What is component 4C? Many families will want to be involved with their child's learning experience no matter the extent they are able to participate. It will vary based on familial obligations, careers, and many other factors. A teacher should be able to communicate with families no matter how busy the families may be. This is essential so that parents and students are both informed of what is going on in the classroom and if anything needs altered. The first element of this component is communicating information about the instructional program. Details of events and projects done in class should be shared with parents as much as possible to keep them up to date. The second element is communicating information about individual students. As necessary, teachers should share information or projects that their child has completed in the classroom. This keeps parents in the loop of what is going on in school if they cannot come in for field trips or parties due to other obligations. The last element of this component is engagement of families in the instruction program. Teachers should engage parents as much as possible in the events of the classroom. Opening up presentations, parties, and other events to the parents can make them feel more included and engaged in the classroom and it connects the parent to what the student is learning.
How can it be implemented in the classroom? Facebook can be a great tool to engage parents in the classroom and communicate with families. Teachers can create a classroom group page for parents to join. Then they can post daily photos, projects, and other class activities to the page so parents can see what the students did at school. This gives parents and students something to talk about at home when they discuss how school was. It also makes communication with the teacher simple for parents. If they have a question, they can message the teacher or post it to the group. The parents can also sign up for classroom parties, field trips, and other school events through the page as well. Another way to implement this in the classroom is having a "class newspaper." In that newspaper, the teacher can share student short stories, projects, poems, or anything they have done that is exceptional in the class with all the parents. If the students are older, the teacher can make this a class project that they complete throughout the nine weeks. Each student can have a section they are responsible for or a role to fulfill in the newspaper staff. It would be a great way to engage students in creative work while communicating with parents and recognizing students for their work.
The Framework for Teaching Evaluation Instrument. (n.d.). Retrieved September 24, 2017, from http://static.pdesas.org/content/documents/danielson_rubric_32.pdf