Educators value the involvement and support of parents, guardians, families and communities in schools.
Educators understand, respect and support the role of parents and the community in the education of students. Educators communicate effectively and in a timely manner with parents and consider their advice on matters pertaining to their children.
Evidence: Letter to Families & Reflection
I have chosen a letter that I wrote for parents/guardians of the students in my practicum class this semester as evidence for TRB Standard 4. I wrote a letter introducing myself to the families of my practicum students and extending an invitation to parents to introduce themselves and to reach out if they have any questions for me.
Prior to writing this letter, I felt that communication with parents was something I valued in the classroom. As I was deciding what to write and how to word it, I realized that this letter is my way of showing the parents and families that I want to get to know them as well as their child. Through this process, I learned that not only am I a guest in the classroom, but I am a guest in their child’s life, and I want them to know that I am more than happy to meet them and answer any questions they may have for me. It is just as important to build a relationship with the parents as with the students, and this letter is my way of ensuring that the families feel welcome to get to know me.
This evidence has impacted my belief about teaching and learning relative to the standard by helping me realize how important it is to open the door to building a relationship with the families in addition the students. I think it is important for teachers and families to build strong relationships and have open communication with one another. Ultimately, both families and educators have the best interests of the student in mind and by opening the door to open communication and beginning to lay a foundation for a relationship, I believe we can better meet the needs of our students together.
The American Federation of Teachers stated that there is evidence showing that parent involvement benefits students in a variety of ways, including increased academic achievement, higher attendance rates, and a more positive attitudes towards school overall. When both the families and the teacher are communicating about what is happening in their child’s classroom and life, the ability of both parties to provide the support needed to the child increases. I believe open-communication between school and home benefits all learning styles, the more support a student has both at home and at school, the more successful they will be.
One of the strengths of writing a letter introducing myself to parents is that it will be distributed to all of the families. As opposed to an open-house, where I depend on parents physically coming to me, I am able to reach all parents by sending something directly home with each student. This also gives each family my contact information if there is anything they would like to contact me directly about, but don’t have the ability to come talk to me in person. This letter has also been sent out along with my Sponsor Teacher’s weekly newsletter, so it is a method of communication that the parents have already been introduced to and have been using since September.
This Standard is important to me because I truly believe that communication and involvement between parents, teachers, and the community is essential. As mentioned above, students success is linked to good relationships and communication between school and home, and as a teacher it is my duty to always have the best interests of my students in mind. As I grow as a teacher, I plan to continue to communicate with parents and find new ways to build positive relationships and open communication with all of the families of my future students. I think of parents and the community as resources that can enrich and strengthen the learning we are doing that with proper communication can be utilized. Some examples of how this could happen are bringing in guest speakers (parents, family or community members) or going on field trips (utilizing parent/community connections to organize them).
This standard also relates to improving my attitudes towards teaching and learning by enabling me to model open communication for my students. One of the core competencies we are trying to promote with the revised curriculum is communication. By modelling this competency and improving my communication skills as I interact with parents and find new ways to do so, I am showing my students real life applications of what we are asking them to do. This standard relates to improving my teaching and learning skills by recognizing and valuing the importance of the role of the family in a student’s success. By valuing the input and participation of the parents of each student, it will enable me to better meet the needs of the student and the family in order to help them succeed.
For this evidence piece, I have chosen the field trip to Bowen Park that I organized and led during my 6 week practicum. This field trip was part of a science unit that I taught; it helped the students to make connections between and see real examples of the content areas we were discussing and that they had learned earlier in the year (biodiversity in the local environment, major local landforms, and the knowledge of local First Peoples of ecosystems). This trip was divided into two parts: first, in coordination with another class that had hatched salmon, we watched the fry be released into the river. The second part was a walk along the river where we stopped to make and record observations about the landscape and environment around us, taking note of local landforms and making connections to prior lessons. This trip was a huge success in terms of learning outcomes as well as community connections that were made. This evidence piece highlights the involvement of communities in TRB Standard 4. On this trip, we also had parent volunteers come along which connects with the involvement of parents in the standard.
While planning the excursion, I connected with various community members for support, knowledge, and expertise. I went to Strong Nations Bookstore to find local resources that tied into the subject matter of the unit and that gave an indigenous perspective to the content. I also reached out to the local Department of Fisheries and Oceans Education Coordinator to draw from her knowledge of the area and the specific points of interest along the river. These connections that I made added value to the trip that I could not have done on my own. This experience showed me the value that community involvement can have in the education of students and the deep connections the students were able to make to their community as a result of this. When I think of community involvement in the classroom, I believe it can go two ways: bringing your students out into the community or bringing the community into your class. For this field trip, I believe I acheived both by bringing my students out into the park as well as drawing from resources in the community to help build my lessons and activities around the trip. During the planning stages, I also communicated with parents effectively and in a timely manner regarding the organization of the trip, learning outcomes, and the request for volunteers. On the trip, the parents that attended were able to engage in the activities with their children and see the connections being made. This allowed for families to bring that conversation home with them and provides opportunities for families to extend upon the learning in the classroom at home. This evidence has impacted my insight about my teaching and learning relative to the standard by showing me that community involvement can happen in many different ways in a classroom (or in this case, outside a classroom). It has also showed me how connections to the community build and strengthen curricular connections and the engagement of students in the given topic. The possibilities for authentic and engaged learning increase significantly when you open your mind and your class to the community and everything it has to offer.
This evidence piece addresses the concept of Community Based Learning. “Community-based learning refers to a wide variety of instructional methods and programs that educators use to connect what is being taught in schools to their surrounding communities, including local institutions, history, literature, cultural heritage, and natural environments. Community-based learning is also motivated by the belief that all communities have intrinsic educational assets and resources that educators can use to enhance learning experiences for students.” (Great Schools Partnership, 2014) This evidence also addresses Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development specifically with regards to the idea that most school-aged children are in the concrete operational stage of their development. Going out into the park allows the students to build and strengthen connections based on concrete examples and experiences rather than relying solely on abstract thinking in discussions and in-class activities related to landforms. The concrete aspect of this excursion, I believe, helped to solidify and strengthen the learning by providing a concrete example of the content discussed.This evidence piece addresses students that learn best through seeing concepts and content in real life. Prior to the trip we did a variety of in-class activities surrounding rivers, however this trip allowed students to see a river in real life and make those connections based on concrete observation rather than abstract thinking.
One of the strengths of this evidence piece is that it involved both family and community support. Families were asked to be a part of the excursion as chaperones and were able to be a part of their child’s learning as they participated in the activities. Another strength is that there were multiple ways community was brought into the classroom and how the classroom was brought into the community, highlighting the value placed on the role of community in the classroom.
This standard is important to my practice because recognizing the value that families and communities can contribute to your classroom gives the potential for amazing learning to take place. It is important in my practice to be able to seek out knowledge and resources within the community in order to give my students an authentic, engaging, quality learning experience. Community Involvement is something that is very important to me (see guiding principles) and I place high value on it. As I grow as a teacher, I plan to hold this true by involving families and community members in my classroom as much as I can. I believe the role that family and community play in a student’s life and learning are huge and by integrating that into my program I believe I can create a learning experience that is rich and engaging for my students. This standard relates to improving my knowledge about my teaching and learning because it encourages me to continually find resources in the community and to build relationships with these resources in order to support and strengthen the opportunities for learning of my students. I think this standard also ties into the idea of lifelong learning because I will always be pulling knowledge and inspiration from the resources I find in the families and communities of my students to better myself as a teacher and provide the best opportunities for my students to be engaged and excited about their learning.
References
Great Schools Partnership. (2014, March 03). Community-Based Learning Definition. Retrieved September 6, 2018, from https://www.edglossary.org/community-based-learning/