Zak's Weekly Musings (March 6, 2022)
We know how important the home-school partnership is. According to Wang et al. (1994), the school-home partnership is the fourth most influential factor on student learning of the 28 factors studied in their meta-analysis. Forging the home-school partnership should always be a priority for us. And, there’s no better chance to prioritize it than Parent-Teacher Conferences.
Consider that each year, we report on learning six times. Only 33% of these reports are dialogic. When preparing for conferences, consider that these are the only formalized occasions for us to engage our parents in real-time conversations. How can you structure your conferences to make them a true two-way conversation? Well, one thing to bear in mind as you prepare for these conferences is the power dynamic at play.
Even if we’re unaware of it, according to a 2015 study, “teachers often regard themselves as being somewhat superior to parents, because of their professional expertise, and parents often feel less adequate than teachers because parenting is something that everyone can do.”
Given these research findings, the burden of responsibility falls on us to find ways to shift the existing paradigm, so that Parent-Teacher Conferences are an equal and dialogic experience.
Parents can also find Parent-Teacher Conferences intimidating. It is not uncommon for parents to feel that they are being judged. This can be a recipe for a fight or flight interaction. When we feel judged, it is natural to become defensive. Alternatively, we may feel a need to flee the conversation to protect ourselves. Both of these responses don’t lend themselves to helping students. So, how might we redirect such a situation within these conferences?
First, remember to put the student at the center of your conversation. One of the tried and true models of effective education is putting the child in the center of all the adults surrounding them. By talking about the student, you shift the focus off of you or the parent and place it where it belongs: on the child.
Second, communicate the sense of care and concern you have for the child. Parents share your concern for their child. Help parents see that you know and care about their child.
Third, approach each conversation with a curious and inquisitive mindset. The stories we tell ourselves are so rarely true. What can you discover about the child through your interactions with parents?
So, with this advice in hand, what are some concrete things we might be able to do to bring this advice to life? The Academic Principal at Tsinghua International School – someone I’ve long admired – has what I think to be the perfect set of questions to accomplish just that:
“So, you know your child better than anyone in the world. Help me understand what is going on for them in my class.”
“I care deeply about the success of your child. What should I know that may be helpful in supporting your child’s success?”
“What has been successful for your child in the past that I might be able to replicate in my class?”
I might piggyback onto Dr. Reid Prichett’s wisdom with a few points of my own:
In addition to asking questions, another way for us to show that we are investing in that home-school partnership is to be candid and evidence-based. In speaking with a parent earlier this year, she shared that the anonymized teacher reports she read in her child’s psycho-ed was completely different from the glowing reports she had received from teachers during conferences. This shouldn’t be the case. This disconnect between what we say to a parent vs. around a parent erodes trust and negatively impacts the home-school partnership. The strength of the home-school partnership isn’t built on our being pollyannaish, but about being truthful and, importantly, evidence-based.
Of course, parent-teacher conferences cannot be exclusively conversational. You will need to share information about each child’s learning. With Progress Reports on the horizon, I would encourage you to structure your conferences by sharing a glow, grow, and goal, with each anchored to either your reporting outcomes or the Learning Habits. This way, when you write reports for Q.3, much of your work is already started.
Finally, and just as a reminder, there is language that needs to be avoided. This includes those things that are tangential to learning and for which we do not have evidence. An example of this would be words like “nice, ”“shy,” or “quiet.” Other language that we will want to avoid revolves around that of the fixed mindset, including words like “smart” or “bright.” Keep your language consistent with that of the growth mindset.
We are all in this together for our students. I hope your Parent-Teacher Conferences are productive and useful to you, the parents, and the students.