I particularly enjoyed looking at data on home communication. There have been many times in my career that I was frustrated by the lack of contact information and also the response rate from parents.
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| Source: Project Tomorrow's Speak Up "School-to-Home Communication" |
After reviewing theses statistics, I have so many ideas on ways my school could improve their communications. I think one of the first steps is to ask the parents their preferred method or communication and have that information accessible to the staff.
Another report I found fascinating was Project Tomorrow's Speak Up “Flipped, Blended, Virtual: New Classroom Models, Technology & Personalized Learning” report. I love the idea of a flipped classroom and the results from the report just furthered my excitement to jump into that territory. I can completely understand why 61% of teachers believe a flipped classroom increases more individualized learning. I definitely think blended and flipped classroom are the way of the future. Students can work at their own pace, but also receive so much one-to-one instruction as they need it.
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| Project Tomorrow's Speak Up "Flipped, Blended, Virtual" |
I’m excited to create a flipped classroom, but probably need some guidance. I think I will start here.
This valuable research is important to review every year, as students and technology change so rapidly. I am definitely going to keep these reports in my "toolbox" to ensure I am meeting my students needs.
Hi, Amy.
ReplyDeleteI am seeing your comments about parental preferences for communication. Although they might prefer texts, I am unwilling to give out my cell phone number to a parent. I do not want my students' parents to think that they can contact me at any time and expect instantaneous responses outside of the school day. If they call my extension, they will get a call back. If they email, I will respond by the end of the day or if received in the evening the very first opportunity the next school day. If they have my number, it may start as texts, but then they might want to call, and then they might think you are at their beck and call at any time. If parents want feedback, they can subscribe to my Google Classroom feed which I update near weekly, and for more personalized feedback, calls to my extension or email messages to which I will reply promptly.
Scott, many teachers use Remind.com to set up texting communication with parents. Remind does NOT give parents your personal number (in fact you never even enter it when you sign up for a free account). With Remind you can set the text to be one-way with no replies back to you allowed or two-way for questions/comments. Most teachers I know keep the one-way feature checked :)
DeleteAnother great feature is that Remind never deletes your texts so for those who need this for evaluation (to show communication with parents) it is a great way to provide evidence. You can embed the Remind feed in a website and parents can opt for texts or emails.
Thanks for the resource. I just know that other colleagues of mine do share their cell with parents. And many regret it later. Just wanted to share a warning :)
DeleteI love that you chose to consider parent communication. This has such an impact on student behaviors yet it's not something that is always consciously thought about. See my comment above to Scott for another option.
ReplyDeleteAlso happy to see you are interested in Flipped Learning! It is teacher-heavy in the beginning but starting small is still starting! Best of luck.
Hi Amy,
ReplyDeleteParent communication was such a good choice of a topic to explore. I enjoyed your post! I think all teachers can relate to a time where they tried to communicate with a parent and that communication went unanswered. This year at our high school we decided to send semester report cards via our online portal. When this announcement went out, we had about half of the schools parents asking us how to even log into the portal. This showed us that they were not logging on throughout the semester to view students grades, check teacher emails and notifications, or view homework assignments. The struggle continues!
I also like that you are taking a step in the direction of flipped learning. It's something I've only tried once, since our school is focusing on that in professional development this year. It's definitely nerve racking to begin!
I know at my current school and at my previous school we had parent training sessions for being able to log on and use the school's online resources. One is usually just before the first day of school and another in the spring - the latter mostly for the parents of students who will be getting new tech in the fall. Does ND offer anything like that? It might look good for you professionally to head up such an initiative :)
DeleteI ask parents at the beginning of the year on my parent survey how they prefer to communicate. Several years ago, most would mark email, since they could respond when they had a moment and not get interrupted at work. Now all but a couple of my parents prefer text. I agree with Scott and don't give my cell number out to parents. I started using the Remind App and absolutely love it. Parents can send me a message, or I can send them one. You can log into their website and print or download a report of your conversations with a parent, which is great. I have several students with challenging behaviors, and this has been a great way to quickly contact their parents for support or to let them know what's going on.
ReplyDeleteAmy,
ReplyDeleteThose are some really interesting statistics. Students are more unique than they have ever been and I think the way we communicate with them and their families has to be as well. I started using the Remind App this year and it has totally changed the lines of communication in my classroom