Rutgers FOCUS
October 9, 1998

FANS PROJECT

By Jeanne Jackson

Many parents today went to school before computers and calculators made their way into the classroom, when all you needed for math class was a sharpened pencil and a clean sheet of paper.

That's why it may be difficult for them to understand what their children are doing in their math and science classes, especially with the new standards for New Jersey schools emphasizing hands-on problem solving and technology.

But that could change thanks to the work of the FANS project (Families Achieving the New Standards in math, science and technology education), founded by Warren D. Crown, professor of mathematics education at the Graduate School of Education, and Joseph G. Rosenstein, professor of mathematics in New Brunswick.

"Technology has drastically changed the world we live in," explained Crown. "Today's skills are different from those that students' parents needed when they graduated from high school."

On an evening in late September, about 20 parents gathered at Holy Angels School in Hamilton Township just outside Trenton to learn about these new skills at a FANS workshop designed by Crown and Rosenstein.

After receiving a packet of informative materials to take home, the parents found themselves in groups of three or four huddled around a table seeking the solution to the problem of how much water per day a leaky faucet loses. As one parent squeezed out water from an eyedropper, another held a watch to time the drops, while a third wrote down the results.

Not all the parents came up with the same solution, but in these experiments the process is as important as the answer. The experiments showed parents the kind of hands-on learning that is an integral part of New Jersey's new science and math standards for kindergarten through 12th grade.

The state standards, which Crown and Rosenstein helped develop in a set of guidelines for teachers, go beyond the basic-skills requirements of the past. They are aimed at getting students to use math and science in their daily lives and improving the way math and science are taught. Through experimentation and observation, students learn to solve problems and explain their reasoning, much as the parents at Holy Angels School were asked to do. The stress is on using new technologies, working in groups and reasoning.

Crown and Rosenstein designed FANS to inform parents about the new standards and how they will better prepare children for the world we live in. They want parents to be excited enough about the new standards to take an interest in their children's courses. They hope many parents will begin working on math and science projects at home with their children and will contact school administrators to make sure the standards are being implemented at their schools.

Their goal is an ambitious one: In the next two years, they plan to get 300,000 parents -- parents of half the school-age children in the state -- to participate in the workshops. The Rutgers researchers have already helped train some 500 group leaders, most of whom are math and science teachers, and by next year they plan to double that number.

Crown and Rosenstein hope to get hard-to-reach parents in urban areas involved through workshops at churches and community centers. There are plans to offer the workshops and materials, including a 30-minute videotape, in Spanish.

Holy Angels Principal Eileen Brett, who led the FANS workshop, said she is convinced that hands-on learning works better than the old rote learning. "It's a much slower process but it's more secure," she said.

Parents participating in the workshops this fall gave FANS rave reviews. "Parents who attend this will have a much more positive sense about math and science learning and about what the math and science standards expect from their children," said Rosenstein.

The parents at Holy Angels School seemed to take the point of the workshop to heart. Said Maria Busch, one of the parents at the workshop, "I think it was a really good way to teach that math is part of life."

AT&T adds its support

By Ruby Keise

Professors Joseph Rosenstein and Warren Crown received a check Oct. 2 from the AT&T Foundation to support the FANS program. The check, which was presented at a ceremony in Winants Hall, is part of a $200,000, two-year grant to the project, which is helping parents understand the new mathematics and science standards being implemented in New Jersey schools.

The funding will be used to purchase and develop printed materials and videotapes; to develop Spanish versions of the materials; and to cover personnel costs associated with coordination of FANS.

"A project like FANS requires the participation of a number of partners in order to be successful," said President Francis L. Lawrence in welcoming AT&T executives and parents to a FANS workshop that followed the check presentation. "Today we have a natural match of state needs, AT&T's interests and resources, and Rutgers' knowledge and expertise."

"FANS represents an old technology -- communities working together in support of their children," said Larry Leverett, superintendent of the Plainfield school district. "It is an example of a village raising a child."

In presenting the check, Jack McMaster, AT&T president-Atlantic States, said: "There is often talk of an emerging digital divide and it is very important that that divide gets bridged."

Among the other Rutgers administrators attending the event were Christine M. Haska, vice president for institutional research and planning; Louise C. Wilkinson, dean of GSE; and Michael W. Carroll, executive director of the Rutgers University Foundation.

FANS, run by the New Jersey Mathematics Coalition based at Rutgers, was started in 1997 with a $1.6 million, three-year grant from the National Science Foundation. Other organizations providing funding include New Jersey's Statewide Systemic Initiative, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the Mid-Atlantic Eisenhower Consortium for Mathematics and Science Education, and the Merck Institute for Science Education.