This study examined the impact of a Family Math Night on preservice teachers' perceptions of low-income parents and their engagement in their children's education. Participants were enrolled in an elementary mathematics methods course; one section served as the treatment group. Participants were required to aid in the planning and implementation of a Family Math Night held at a school serving a predominantly African American, high-poverty community. Results of a pre-and post-survey analysis indicate that the treatment group had more positive perceptions of parental involvement overall. These results were not sustained 1 year later, suggesting important implications for mathematics teacher educators. Keywords elementary school, parent participation, parental involvement, poverty, preservice teachers, teacher education Urban Education 47 (6) 4. Learning at home: Supporting families to learn strategies to help children at home; 5. Decision making: Involving families in decisions about school programs that will impact children's learning; and 6. Collaborating with the community: Working with the community to create mutually beneficial resources (Epstein, 2001;Epstein et al., 2002).This article explores PSTs' perceptions of parental involvement in reference to the role of communication (Type 2) and methods to help parents learn how to help their children at home (Type 4). Specifically, the Family Math Night intervention that the PSTs engaged in allowed them the opportunity to open the lines of communication with parents and to support parents to learn specific mathematics strategies and activities that they could then practice with their children at home.This typological description of parental involvement (Epstein, 2001;Epstein et al., 2002) is based on extensive research in the area. This work further suggests that parental involvement is correlated with student performance (Scott Stein & Thorkildsen, 1999). In exploring this correlation Epstein and colleagues found that parents in higher-income settings are more involved in their children's education than low-income parents. Findings such as these may support preconceptions of parental involvement held by teachers. However, as indicated by Epstein and others, schools and teachers play an important role in family involvement. It is important for schools to consider the population of students (and parents) they serve when designing opportunities for parental involvement. It may be the structure of the interactions, rather than a lack of desire on the part of parents in lowincome settings, that prevent parents from becoming involved in their children's education.Perhaps because the connections between parental involvement and student performance are so strong, teachers often point to the lack of parental involvement by low-income, minority parents as a key factor in poor student performance and the achievement gap between low-income, minority students and their higher-income peers. Walker (2007) cites literature that it is common for teachers to perceive that the a...

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This article provides an overview of mathematical habits of the mind and discusses how the concept relates to Polya's problem solving principles as well as exemplification. Specific problems are discussed as a means to assist preservice elementary school teachers' in their development of mathematical habits of the mind. Without a technique to begin solving these rich problems, preservice teachers may have difficulty getting started. The process of preservice teachers outlining their thinking as they progress through Polya's process is discussed. Students' reflections from this technique are discussed to explore the outcomes that may be expected from establishing an environment where students are encouraged to develop mathematical habits of the mind.

Bar graphs and histograms are core statistical tools that are widely used in statistical practice and commonly taught in classrooms. Despite their importance and the instructional time devoted to them, many students demonstrate misunderstandings when asked to read and interpret bar graphs and histograms. Much of the research that has been conducted about these misunderstandings has been with students in introductory statistics classes at the college level. In this article, students in grades 6-12 completed multiple-choice and constructed-response questions about bar graphs and histograms as part of a larger study. The same misunderstandings that college-level students demonstrate were found in these younger students.

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