Module 2, Session 4 focused on building relationships with students and families. This can be especially challenging in a remote/hybrid instructional setting. Can you share a specific strategy that you found effective in building authentic, positive relationships with students, particularly in a remote setting?
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I like to check in with students on how they are doing. I like to let them know that I care and can listen to them with whatever is going on in their life. This can be done with dedicated time slots for virtual check-ins with students. This could be done on a one-on-one basis or in small groups, depending on student preferences and the size of your class.
Hi all, would anyone like to collaborate on a plan for Module 2, Session 3, (A Seat At The Table: Student-Centered Approaches to Engage and Empower)? 😊
Hello!
Is anyone interesting in collaborating on a Culturally responsive teaching plan with a parent engagement integration?🤗
During Covid remote teaching, I spent a lot of time listening to parents, via interpreters, and creating relationships in which they had space to ask questions and express their concerns. Dedicating time without a prescribed endpoint (i.e. the 10 minutes of family conferences) meant that we were able to develop a rapport and even share jokes and concerns across cultural and linguistic lines. This was an important support for students who seemed to rely on the communication breakdown between home and school to allow them to fly beneath the radar or make unfounded/ half-baked excuses to each party. It also helped bolster relationships and show care, and helped me correct some of my incorrect assumptions.
One way I encourage teachers to connect with parents is to create a weekly video to email to parents. The video can include a recap of what happened the past week and also provide information as to what is coming the next week. They can show some samples of student work and also areas of the classroom that will be used for activities. I feel like this really helps connect the parents to their children's learning environment and makes them feel included.
Cheryl Herman
A small but consistent and easy way to start relational conversations with students for me, remote or in person, was to have a morning greeting, where in the greeting, I also asked a question to let the students share their opinion! For example, "Good Morning Wyatt, do you prefer sunny days or rainy days?" The students get to bond over shared interests and having a new question every day keeps it light and fresh!
I have found that if I ask a question about likes or dislikes it can start a rapport with students, teachers, and/or family members. This could be something simple such as where do you see yourself in x years or what is your goal for after you graduate from HS? This can be directed to the parents as well as the students. For teachers I usually start with I am here to assist you and how can I help?
I teach in a teacher preparation program, and during ERT, I made it a point to connect with students each week we met on Zoom. In an effort to try to replicate those moments before or after class in person where people are chatting, conversation is naturally happening, and connections are being made outside of the more structured learning, I would open class early to talk with the students who arrived early. I would then plan a small activity for students to connect with one another, like a Kudos slide in PearDeck where they could call out someone who has helped them in some way, a breakout room to socialize with their classmates, or even just a reflective question to respond to in the chat like, "What is something that made you feel happy this week?" During ERT, we all needed these moments to connect and be human together, and I made sure to build this in to each class session. While I have not kept all of these practices in our move back to in person, I do keep them when I am teaching fully online or synchronous online.
This Module opened my eyes to a lot of ways I can include families in their students' learning. I am looking forward to having them add their own pieces to my 9th graders' identity project and 10th graders' hero stories. However, in the past during remote learning, what really worked well for me in building authentic, positive relationships with students and families was simply being available. I kept in constant communication with them, providing my Google Voice number for calls and texts, had an online calendar to make appointments to meet via Zoom, and provided tech tutorials and support for the various digital programs we used during remote learning. Families often told me how appreciative they were of this, as communication from the school was lacking. As Senior Advisor, I also made sure that our graduates still felt celebrated by hosting a number of virtual events that they and their families could participate in.
To increase cultural awareness and parent engagement we asked families to celebrate Family Recipe Night where students chose their favorite family recipes that reflected their heritage and to prepared them together. Students were then asked to add their recipes to a BookCreator Family Recipe Book. Each student had the ability to create and personalize their own page. This was a wonderful project that received positive feedback!
I teach virtually and I found Module 2 Session 4 to be very impactful. Activity 2.4.3 for this session encouraged me to reflect on my current practice to enhance building relationships in a more meaningful way. It supported me in designing our current unit where students are placed in the driver's seat for their final art project. Students are in charge of choosing their topic, and choosing their medium, and they can either work with a partner or individually. After launching this project at the beginning of the month, I learned more about the interests of my students and they have opened up to me and their classmates in a very noticeable way. I am very excited to see the results of their work as the year closes.