{"id":789,"date":"2006-01-01T01:11:00","date_gmt":"2006-01-01T01:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8888\/cite\/2016\/02\/09\/enhancing-parent-teacher-communication-using-technology-a-reading-improvement-clinic-example\/"},"modified":"2016-06-04T01:36:33","modified_gmt":"2016-06-04T01:36:33","slug":"enhancing-parent-teacher-communication-using-technology-a-reading-improvement-clinic-example","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citejournal.org\/volume-6\/issue-1-06\/english-language-arts\/enhancing-parent-teacher-communication-using-technology-a-reading-improvement-clinic-example","title":{"rendered":"Enhancing Parent-Teacher Communication Using Technology: A Reading Improvement Clinic Example"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It is well established that building home-school partnerships is a powerful avenue for increasing the satisfaction of parents and the community with schooling and for improving schools (Bauch, 1989; Comer, 1986; Epstein, 1992; Epstein & Salinas, 2004; Henderson & Berla, 1994). When parents and teachers have rich and frequent communication, they can forge the partnerships that produce benefits for children. Additionally, as the discourse between homes and schools increases, understanding improves, suggestions are shared, and positive attitudes are more easily maintained (Ames, Khoju, & Watkins, 1993). In a research-based framework, Epstein et al. (2002) suggested six types of involvement to help parents participate in ways that meet student needs and family schedules. Two key types of involvement included in these six are creating two-way communication and involving families with their children in academic learning at home.<\/p>\n

Recognizing the critical need for parent-teacher communication, the No Child Left Behind Act<\/em> (NCLB) requires that schools communicate with all families and involve them in ways that enhance students\u2019 success (Lewis, 2002; U.S. Department of Education, 2002). Unfortunately, teacher education efforts are often insufficient to fully prepare beginning teachers for home-school communication, and this continues as a need area for many practicing teachers, as well (Fredericks & Rasinski, 1990; Stevens & Tollafield, 2003). Thus, new teachers entering classrooms must understand the importance of home-school communication and should have opportunities for actual conversations or connections with parents under the guidance of faculty responsible for their professional preparation.<\/p>\n

Common examples of home-school interactions include notes and phone calls, newsletters, parent-teacher conferences, home visits, weekly folders, dialogue journals, and\/or open house nights (Baskwill, 1996; Bohler, Eichenlaub, & Litteken, 1996; Farris, Fuhler, & Walther, 2004; Flood & Lapp, 1989; Fredericks & Rasinski, 1990). To address barriers of time and schedules, e-mail and Web-based communications have emerged as viable options to increase parent-teacher interaction and provide school\u2013based information in a timely and consistent manner. In fact, in many communities, communication via e-mail has become commonplace (Bauch, 1989; Zisow, 2002).<\/p>\n

School and classroom Web sites promote and maintain home-teacher communication by informing parents and community members of school and classroom activities (Bigalow, 2003; Solomon & Andres, 1998). In addition, homework hotlines and online student management portals extend opportunities for families to stay linked to classroom requirements and resources (Ammann, 2001; Fish, 2003; Zisow, 2002).<\/p>\n

Electronic portfolios offer a unique and contemporary approach to help inform parents of children\u2019s efforts, progress, and achievement over time. Electronic portfolios can contain digital artifacts that capture children\u2019s voices in unique ways (Barrett, 1998, 2000; Harris & Reifel, 2002). Electronic portfolios also offer a storage advantage and can make children\u2019s work portable and accessible (Barrett, 2000; Diehm, 2004; Havens, 2003).<\/p>\n

Typically, parents find it difficult to get information from their uncommunicative children about what happened during school (Beverly, 2003; Kasprowicz, 2002). Instead, parents are seeking other methods like school Web sites and portals to obtain that information. According to the 2004 Nielsen\/NetRatings survey, 74.9% of U. S. households with a phone line have access to the Internet (Web Site Optimization, LLC, 2004). Parents with access are beginning to rely more on these online sites for daily updates about their child\u2019s grades, attendance, and homework (Fusco, 2004; Meyer, 2000; Weinstein, 2005). These online communication mechanisms are more convenient for parents, as they do not have to interrupt their workday to phone a teacher or attend a conference (Beverly, 2003).<\/p>\n

This article describes how parent-teacher communication might be enhanced using a Web-based system that manages student reading artifacts along with teacher insight and explanation. Parents are requesting additional access to more evidence of their child\u2019s progress, so this approach provides specific artifacts documenting academic progress, not just a reported grade or a homework assignment summary.<\/p>\n

In order to address some of these issues, a tutoring program for young readers focused on utilizing technology to communicate a child\u2019s literacy growth with parents. Specifically, this article describes the parent communication component within a graduate-level tutoring course in reading. Included is the Web-based approach one tutor used to communicate with the family whose child was enrolled in a university-based, tutoring program.<\/p>\n

First, the requirements of the tutoring course and its relationship to the Reading Improvement Clinic are described. Next, the parent-tutor communication assignments completed in the course by all tutors are explained. In this section, artifacts prepared by one tutor and posted for parents using a Web-based environment are presented for each assignment. Finally, observations and recommendations concerning technology-based family communication and the plans for a research study that evolved are shared.<\/p>\n

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The Reading Improvement Clinic Experience<\/p>\n

At this Midwestern, public university, students enroll in CI 588 Supervised Tutoring in Reading (three credits) directly after student teaching and licensure or during their graduate program in literacy. Paired with a companion course, CI 552 Diagnosis and Correction, the enrolled students are typically completing Department of Education requirements for a Title I reading position or meeting a school district\u2019s demands for additional reading coursework.<\/p>\n

The CI 588 class time (seven 4-hour Saturday sessions throughout the semester) includes experiences with informal literacy diagnostic procedures to approximate a child\u2019s instructional range, as well as tutoring strategies to address children\u2019s literacy growth. Area families of children in grades 1 through 8 apply for one-on-one tutoring in the Reading Improvement Clinic, and each CI 588 student engages in 25 hours of tutoring an assigned child with literacy needs.<\/p>\n

To accommodate the variety of schedules, each tutor\/child pair arranges the tutoring days, times, and location, with each family responsible for that child\u2019s transportation. Family and tutor schedules determine the biweekly tutoring schedule. For example, some tutoring pairs meet Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 4:00-5:00 in scheduled campus tutoring rooms; another pair might meet Wednesday early evening and Saturday afternoon in a study booth at the local public library.<\/p>\n

The seven 4-hour Saturday sessions, distributed throughout the semester, are supplemented by WebCT communication requirements of each tutor. That is, CI 588 students use an instructor-tutor private forum to post their tutoring plans for the upcoming week and to post their reflection after each tutoring session. This private forum gives the instructor a window into each tutor\u2019s processing, successes, and concerns. The biweekly reflections also allow the instructor to respond to the unique instructional materials, strategies, and challenges that each tutor encounters. During the class meetings held throughout the semester, tutors share successes and concerns in two ways. Whole class discussions address general concerns, and the instructor provides examples of strategies and resources for tutors to consider. Students also move to grade-like\/instructional range-like small groups to share materials and approaches.<\/p>\n

During the initial CI 588 class, students are reminded that the semester will extend and refine the following three \u201cgrowth lines\u201d:<\/p>\n

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  1. With the tutor\u2019s careful planning, material selection, and teaching during the one-on-one tutoring, the literacy strategies of the assigned child will be enhanced (Baker, Gersten, & Keating, 2000; Cohen, Kulik, & Kulik, 1982; Fitzgerald, 2001; Glass, Cahen, Smith, & Filby, 1982; Juel, 1996; Wasik & Slavin, 1993).<\/li>\n
  2. With careful observation, reflection, and tutoring modifications based on their observations, tutors each will better understand literacy development and their own teaching strengths and growth areas (Boyd, Boll, Brawner, & Villaume, 1998; Brunner, 1994; Furlong, & Maynard, 1995; Henderson, 1989; Kagen, 1992).<\/li>\n
  3. The required family communication component of the course ensures that parents will acquire an enhanced understanding of their child\u2019s literacy strengths and need areas, as well as exposure to resources and activities for family literacy reinforcement (Epstein, 1995; Epstein et al., 2002; Klassen-Endrizzi, 2000; Stevens & Tollafield, 2003).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Conversations during class meetings reinforce how the child, the family, and the tutor are each impacted by the contents of the tutoring sessions. The next section describes the parent communication required of each tutor and gives Web-based examples one tutor used to report a child\u2019s literacy progress to the family.<\/p>\n

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    Parent-Tutor Communication<\/p>\n

    Sharing information with the family permeates the tutoring experience, beginning with an initial phone conversation and culminating in a parent-tutor conference when the tutor shares a portfolio with artifacts from the semester. Table 1<\/a> at the end of this article provides an overview for each required family communication component, as well as the objectives and minimal requirements for each contact.<\/p>\n

    For each type of family communication the instructor provides minimal requirements, samples from past semesters, and provisions for peer review of the communication components during class meetings. These typically have been paper samples that were either mailed, e-mailed, or hand-delivered to the parent. It became obvious to the instructor that a secure, Web-based technology system could easily be used to help facilitate the communication and sharing of this information between the parents and tutor.<\/p>\n

    During spring 2004 the instructor asked for a volunteer to explore the possibility of using the class WebCT site to share tutoring information with the family. A class member with extensive undergraduate technology experience (hereafter referred to as the \u201cvolunteer tutor\u201d) enthusiastically agreed to participate (Thompson, Schmidt, & Davis, 2003).<\/p>\n

    Since WebCT is a password-protected environment that is safe for sensitive communication, we established a private WebCT forum (tutor, parents, and instructor access) to explore posting communication, audio files of the child\u2019s reading, and video segments of a tutoring lesson. The examples that follow demonstrate how the volunteer tutor utilized a WebCT environment for communicating with the child\u2019s family after verifying their access to high speed Internet. Figure 1 illustrates the required family communication components posted online by the volunteer tutor.<\/p>\n

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    Figure 1.<\/strong> Written communication posted online by volunteer tutor.<\/em><\/p>\n

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    Letter of Introduction<\/p>\n

    During an initial pretutoring telephone conversation with parents, all tutors obtained information about their assigned child\u2019s interests, general health, attitudes toward literacy tasks, and academic strengths and needs. All tutors followed this conversation with a letter of introduction to the family. In this sample letter of introduction, posted on WebCT, the volunteer tutor included personal information, as well as a reminder of the tutoring times and location (see Appendix A, Letter of Introduction)<\/a>. Posted on the site by the volunteer tutor, family members were able to revisit the contents and track the entire semester of communication with the tutor.<\/p>\n

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    Informal Notes<\/p>\n

    Throughout the semester, tutors may have personal parent contact and share highlights when the child is dropped off\/picked up for tutoring sessions. The informal tutoring notes required of all tutors serve to reinforce the type of written home communication many schools expect of teachers. By requiring updated notes during the course, tutors can hone their informal communication skills, and the course instructor can gain additional insight into tutoring activities. In these notes home, each tutor is required to describe the child\u2019s overall behaviors and strengths and highlights of the tutoring sessions.<\/p>\n

    The volunteer tutor\u2019s first informal note to the family posted on WebCT described the child\u2019s general literacy attitudes, work habits, and the initial tutoring activities (see Appendix B, Informal Note 1<\/a>). Informal notes 2 (see Appendix C, Informal Note 2<\/a>) and 3 (see Appendix D, Informal Note 3<\/a>) continued to highlight tutoring activities and materials with an emphasis on the child\u2019s successes and progress in goal areas.<\/p>\n

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    Reading Assessment Letter<\/p>\n

    During the initial campus class sessions, instruction focused on informal literacy assessments with video samples, discussion, and peer-practice. All tutors then administered literacy assessments during the initial three meetings with the child they were tutoring. Assessments typically included an informal reading inventory, interest and attitude inventories, a student think aloud, a writing sample, and if needed, a decoding assessment. Since students in this class do not usually have experience in summarizing assessment results, the instructor previewed and provided feedback for each Reading Assessment Letter before it was shared with the family.<\/p>\n

    Using assessment data gathered during the first three sessions, the volunteer tutor\u2019s letter to the child\u2019s family, posted on WebCT, described each informal assessment task and the child\u2019s performance on the tasks. She included the child\u2019s general literacy behaviors during assessment, listed two tutoring goals, and indicated how she planned to address the child\u2019s interests within an identified instructional range of reading materials (see Appendix E, Reading Assessment Letter<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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    Tutoring Summary Report<\/p>\n

    During one of the last campus class meetings, all tutors read samples of Tutoring Summary Reports from previous semesters. This summary report provides a general tutoring overview written for the family. Because students generally lack experience in writing a summary of a semester of experience, the instructor previewed and provided suggestions for each student\u2019s Tutoring Summary Report before it was shared with the family during the Parent Tutor Conference.<\/p>\n

    The Tutoring Summary Report posted by the volunteer tutor for the parents described how the child\u2019s interests were addressed, how the tutor motivated the child, titles of two or three of the child\u2019s favorite books during tutoring, and the two tutoring goal areas for which the tutor planned. A section of the report described one successful literature lesson, an explanation of how vocabulary was monitored and reinforced, and an explanation of how the child\u2019s comprehension growth was guided. Another section included a list of at least three direct\/explicit instruction lessons and a description of how the lesson areas were identified and then reinforced. Finally, the volunteer tutor thanked the family, encouraged home literacy activities, and suggested at least two books and two Web sites for home use with the child (see Appendix F, Tutoring Summary Report<\/a>).<\/p>\n

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    Tutoring Portfolio<\/p>\n

    For all tutors in the class, a portfolio, created by the child and the tutor during the course, highlighted their semester of work together. The tutoring portfolio is a reflective compilation of the child\u2019s work and documents the child\u2019s strengths and growth areas (Tancock, 1996). For the past decade, the Tutoring Portfolio has taken the form of a three-ring binder with artifacts and captions in plastic sleeves.<\/p>\n

    Instead of using the standard format, the volunteer tutor posted the portfolio contents into the WebCT forum so the child\u2019s parents could access the contents online (see Figure 2). The portfolio contained the tutoring goals, a list of selections read during the sessions, evidence of the child\u2019s vocabulary growth, and suggestions of additional book titles and Web sites for home use. The instructor required that all tutors organize artifacts in the portfolio by goal areas.<\/p>\n

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    Figure 2. <\/strong>Tutoring portfolio contents.<\/em><\/p>\n

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    The volunteer tutor had established goal areas of enhanced comprehension and enhanced writing for the child she was tutoring. As indicated in the example in Figure 3, she addressed the comprehension goal mainly through a series of literature lessons. The child\u2019s writing progress was documented by the volunteer tutor through a variety of his writing activities, most of which were extensions of literature used during the tutoring sessions (see Figure 4).<\/p>\n

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    Figure 3.<\/strong> Tutoring portfolio comprehension goal artifacts.<\/em><\/p>\n

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    Figure 4.<\/strong> Tutoring portfolio writing goal artifacts.<\/em><\/p>\n

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    Artifacts accumulated during the tutoring sessions formed the main contents of the portfolio, resulting in a \u201ctutoring story\u201d that was jointly created and jointly owned. The tutoring artifacts, organized by goal areas, were each to be accompanied by a caption that consisted of the following:<\/p>\n