Homework: a family affair
The more involved parents are with their children's education, the better the kids do in school, a UW-Madison researcher has found. But, says Brad Brown, a professor of educational psychology, the type of involvement that's appropriate may change through the years. For instance, if a teenager won't accept mom's help with homework, she may need to ask the school to assign a tutor instead. And if a teen thinks it's not "cool" for dad to show up at school for parents' night, perhaps he can become active in the school as a mentor. Either way, parents demonstrate a commitment to education - and kids notice.

Sacrificing convention for invention
Linus Pauling used tinker toys to visualize DNA. Mozart composed complete symphonies in his mind before putting them on paper. Some say this ability to use analogs and imagery is the essence of creativity. UW-Madison education researchers are exploring how best to encourage creativity in students. "We've applied that research by urging education majors to ask their future students open-ended questions, without a 'right' answer," says Robert Clasen, emeritus professor of educational psychology. More than 100 teachers have finished UW-Madison master's degrees emphasizing gifted education. With new Wisconsin laws that require schools to provide appropriate gifted education, Clasen thinks more students than ever will be "finding solutions to problems in ways we never imagined."