like about the group, many said, “nothing.” I pushed them a little on this, by saying that I wanted future groups to be the best they could be, and I’d appreciate any feedback that would make it better. To this, I got replies, that they would have liked each session to be longer, or to have more sessions. They mentioned they would like more baking and more Rummoli. One commented that she had enjoyed playing Rummoli several times in several different sessions, and would have liked to repeat some of the other activities as well. Only one person suggested that he would have liked worksheets and more traditional math activities.
Parents who participated in the family math activities in this project developed a deeper understanding that math is everywhere in daily life, and began to see math as more than just school math. They developed a new awareness of the possibility of helping children with math, and some strategies to do it. Many of them improved their ability to communicate about math to their kids. Especially in light of the difficulty of recruiting participants, and in the light of sporadic attendance by participants, several conclusions can be drawn about recruiting participants and about the most fruitful shape and format of the math groups and activities: draw on parents’ strengths, develop and use activities that are fun and different from school math; use a holistic approach; focus on the importance of developing skills through play; emphasize the unimportance of getting the right answer; and use an egalitarian facilitation style.
Based on the findings of this study, recommendations about content and facilitation of family math groups can be made in several areas.
Establishing a sense of comfort and safety is of paramount importance, even before the group starts. Posters, information sessions, and other publicity should establish that the sessions and the activities will not expect parents to already know math before they can work with their kids. Nearly every participant in this study expressed surprise that family math could look so different from school math; while it may be impossible ahead of time to convince potential participants of this fact, it is important to give them an idea of what to expect if they participate. If you are trying to recruit parents who themselves did not do well in school math, they may not trust you no matter what you say. The best recruitment tool may be word-of-mouth advertising, so it may help to feature parents who have previously attended a group on the posters or at information sessions.