Final Project Narrative: Family Communication
When I started my journey to becoming an educator I was excited to have my own classroom and students of my own. While college prepares future teachers how to write lesson plans and integrate a lesson with multiple contents, it does not quite prepare you for the skill of parent communication. As someone who is not a fan of confrontation, I was always afraid to reach out to parents with concerns about their child with fear of families responding in defense and anger. Even though I knew all of the positives that went along with family communication, there was something holding me back. In fact, my belief is that students learn best when there is a strong relationship and communication with families so what was I waiting for?
For those of us that read and analyzed Sherry Turkle and Dr. Michael Wesch, both emphasize the need for conversation. In an e-mail or text message I can edit and perfect my message and be presented in the professional light I want to be seen in. When I call someone on the phone or have a conversation face-to-face, I always have the concern that I am going to say the wrong thing and there is no “edit” button in a conversation. This type of concern is a classic example of how technology interferes with how we interact with each other.
As I progressed in my teaching career, my communication with families has definitely improved, particularly during distance learning. Whether it be phone calls, e-mails, text messages, or Zoom meetings I have made more of an effort to include parents in the conversation when it comes to concerns regarding their child. However, this year I will be teaching a new grade level. The last two years I was a middle school science teacher and this fall I will be a third grade teacher. This move drives a lot of necessary changes in terms of classroom management, curriculum, and teaching style but I want to change the way I communicate with families. I want this new opportunity to start as a clean slate and push myself to include parents in classroom discussions more than before.
When I was planning this project I knew this is something I wanted to change about my teaching. As technology evolves so rapidly, opportunities are evolving. New apps, websites, and resources are constantly being developed so people can reach out to whoever they want, whenever they want.
Using my belief that students learn best when there is communication with families, I decided to think what I could do to support this. As we went through distance learning, I realized the importance of families knowing what was being learned and accomplished in the classroom. In addition to the knowledge of what is going on, parents should know what resources are available for students to help with academics. Education does not only happen in school and parents should feel equipped to contribute to their child’s education in their own home.
After brainstorming these ideas about how I want parents to be included, the question became: How do I do this? The answer I came up with was a class website using Google Sites. A one-stop-shop for weekly assignments/homework, resources, contact information, and so much more. Since most of the families that attend my school are Spanish speaking I would present all information in English and Spanish. This Google Site would be given to parents upon the first day of school and explained during an orientation.
There would be four tabs: Home, Weekly Assignments, Resources, and Contact Ms. O. On the “Home” page there would be an introduction to the class/ site and an “About Ms. O” segment at the bottom. The “Weekly Assignments” tab would bring parents to a summary of what students will be learning that week in class and the homework assignments to look out for. The “Resources” page would provide links to academic resources (Zearn, ReadWorks, etc.) as well as school-specific resources (family engagement information, upcoming ESL classes for adults, etc.). Finally, the “Contact Ms. O” page would provide families with my e-mail, the school’s phone number, and the Talking Points code for our class.
Talking Points is a great application that will help carry out my mission to communicate with parents more frequently. It is a texting app in which teachers can send text messages to all of the families in the class (i.e. reminders) or where families can text the teacher about concerns and vice versa. All parents have to do is download the app and put in a class code. Text messages will be translated into their home language and then back to English when sent to the teacher. Language barriers can have a big impact on family and teacher communication and this app allows that challenge to lessen and make all parties more comfortable with reaching out.
Whenever thinking of including a piece of technology in my classroom, I think about the following criteria: how frequently it will be used, how customized/individualized/differentiated it can become, user friendliness, and relevance. I want to make sure I am introducing pieces of technology that will support what students are learning and add context. Scott Noon, a professor at Connected University who labeled stages of technology use in classrooms, describes an “electronic traditionalist” as someone who is comfortable using technology in the classroom for activities like lesson plans, grade books, tests, quizzes, online projects, Webquests, etc. The next step up from an electronic traditionalist is a “techno-constructivist” who is someone that uses technology to build on student experiences, “construct their own meaning, create products, and solve problems successfully”. When I think about using a class website and Talking Points to communicate with the families of students in my classroom, I think this falls in between these two categories. A class website and communication app are traditional uses of technology but including parents and providing them with resources allows them to create and solve with their student. In this case, I am thinking of the families as the learners and trying to provide them with technology that can equip them to build on student learning.
A student’s education is impacted by so many more factors than just what is happening in the classroom. As an adult, when something is happening in your personal life it is going to affect your mood, performance, and motivation. It is so important that teachers and families bridge the gap of school and home to make the student’s learning experience continuous and meaningful. When students see their academics transferring to their personal lives, those learning experiences become relevant and an opportunity for students to dig deeper. Dr. Wesch advocates for education to be relevant to student interests and urges teachers to get to know their students to guide them where they want to be. When families and teachers communicate, these connections can be made and teachers will understand their students so much better.
Self-Asessment
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