Communication Professional Development Workshop

ONGOING, RECIPROCAL TEACHER/PARENT COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION SHARING FOR INCLUSIVE GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHERS Judith Laten, SPE 540: Family Centered Practices Arizona State University

Is this effective communication?

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baZso0xm0PQ (Halloween 1125, ND)

  “Differences in expectations and misunderstandings about each other’s goals can lead to uncertain and tenuous, even contentious, relationships” (Risko, & Walker-Dalhouse, 2009).

Do you agree with these statements?

  “Effective two-way communication between teachers and families strengthen family involvement in their children’s education” (Hunt & Ratcliff, 2009, p. 502).

  “One of the greatest barriers to developing teacher-family partnerships is overcoming the negative attitudes associated with the subject that some educators possess” (Hunt & Ratcliff, 2009, p. 498).

What is wrong with this picture?

Discussion:

How might the school staff and parents avoid the apparent problems in the future?

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hwDeD8hhn8 (TeachertubeSPED, 2009, October 23)

  Family involvement is defined in many ways. Professional educators need to build functioning reciprocal relationships with families where they do not exist. (Hunt & Ratcliff, 2009)

Ongoing, reciprocal teacher/parent communication is important because…

  “Family involvement that is based on a foundation of shared responsibility for learning on behalf of better outcomes for the child is critically important; this is reinforced by the research on family-school connections insofar as it shows that when families and schools connect, build a relationship, and communicate meaningful information, children do better in school” (Weiss, Bouffard, Bridglall, & Gordon, 2009, p. 21).

Why is this important to you as inclusive general education teachers?

Students Benefit

  Motivation for learning increases   Behavior improves   Attendance becomes regular   Positive attitudes about homework   Consistency in home/school expectations   Improved skills generalization

Parents Benefit

  Increased awareness of value of their unique insights about their child

  Better understanding of effective strategies and interventions

  Feel valued and respected, leading to greater overall satisfaction with school experience


Teachers Benefit

  Better understanding of students’ needs   Increased confidence   Positive interactions increase morale   Friendships develop

  (American federation of Teachers, 2007)


Today you will…

  Research about teacher/parent communication

  Practices that encourage mutually beneficial two-way communication between teachers and parents

  Institutional and individual communication

  Nonjudgmental statements

  Positive statements that overcome negative subject matter

Read, identify, and discuss: Design and develop:

Two levels of communication between schools and families

1. Institutional Communication  School plan for communicating with all parents  Plays, practices, PTO, open house, newsletters,

calendars  Potential to promote school-family relationships, but

does not ensure strong school/parent partnerships  Opportunity to let parents know how additional

information will be shared with them throughout the year – newsletters, websites, parent liaisons, emails, etc.

Two levels of communication between schools and families

2. Individual Communication  Between teachers and parents involving a particular

child  Face-to-face: conferences, casual contacts  Technology: phone calls, emails, notes, logs  Strong potential for ongoing, mutual partnerships

between parents and teachers

(Halsey, 2005)

Types of individual communication

  Notebook, checklist, note, daily journal/agenda  May be formatted: circle, check off, or short entry  Caution – short entry may sound curt or harsh

  Phone calls   Face-to-face visit   Home visit   Progress reports


  Digital portfolio  Assess and document learning  Communication offer “glimpse” into classroom  Time intensive for teacher  Not all parents have access to computer

(McLeod & Vasinda, 2009)


  E-mail  Asynchronous communication is more convenient  Possible misinterpretation due to cue restrictions

 Restricts vocal and nonverbal cues  State concerns about misrepresentation up front  Focus on positive and factual statements

 Set limits and boundaries  Student reliance on backup plan may hinder responsibility  Some topics better suited to phone or face-to-face (Thompson, 2009)

What do parents want?

  Use comments that do not “cause harm”  May inadvertently convey personal biases and

attitudes

  Make statements nonjudgmental  Discuss specific behaviors: how they directly impact the

child’s schooling  Behaviors interfere with learning but are not “bad”  Focus on improving home-school relationships.

(Montgomery, 2005)


  Timely notification of concerns about student problems

  Contributions recognized and appreciated by schools

  Direct communication, trust, respect, emphasis on common goal

(Miretzky, 2004)


  Smile, laugh, and enthusiastically share stories about funny things, successes, and developing interests noticed at school

  Speak positively, respectfully about child and family even among your peers

(Boers, 2001; Rich, 1998)

What do teachers want?

  Trust, emphasis on common goal   Timely notification of concerns   Clarification of facts before parents accept student

versions of concerning events   Respect for training and experience   Recognition of contributions and accomplishments

(Miretzky, 2004)

Common themes begin to emerge

  Warmth, empathy, respect, genuineness, listening, goals of forming mutually beneficial partnerships and two-way communication

  Diminish perceived power imbalances resulting in polarization

(Maring & Magelky, 1990; Risko & Walker-Dalhouse, 2009)

Keep it positive

A first- Something positive about her child http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjh8yYCf4Is&feature=related

(EarnedWisdom Tech, 2008)

“For family members to believe that their thoughts and feelings are respected, teachers must engage in two-way communication with family members that is positive and supportive” (Hunt & Ratcliff, 2009, p. 499).

Positive comments

Activity sheet:

Find positive, nonjudgmental alternatives to the statements in column one. You may use statements in column two or develop your own.

  Give specific guidance for taking action   Maintain the dignity of the child   State in informative manner   Overcome negative subject matter

(Brualdi, 1998)

Tips for communicating with families

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_16Dbekc30k&feature=related

(TorrieatKIT, 2010, August 12)

What have we learned?

  Research supports ongoing, reciprocal communication between parents and schools.

  Inclusive general education teachers can practice institutional and individual communication to benefit students, parents, and teachers.

  Communication should be nonjudgmental and positive.   We all want to be treated with respect, be

recognized for our contributions, and…

Communication Matters

References:

American Federation of Teachers (2007). Readingrockets: Building parent–teacher relationships. Washington, D.C.: American Federation of Teachers. Retrieved November 17, 2010 from http://www.readingrockets.org/article/19308/?theme=print

Boers, D. (2001). What I hope for in my children’s teachers: A parent’s perspective. The Clearing House, 75(1), 51-54.

Brualdi, A. (1998). Teacher comments on report cards. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 6(5). Retrieved November 20, 2010, from http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=6&n=5

EarnedWisdom Tech (2008, July 24). A first—Something positive about her child (Involving Pare [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjh8yYCf4Is&feature=related

Halsey, P. A. (2005). Parent involvement in junior high schools: A failure to communicate. American Secondary Education 34(1), 57-69.

Halloween 1125 (ND). School answering machine [Video file]. Retrieved November 16, 2010 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baZso0xm0PQ

Hunt, G., & Ratcliff, N. (2009). Building teacher-family partnerships: The role of teacher preparation programs. Education, 129(3), 495-505.

Maring, G. H., & Magelky, J. (1990). Working with parents: Effective communication: Key to parent/community involvement. The Reading Teacher, 43(8) 606-607.

McLeod, J. K., & Vasinda, S. (2009). Electronic portfolios: Perspectives of students, teachers and parents. Educational Information Technology, 14, 29-38.

Miretzky, D. (2004). The communication requirements of democratic schools: Parent-teacher perspectives on their relationships. Teachers College Record, 106(4), 814-851.

Montgomery, D. J. (2005). Communicating without harm: Strategies to enhance parent-teacher communication. Teaching Exceptional Children, 37(5), 50-55.

Rich, D. (1998). What parents want from teachers. Educational Leadership, May, 37-39.

Risko, V. J., & Walker-Dalhouse, D. (2009) Parents and teachers: Talking with or past one another-or not talking at all? The Reading Teacher, 62(5), 442-444.

TeachertubeSPED (2009, October 23). Parent school communication [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hwDeD8hhn8

Thompson, B. (2009). Parent-teacher e-mail strategies at the elementary and secondary levels. Qualitative Research Reports in Communication, 10(1), 17-25.

TorriatKIT (2010, August 12). Important interactions: How to communicate effectively with parents [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_16Dbekc30k&feature=related

Weiss, H. B., Bouffard, S. M., Bridglall, B. L., & Gordon, E. W. (2009). Reframing family involvement in education: Supporting families to support educational equity. (Equity Matters: Research Review No. 5: A Research Initiative of the Campaign for Educational Equity). Retrieved November 18, 2010, from http://www.hfrp.org/publications-resources/browse-our-publications/reframing-family-involvement-in-education-supporting-families-to-support-educational-equity