Page A5
AUGUST 26,1998
(Tlîf |Jortlanò (Dbserucr
Let's
Talk
li l
H ow to
H elp Your
K ids in M ath
and Science
W hen it com es to kids and
school work, most parents really
want to help. Trouble is. so often
we ju s t don ’t know what to do.
Especially with complex subjects
such as science and math (where,
ahem, not all of us applied our­
selves as well as we should have)
it’s not hard to feel uneasy about
how we could be helpful.
Taking a practical approach, the
Northwest Regional Educational
Laboratory’s Mathematics and Sci­
ence Education Center offers par­
ents and others some tips about
how they can support kids as they
take on challenging subjects.
In pulling together materials for
teachers to help families bolster
math and science learning, center
director Kit Peixotto and research-
writer Jennifer Stepanek came up
with some pointers for parents.
For exam ple, they say i t ’s
important that students recognize
and appreciate how math and sci­
ence skills are used in the real
world. Noting that parents don’t
always think about how they are
using mathematics and science in
everyday activities—such as cook­
ing, paying bills, preparing bud­
gets, shopping, reading maps, fix­
ing appliances, keeping score dur­
ing sports events—they urge par­
ents to include their children in
these ac tiv ities. It’s especially
important that parents make sure
the kids realize they’re doing math
and science when they participate
in these types of tasks.
One way parents can show their
interest and help their children to
think is by asking questions that
stimulate learning. Here are some
questioning techniques, gathered
from the research literature:
• When your children ask a ques­
tion, respond with: “That’s a good
question. What do you think?" or
“How can we find out?"
• Show interest in and listen to your
children’s questions and activities.
• Discuss activities before, during,
and after doing them. Encourage
your children to explain what they
0 r 7 n^ 1 nn'i
PSU Launches 15 New
Graduate Certificates
In an effort to reach the growing
number of working professionals
who want to further their career
development, Portland State Uni­
versity is offering 15 new graduate
certificate programs beginning this
fall.
The programs, administered by
the PSU Office of Graduate Studies
and Research, are tailored espe­
cially for professionals in engineer­
ing, environmental science and edu­
cation, and are designed to help fill
local industry hiring needs, said
Bill Feyerherm. PSU vice provost
for research and dean o f graduate
studies.
are doing and why as they go along.
• When you ask a question, give
your ch ild p len ty o f tim e to
respond. Try not to ask questions
with only yes-or-no answers.
• Encourage your children to make
predictions, make comparisons, and
draw conclusions.
• Share your curiosity with your
children. Let them see you ask
questions, make observations, and
draw conclusions.
• Don’t pretend that you know the
answer, and don't feel badly about
not knowing. Show your children
how to go about finding an answer.
• Ask your children questions about
their answers—even if they’re not
correct. Ask, “What made you think
that?” or “How did you get that
answer?” before you say that the
Standing before a backdrop
answer is right or wrong.
o f one o f P ortland’s hundreds
To find other things you might
o f chronic vandalism targets,
do to help your kids with math and
M ayor Vera Katz unveiled her
science, here are a few resources.
new anti-graffiti strategy at a
Helping Your Child Learn Science,
news
conference, along with
by N. Paulu and M. Martin, sug­
representatives o f the D istrict
gests activities for children ages
three through 10; and Helping Your
A ttorney’s O ffice, the Office o f
Child Learn Math, by N. Paulu, M.
N eighborhood A sso cia tio n s,
M artin and M. Scott, suggests
and the Central E astside Indus­
activities for children ages five
trial Council (CEIC),
through 13. Both are free and pub­
The strategy, which m akes
lished by the U.S. Department of
good on pledges Katz made dur­
Education (toll free: 1-877-433-
ing her State o f the City and
7827). Electronic copies are on its
Budget addresses, m oves for­
W eb site at w w w .ed.gov/pubs/
ward the city ’s aggressive graf­
parents.html. Another resource is
fiti abatem ent efforts by focus­
Exploring Everyday Math: Ideas
ing
on three areas: Education,
for Students. Teachers, and Parents
Eradication, and Enforcement.
by M. Apelman and J. King. If
unavailable locally, Northwest par­
“ We must raise aw areness
ents and teachers may borrow it
that graffiti does indeed degrade
and other resources from the Labo­
ratory’s Mathematics and Science
Education Center’s collection. See
its Web site at www.nwrel.org/
msec/, or call (503) 275-4999.
This column, by Karen Maha, is
provided as a public service by the
Northwest Regional Educational
Laboratory, a nonprofit institution
working with schools and commu­ M aking Life More Fun
nities in Alaska, Idaho, Montana,
(NAPS)—Single p a re n ts can
Oregon, and Washington.
find a singular opportunity to get
double benefits from belonging to
one interesting organization.
Graduate certificates will be of­
fered in: engineering geology, la­
sers and opto-electronics, com­
puter architecture and design, math­
ematics for middle school math
teachers, hydrology, children and
young adult literature, hydro-geol­
ogy, digital design, image process­
ing, digital signal processing, com­
munications systems, design auto­
mation, analog and microwave cir­
cuit design, environmental geol­
ogy, and integrated circuit test,
verification and validation. The
new programs join PSU ’s long
standing graduate certificate pro­
gram in gerontology.
Mayor Vera Katz
Unveils New Strategy
urban life and deteriorate our
environm ent-as surely as dirty
air and w ater,” said Katz.
“ I want to em phasize what I
said in my State o f the City
speech-that these are not bud­
ding young artists in search of
a palette-they are vandals.
G raffiti is not art, it is a scar
across the face o f our beautiful
city.”
F or se v e ra l m o n th s, the
M ayor’s Office has been w ork­
ing with the Central Eastside
Industrial Council, the Office of
N eig h b o rh o o d A sso c ia tio n s
Crime Prevention Coordinator,
and the Deputy D istrict A ttor­
n ey fo r SE P re c in c t to
strengthen the city ’s existing
code on graffiti.
The courses will be offered at
PSU’s main campus downtown be­
ginning in September, for more
general information, call the PSU
Office of Graduate Studies and Re­
search at 503-725-8410. Specific
academic departments can provide
additional details.
All interested applicants must
have bachelor’s degree from an ac­
credited institution and a cumula­
tive GPA of at least 2.75 in all under­
graduate courses.
Applicants with cumulative un­
dergraduate GPA between 2.50 and
2.74 may be under conditional ad­
mission only.
TRr /amilj of
!
Leamon George,
I
express our
warmest [Ranks
/or your kind
nets and
th o u g h tfu ln ess
in our time of
a
need.
«
AAAAAAA
OSU License Plates Now Available
Benny Beaver will soon be hit­
ting the road across Oregon.
The likeness o f the Oregon
State U niversity m ascot appears
on an new specialty license plate
now available form the Depart­
ment o f M otor Vehicles.
“ W e’ve worked with DMV for
about five months to bring the
new OSU group plates to life,"
said Bob Bruce, OSU executive
director o f com m unications and
marketing.
“We think they’ll be extremely
popular among alum ni, students,
parents and Beaver fans through­
out Oregon.”
The OSU plates can be ordered
at any DMV office. They are
available for passenger vehicles,
motor homes, and travel trailers.
Total costs vary depending on
use for initial registration, re­
newal or replacem ent.
Those costs will include a $32
per pair surcharge as part o f the
educational group plate program.
Funds form the surcharge col­
lection will be returned to OSU to
be u sed in s u p p o rt o f th e
university’s student scholarship
program.
X íí k
’ W rí
^ P o in te rs
For Parents
Portland Residents
Named To Dean’ s List
Four Portland residents have
recently been named to the dean's
list a, Boston U niversity for the
spring sem ester.
Students recognized for this
honor include: V ictor L. Nguyen,
B e n ja m in Z. O ld s , N ili A.
S c h iffm a n , and C h a rle s W.
Wende.
Boston U niversity is the third
largest independent university in
the United States, with an enroll­
ment o f nearly 30,000 students in
its 15 schools and colleges.
The University offers an ex­
ceptional grounding in the liberal
arts, a broad range o f programs in
the arts, engineering, science and
professional areas, and state-of-
the-art facilities for teaching and
research.
Located in the heart o f a city
rich in cultural and intellectual
attractions, the University is one
o f the nation's preem inent insti­
tutions o f higher learning.
irrns r a n >
Single parents and their chil­
dren can get many of their needs
met through one organization.
The thousands of members of
P a re n ts W ithout P a rtn e rs can
enjoy an (often ra re) chance to
socialize with other ad u lts who
share and understand some of the
challenges and charm s of single
parenthood. They also get a great
place to bring th eir children for
o u tin g s and c e le b ra tio n s w ith
other single-parent families.
The group also offers help in the
form of educational activities, a
newsletter, group insurance, pur­
chasing discounts and scholarships.
To learn more, look in the phone
book for the nearest chapter or see
th e Web site a t http://w w w .
parentswithoutpartners.org.
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