Parent-Teacher Communications

Assignment #3Education 4762

Gemma Rae

Problem: What is the best way to enhance, and encourage, parent-teacher communication?

This is a significant problem because I believe parent-teacher communication is imperative in order to promote a positive learning environment. Communication is a fundamental element of any relationship. The parent-teacher relationship is one which requires effective dialogue to ensure that a positive environment is developed between home and school. A functional relationship between parents and teachers is needed in order to solve problems, and find the best solutions for students.

Although I do think this is an extremely important part of a teacher’s job, I was lacking in this area during my practicums. I was hardly ever in touch with my student’s parents, and to be honest made minimal effort to do so. This is something I definitely will be improving upon during my next practicum.

With the vast amount of emerging technology, there are many tools that could be used to address this problem. The tools offer varying degrees of solutions, but many can be used creatively to promote communications.

I chose to solve this problem with Weebly, a free, online, website creator. It is professional, efficient, effective, and easy to navigate. The following slides will describe how I came to this conclusion.

Problem Solving Strategies

In order to find the most appropriate solution for this problem, I used to following problem solving strategies:

Break the Problem into Sub Groups, Brainstorm, Work Backwards, Visually Represent Problem, and Start With the Most In Depth Approach.

These strategies really helped me discover what the problem areas were, and what qualities I was looking for in a tool to effectively solve it.

Strategy #1 - Break into Sub Groups

The following are areas that I feel cause difficulty concerning Parent-Teacher Communication.

Keeping all parents continually informed and up-to-date - it is very time consuming

Different schedules of parents and teacher enhance problem

Need to be communicating not only negative comments, but also positive ones

Parents don’t have easy access to information about what happens in class, due dates, class schedules, reminders, etc.

Encouraging 2 way communication between parents and teachers

Basically, keeping parents in the loop is the biggest problem. We need to help the parents stay involved in their child’s education!

Strategy #2 - Brain StormThe following is a list made up of all the ways I could think of to solve this problem.

I tried to think about the problem from both a traditional perspective, and a 21st Century perspective.

Phone Calls

Email

Notes Home

School Newsletter

Classroom Newsletter

Home Journals

Agenda Notes

Blog

Twitter

Weebly

Voice Mail Message

Comment Sheet

Paper LI

Parent-Teacher Meetings

Strategy #3 - Work BackwardsFor this strategy, I thought of all the qualities I wanted to see in the solution to this problem. Anything that I felt was important and needed to be addressed, I put on this list. This was useful when looking into different options, I could always look

back at this list and make sure these areas were being met.

A solution that is time efficient for all parties involved

Works with different schedules

Effective in Communication

Provides 2 Way Communication

Contains both Public and Private discussion

Easy to Use

Conveniently Accessible - Preferably anywhere, anytime

Easy to update in order to provide continual involvement and knowledge for parents.

BONUS - Environmentally Friendly

Strategy #4 - Visual RepresentationFor this strategy I used an online mind mapping tool to visually lay out the problems associated with parent-teacher communications. This is a useful

strategy for me because I am a very visual person, and like to map out my work.

I realized that different

information is important for parents and

students. My solution will

separate the information needed for

students, from that needed for parents, so the tool is easy to

navigate.

I felt the best tool to start looking into would be Weebly. I was fairly unfamiliar with this tool, and had never created my own website before. It seemed to be the most in-depth tool, as it provided a lot of features I thought would be useful.

After perusing this website and becoming acquainted with the tool, I could already tell it had the elements I was looking for. I experimented with many different design elements, and layout features and eventually began to create a mock class web page.

I could easily align my list of desired elements with the features offered through Weebly. After observing this, I was confident that I could continue on with Weebly, and solve the problem of parent-teacher communication.

Strategy #5 - Depth FirstWhen using this strategy, you start with the option that is the most in-depth. This allows you to start with the

option that appears to be the most involved with the problem you are tackling. I like using this approach because it requires you to fully exhaust the option before moving on to a new one. This works out well because you can put all your efforts into one tool, without being distracted part way through by other

possible options.

How Does Weebly Solve This Problem?

I decided to proceed with Weebly as the solution to this problem. It is an easy, yet effective and efficient, solution to improving parent-teacher

communications.

Information can be broadcast to all parents at once - significantly cuts down on time.

Positive remarks can be shared and celebrated, not just talking to parents over negative issues.

Allows for 2 Way Communication

Links to Email

Private & Public Communication

Accessible at all Times

Works with varying schedules of families and teacher

Easy to Use

Inexpensive - FREE!

Environmentally Friendly

Convenient

All information can be found in one location

Attribute Activation MatrixProblem Dimensions Tool Attributes Rationale

Encourage Parent InvolvementAllows for photos, calendars, class volunteer

opportunities, and important information to be shared with parents.

Encouraging parent involvement in their child’s education is appreciated by parents. Even if they cannot volunteer in the class, it is helpful just to

be filled in on what’s happening in the classroom.

Need to accommodate busy, varying schedules

Online. Accessible at any time as long as there is an internet connection.

The accessibility of the tool is important for busy families who don’t have time to meet with the teacher.

Public and Private ForumsParents and Teacher can post and reply to public blog,

or use the link to private email

Publishing public information to all parents at once saves a lot of time for teachers. Yet, parents still need a place to raise specific, private

concerns.

Need 2 Way CommunicationBlog is included for teacher to update parents on

what’s going on. Parents can reply to blog posts or send private emails for teacher to reply to.

To establish successful communication, both parties need to be able to contact one another when needed. The ability to get in touch and

express concerns or questions is very important.

Need to celebrate positives, not just punish negatives.

Allows for photos of fun class activities, and will have a “Student of The Week” feature

It’s important for parent-teacher relations to acknowledge positive contributions made by students. Parents will respond better when they

know the teacher is on their child’s side.

One Location to Find Short and Long Term Deadlines &

Important Dates

Allows for a calendar page describing important monthly announcements. Also can show weekly

homework assignments.

Having one central location for all upcoming deadlines and important dates is convenient for parents, students, and the teacher. Parents know exactly where to look to find the information, and Students are never

without assignment due dates.

Weebly is an online, free, web page creator. It allows for the creation of

professional looking web pages, in an easy to understand format. Editing is simple and straightforward. Final products are

easy to navigate for users.

This is the homepage of the

class website I created. The home

page has a Welcome note, and clearly

labelled headings to direct Parents and Students to what

they’re looking for.These headings

make the site very easy to navigate.

This page allows students and

parents to get to know a bit about

the teacher. Sharing some basic facts and hobbies “humanizes” the teacher and can make them more

relatable. This is a good idea,

especially for the start of the year

when relationships are being

established.

The “Announcements” page has a list of upcoming deadlines, and important dates. It also includes parent volunteer opportunities. There is a link on this page that

takes you to a calendar layout of the same information.

This allows parents and students to keep up to date with upcoming deadlines and school

activities.

Under the heading “Homework Updates” is a weekly schedule of homework. This is available for both students and parents to

see. This should reduce instances of students forgetting due dates, and should keep parents knowledgeable about school

work.

“Student Links” page allows for helpful student resources to be uploaded. These can be explored by students on their own time, or could be directly

related to their homework.

Parent Links is a page that provides parents with helpful links. It also provides a library link for those who don’t have computers at home.

These families can go to the public library and access information from there, or any other computer connected to the internet.

This page also contains the Private Contact Form - a form that links directly to teacher

email. This is a forum to raise specific, private, concerns.

The Blog page allows the teacher to write

blog posts about what is happening in

class. This is an informal, yet

informative, way to share with parents the fun activities

being done in class. Parents can reply to

these blog posts with any questions or comments. The

teacher can then respond to these

comments. This is a great forum to share

public information intended for all

parents.

Problem Solved?I think that the solution decided upon, Weebly, was a great tool to use in order to solve this problem. It

provides teachers, parents, and students, a one stop location for all information about the class. It addresses the need for 2 way communication, as well as allowing for both private and public communications. All of the

problems I have been looking at have been solved. A webpage allows for a very accessible and convenient tool for families with busy schedules. It is not always easy to find time to call, or set up a meeting. A webpage

allows for parents to gain the information and communication they need, at a time that works for them. The only limitation I feel this technology presents is that not all families will have access to a computer at home. If

the family does not have any internet connected device (smart phone, tablet, computer, etc.) then perhaps a library computer could be used, or print copes of the information could easily be distributed.

Now that I have created this webpage I feel confident I could put it into use for my next practicum, or future teaching jobs. It is a great tool, and now I have got the foundation laid to continue building upon.

The website I created can be accessed at www.msrae.weebly.com

ResourcesFreytag, C. E. (2001). Teacher-Parent Communication: Starting the Year off Right.

Weebly Inc. (2012). Create a Free Website and a Free Blog. Retrieved June 1 2012, from http://www.weebly.com/