Element 7- Teachers are actively engaged members of their profession and the wider community
I have demonstrated my awareness of the importance of communicating effectively with parents and caregivers. This is particularly important when informing parents and caregivers about the possibility of sensitive topics being covered in class. For a unit of work created to explore the human body, I developed a letter for parents and caregivers to inform them about this unit of work. This letter also provided parents and caregivers with possible information sources so that they were similarly informed about the content covered in class.
I also have an understanding of the regulations and statutes related to teachers’ responsibilities and students’ rights. Throughout my practicum experiences, I have striven to interact with students in relation to the Student Welfare and Child Protection policies.
I will involve parents and caregivers in the educative process and liaise more effectively with them. I will also find opportunities to engage members of the community and external professionals to enhance student learning opportunities, particularly by inviting experts to enhance the learning experience of students within the Key Learning Areas of Human Society and its Enviornment and Science and Technology. I will also become a more active member within my immediate and wider professional community. On my next practicum, I will converse with more teachers and involve myself within school activities.
I need to send out a letter to students’ parents on practicum to introduce myself and establish a line of communication. In this letter I will need to provide a short description about myself and what I hope to teach during the time of the practicum. I also need to consider opportunities where I can link learning to the wider community. I will therefore need to speak with my supervising teacher to negotiate what I will be teaching during practicum and inform parents and caregivers of the possible educative process. I also need to find opportunities to involve myself within school activities, which may include assisting with extra curricular sports or activities.
I believe that it is important to have open lines of communication between students, teachers and parents and caregivers. This is particularly vital to ensure that students' learning needs can be met appropriately. Through communication between all three parties, a more effective approach is facilitated in working towards the same educational goals (Latham, 2006, p. 277). Through these channels of informal or formal communication, reporting about students' achievements and learning are facilitated, thus including parents and caregivers in the schooling experience.
Establishing positive relationships with colleagues is also vital, particularly when implementing and promoting change in schools (Groundwater-Smith, Ewing & Le Cornu, 2003, p. 215). Collaboration through the sharing of resources and ideas also facilitates the constant development of relevant knowledge of effective pedagogical practices. By developing a whole-school approach to communication, a more positive environment will be created, and thus a more effective educational context