Communication Strategy to Promote a Positive Learning Environment
Midterm Communication Plan
Describe methods you would use for communicating with parents in your classroom. These should include the characteristics of effective communication, be sensitive to issues of diversity, and be designed to promote the well-being of each child in your care. 3-5 pages. 20pts.
How to Structure Your Paper
Introduction
Begin the paper with a clear introduction that describes your beliefs or philosophy regarding parent-teacher communication. You should discuss your goals and objectives for communicating with your students’ family members. For example, explain the importance and need for establishing good parent-teacher communication and what you hope to accomplish through the kind of communication strategies your communication plan employs. Also discuss how you hope parents will respond to your communications or initiate communication with you or the school.
Body of the Paper
Describe the purpose of the different kinds of communication you will use throughout the year (newsletter, folder of a student’s work from a completed unit, Web site, “good news” notes or phone calls, etc.). Be sure to explain the strategy you will use for each purpose and why you believe that strategy (or mode of communication) will be effective. Also mention whether this is a “one-way” or “two-way” communication strategy.
For example, if you plan to create a newsletter, here are some things you might want to consider/ discuss (these can of course apply to other communication strategies as well):
• What do you hope to accomplish with this newsletter and what kinds of information will it include (will you involve students in creating it)?
• Do you intend to use the newsletter as a traditional form of one-way communication or will you design the newsletter to elicit parent responses?
• How often will you send it, and how will you distribute it?
• How will you accommodate parents who do not speak English and those who may not have access to electronic communication?
• How will this newsletter help parents support students’ social, emotional, or academic success?
Unless you have an innovative strategy for conducting parent-teacher conferences or for sending progress reports or report cards, you do not need to discuss these in detail .
Conclusion
In your conclusion section, describe the ways you will know if your plan is effective. For example, if your goal for sending out a flier is to increase parent attendance at parent-teacher conferences, you can assess the fliers’ effectiveness by evaluating whether more parents attended.
References
You should cite at least two-three (2-3) course readings that inspired your plan or a particular strategy that you used. You will need to include this source in your list of references, which should be on the last page of your paper.
Midterm Communication Plan
Student's Name
University Affiliation
Professor's Name
Course Title
Due Date
Introduction
I believe that effective communication is a critical ingredient for promoting a positive learning environment. I am convinced that maintaining effective communication between the teacher, parent, and child is inevitable if the learning goals are to be achieved. Effective communication can help foster academic achievement as well as promote the social and emotional development of the child (Harvard Family Research Project, 2009). In light of these observations, my goal is to establish robust and effective communication strategies to maximize the wellbeing of the child. I intend to make the parent feel more involved in the wellbeing of the child and work together with the parent to maximize positive learning outcomes for the child. Appreciating diversity is key to effective communication. Therefore, I will ensure to respect and promote diversity of parents/ children in the learning environment to ensure effective communication and constructive feedback.
Communication Strategy
One of the communication methods that I plan to use is newsletters. Newsletters are great tools for giving detailed information to the parent. I plan to release a newsletter once every month. The newsletter will contain details such as updates on what is happening in the classroom setup, any upcoming events that the parent should be aware of, as well as providing tips that parents can use to support their children to learn effectively at home. The newsletter will primarily be a one-way mode of communication. However, since a teacher should always value feedback, I will include in the newsletter an email so that parents can share their views concerning the information contained in the newsletter. To support the parents who may not be conversant in English, I will make copies translated into their primary languages where applicable. Further, I will also prepare some hard copies for parents who do not have electronic means. The newsletter will provide parents with detailed information regarding student wellbeing. No doubt sharing this information will contribute to enhancing the student’s social, emotional, and academic success.
The second communication method will be the student work folder. The primary purpose of the folder will be to include the accomplishments made by the child throughout the unit. These will be prepared after a unit has been completed, with the main aim being to let the parent know how the child has progressed through the unit. In addition to highlighting academic progress, I will also prepare a side note with a student folder to inform the parent of the child’s emotional and social wellbeing throughout the semester. Since the teacher spends a significant amount of time with the child, it is easy to identify the emotional and social characteristics of the child. This method will be a one-way communication. The intention is to let the parent know how the child has fared throughout the unit.
However, for parents who may be concerned about the feedback shared and may want to enquire further, I will provide an email or phone number that the parents can use to reach me. Sharing these details is particularly important for parents whose children may have deteriorated performance academicall...