Parents as Collaborators in the Classroom

PARENTS AS COLLABORATORS IN THE CLASSROOM | THE SCHOOLHOUSE CENTRE FOR PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION | 1

PARENTS AS COLLABORATORS

IN THE CLASSROOM


powerful classroom technology

empowering device for teachers


Bringing parents into your classroom as collaborators can change the way you teach - and the learning experiences you create for your students.


Building parents skills is a significant investment of time and effort - but it pays off over the long term, in your class, in future classes, and at home.


Brett RolfeThe Schoolhouse Centre for Progressive Education schoolhouse.edu.au @schoolhouse_au


TODAY Who currently volunteers in our classrooms? What does the research tell us? What does best practice look like? What can you do differently on Monday?


WHO CURRENTLY VOLUNTEERS

IN OUR CLASSROOMS?


35%

65% 61%39%

MUMS DADS

Lots of parents* volunteer at some point.*AND GRANDPARENTS ETC.


0%

12.5%

25%

37.5%

50%

Occasional <1hr/wk About 1hr/wk 2-3 hr/wk 4+ hr/wk

MUM

S

DAD

S

Mums generally volunteer more time.


CURRENT VOLUNTEERS

Only about 1 in 8 primary school parents currently volunteer, mostly for less than an hour a week.

12%


0%

12.5%

25%

37.5%

50%

18-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60+

Current volunteers are generally 30-49.


Postgrad 15% Undergrad

46%

TAFE 27%

High school 12%

Most current volunteers have tertiary education.


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& C

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Reading is the most popular of a wide range of activities


NET PROMOTER SCORE: HOW LIKELY WOULD YOU BE TO RECOMMEND VOLUNTEERING IN THE CLASSROOM TO ANOTHER PARENT?

0 10 20 30

HEA

LTH

INSU

RAN

CE

(+12

)

ISP

(-3)

SMAR

TPH

ON

E (+

40)

CURR

ENT

VOLU

NTE

ERS

(+34

)

EVER

VO

LUN

TEER

ED (+

26)

ALL

PARE

NTS

(-9)

Many parents don’t see the benefits of volunteering in their child’s classroom.

SOURCE: SATMETRIX 2015 CONSUMER NET PROMOTER BENCHMARKS


Kids today. They’re not like they used to be.

It’s not my place to

interfere.

I don’t ask teachers to come to my work

and help me.

What reasons do parents give for not volunteering in the classroom?


It’s personally rewarding, and connects you to your child’s life.

Children benefit from their parents’ involvement.

It helps teachers, kids, the school and

the community.

What reasons do parents give for volunteering in the classroom?


WHAT DOES THE RESEARCH

TELL US?


Children’s attitude and achievement benefit from parental engagement

with school, particularly for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.“

BORGONOVI, F. AND G. MONTT (2012) PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT IN SELECTED PISA COUNTRIES AND ECONOMIES. OECD EDUCATION WORKING PAPERS, NO. 73, OECD PUBLISHING.

EPSTEIN, J. L. (1992) SCHOOL AND FAMILY PARTNERSHIPS. IN M. AKIN (ED.), ENCYCLOPEDIA OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH (2ND ED., PP. 1139-1151). NEW YORK: MACMILLAN.

PUSHOR, D. (2007). PARENT ENGAGEMENT: CREATING A SHARED WORLD. ONTARIO MINISTRY OF EDUCATION. ”


Teachers aides and smaller class sizes provide significant benefits

- if teachers adapt their way of teaching.

ANDERSON, L. W. (2000). WHY SHOULD REDUCED CLASS SIZE LEAD TO INCREASED STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT? IN M. C. WANG, & J. D. FINN (EDS.), HOW SMALL CLASSES HELP TEACHERS DO THEIR BEST. PHILADELPHIA: TEMPLE UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR RESEARCH IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT.

EVERTSON, C. M. (2000) PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF CLASS SIZE REDUCTION. IN M. C. WANG, & J. D. FINN (EDS.), HOW SMALL CLASSES HELP TEACHERS DO THEIR BEST. PHILADELPHIA: TEMPLE UNIVERSITY CENTER FOR RESEARCH IN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT.

MOLNAR, A., SMITH, P. AND ZAHORIK, J. (1999) EVALUATING THE SAGE PROGRAM: A PILOT PROGRAM IN TARGETED PUPIL-TEACHER REDUCTION IN WISCONSIN. EDUCATION AND POLICY ANALYSIS. PP. 165-177.

“ ”


Working with parents as collaborators requires significant

investment of time and a willingness to challenge pre-existing ideas.

WILLIS, L. (2009). A MULTILITERACIES PROJECT IN THE MIDDLE SCHOOL: PARENTS AS COTEACHERS. WILLIS, L. (2013) PARENT-TEACHER ENGAGEMENT: A COTEACHING AND COGENERATIVE DIALOGUING APPROACH. (DOCTORAL DISSERTATION, QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY) RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://EPRINTS.QUT.EDU.AU/63306/1/LINDA-DIANNE_WILLIS_THESIS.PDF

WILLIS, L. (2013) PARENT-TEACHER ENGAGEMENT: A COTEACHING AND COGENERATIVE DIALOGUING APPROACH. (DOCTORAL DISSERTATION, QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY) RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://EPRINTS.QUT.EDU.AU/63306/1/LINDA-DIANNE_WILLIS_THESIS.PDF

“ ”


Collaborating with parents results in richer classroom experiences,

and broader impacts on community attitudes.

SYMEOU, L. (2002) VALUING PARENTS AS CO-EDUCATORS: A TEACHER-PARENT PARTNERSHIP PROJECT IN CYPRUS. RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://WWW.HFRP.ORG/PUBLICATIONS-RESOURCES/PUBLICATIONS-SERIES/FAMILY-INVOLVEMENT-RESEARCH-DIGESTS/VALUING-PARENTS-AS-CO-EDUCATORS-A-TEACHER-PARENT-PARTNERSHIP-PROJECT-IN-CYPRUS

WILLIS, L. (2013) PARENT-TEACHER ENGAGEMENT: A COTEACHING AND COGENERATIVE DIALOGUING APPROACH. (DOCTORAL DISSERTATION, QUEENSLAND UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY) RETRIEVED FROM HTTP://EPRINTS.QUT.EDU.AU/63306/1/LINDA-DIANNE_WILLIS_THESIS.PDF

“ ”


WHAT DOES BEST PRACTICE

LOOK LIKE?


RELATIONSHIP EFFECTIVELY COLLABORATING WITH PARENTS IN THE CLASSROOM

PEDAGOGY

SKILLS



PEDAGOGY

SKILLS


We need to move beyond parents as naive customers and teachers as professional experts. Teachers must be willing to let parents in, and to trust and empower them (over time). Parents must be ready to commit their time and energy, to work and to grow.

IT TAKES TWO


“[A] form of structured discourse in which teachers and students engage in a collaborative effort to help identify and implement positive changes in classroom teaching and learning practices.”MARTIN, SONYA. "WHERE PRACTICE AND THEORY INTERSECT IN THE CHEMISTRY CLASSROOM: USING COGENERATIVE DIALOGUE TO IDENTIFY THE CRITICAL POINT IN SCIENCE EDUCATION." CULTURAL STUDIES OF SCIENCE EDUCATION 1.4 (2006): 693-720.

AN APPROACH: COGENERATIVE DIALOGUING

(Wolff-Michael Roth & Kenneth Tobin)


COGENERATIVE DIALOGUES IN PRACTICE • Leave the power dynamics at the door. • Create a time and space for meaningful dialogue -

being conscious of the nature of the space. • Agree to commit for a defined period (then review). • Honest, open, constructive, two-way feedback.


fruit cutters collaborators

vs.



PEDAGOGY

SKILLS


Shared learning plan. Modelled, guided, independent. Appropriate learning resources. Feedback on performance.

APPRENTICING PARENTS


Reading (individual and group). Art. Maths. PE. One-on-one tutoring. Group-work support.

SKILLS TO BUILD


Organisations like PETAA and MANSW. (Quality) online resources. Your own learning materials.

RESOURCES TO PROVIDE



PEDAGOGY

SKILLS


One-on-one literacy support. Reading groups, literature circles. Individual support (maths, writing, art, research). Group support (group projects, drama, music, PE)

DO THINGS BETTER


RETHINK YOUR CLASSROOM (going beyond simply ‘better’)

PARENTS AS COLLABORATORS IN THE CLASSROOM | THE SCHOOLHOUSE CENTRE FOR PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION |

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL SKILLS

45

communicationcollaboration

creativitycritical thinking

empathyresilience

initiative

awareness

21st CENTURY SKILLS

RICHER PEDAGOGY IN THE CLASSROOM


MINDFULNESS EXERCISES

• TEACHING MEDITATION TO CHILDREN (DAVID FONTANA & INGRID SLACK)

• THE MINDFUL CHILD (SUSAN GREENLAND)


PHILOSOPHICAL INQUIRY

• TEACHING THINKING: PHILOSOPHICAL ENQUIRY IN THE CLASSROOM (ROBERT FISHER)

• CHILDREN AS PHILOSOPHERS (JOANNA HAYNES)


CRITICAL, REFLEXIVE GROUP WORK

• DESIGNING GROUP WORK (ELIZABETH COHEN & RACHEL LOTAN)

• EFFECTIVE GROUP WORK IN PRIMARY CLASSROOMS: THE SPRING APPROACH (PETER KUTNICK & PETER BLATCHFORD)


EXPERIENTIAL MATHS

• LEARNING MATHS OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM (NCETM, UK) • NATURALMATH.COM & LIVINGMATH.NET


SELF-DIRECTED INQUIRY & CREATIVITY PROJECTS

• THINKERTOYS: A HANDBOOK OF CREATIVE-THINKING TECHNIQUES (MICHAEL MICHALKO)

• WILD CURIOSITY: HOW TO UNLEASH CREATIVITY AND ENCOURAGE LIFELONG WONDERING (ERIK SHONSTROM)



PEDAGOGY

SKILLS


WHAT CAN YOU DIFFERENTLY

ON MONDAY?


1Invite parents to attend a skill-building event.• FOCUS ON READING • IMPROVE EXISTING ACTIVITY • IDENTIFY POTENTIAL

COLLABORATORS


2Share self-development resources with parents.• DELIVER THROUGH EXISTING

CHANNELS - NEWSLETTERS, INTRANETS, BLOGS ETC.


3Collaborate to design a project you haven’t done before.• IDENTIFY POTENTIAL PARENTS • WORK WITH ONE CANDIDATE


4Engage with like-minded colleagues.

• FORM A COLLECTIVE OF EXPERIMENTERS IN YOUR SCHOOL

• SHARE EXPERIENCES ONLINE AND MAKE CONNECTIONS


5Join the Progressive Educators Network.

PEN.SCHOOLHOUSE.EDU.AU @SCHOOLHOUSE_AU

• ORIGINAL MONTHLY CONTENT • SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES OF

PARENTS IN THE CLASSROOM


THANK YOU AND HAPPY COLLABORATING!

PEN.SCHOOLHOUSE.EDU.AU | @SCHOOLHOUSE_AU

Parents as Collaborators in the Classroom

Education

Transcript of Parents as Collaborators in the Classroom