Syllabus

PARENT-TEACHER COMMUNICATION
7E/P/U:134

Office hours: TTH 8:30-9:30 and by appointment

E-mail: stewart-ehly@uiowa.edu

Overview:  Parent-Teacher Communication is a 3 semester-hour course that provides the student with information on a broad array of issues relating to parents' involvement in their children's education.  The course meets Department of Education requirements for content on parent-teacher relationships and is required for several degree plans within the College of Education at The University of Iowa.

            Class sessions introduce the student to communication techniques that are essential to parent-teacher collaboration.  After essential skills are defined, the course reviews important options for parent-teacher involvement available within schools.  The strategies for involvement are considered within the context of selected issues affecting public education.  Finally, the content considers legal/ethical and professional issues surrounding involvement with parents.

            A quick note: while the course refers to "parents" is its title, consideration within the course is not limited to biological and adoptive parents who have custody of children.  Discussion can be considered to apply to all forms of adult custodial care of children and the methods adults can use in their encounters with educators.  As might be expected, many of the techniques considered are not limited to encounters between educators and adult caretakers, but have universal application.

            All readings above are from E. H. Berger (2000), Parents as partners in education: Families and schools working together.  (5^th Ed.)  New York: Merrill.  Copies available at Iowa Book and Supply.  Students are responsible for reading the Berger text, notes based on lectures and PowerPoint presentations (available on-line at http://www.uiowa.edu/~c07p134), and any handouts provided by the instructor.

Assignments and Grading

            Students are responsible for regular attendance and participation, submission of a report on a parent interview, and completion of three exams.

            Students have the option of (1) completing the third exam on December 13 or (2) completing the third exam during exam week.  The University has completed scheduling for exam week; the published exam slot is Thursday, December 20, at 7:00 p.m.

            Each exam is structured to require three essay-length responses.  On almost every exam, there will be three clusters of questions containing two choices that the student can select.  The instructor looks for the following elements within a response:

            I am interested in finding out how you make sense of the content of this course.  The exams and class participation are my best means of determining how well you have grasped issues relating to parent-teacher communication.

Parent Interview Activity

Conduct a brief interview with a parent of a school age (K-12) child.  Collect information on the following items and develop a summary statement (2-3 pages) on your impressions.

Interview Questions

1.     What kind of experiences have you had with your child's teachers and the school?

       Are you satisfied with the current relationship?
       Describe experiences that have been positive.
       Describe experiences that were frustrating.

2.    Have there been any changes in your involvement with the school over time?  What reasons might explain these changes?

       Do you believe that it is important for the child to have teachers and parents agree about school matters?

3.    In what ways do you share/exchange information with teachers (or school) about

       activities in the classroom
       what the child should know or be able to do
       how the child is progressing, what his/her strengths are
       problems that the child may be having

4.    What would be necessary for parents and teachers to work together more effectively?

Grading

            Grades for the course are assigned on a traditional scale, with "+" or "-" grades given.  Points for the class activities are as follows:

Exams--100 points each

TOTAL--300 points possible

Grades are calculated as follows:

University Policies

Several University policies relate to all courses.  The following Web location is an important starting point for University policies concerning student rights and responsibilities:

http://www.uiowa.edu/~vpss/policies/policies.html

Students with disabilities are encouraged to review information posted at

http://www.uiowa.edu/~oaa/assistin.htm