In this video, I will review the syllabus and what the expectations are
for this class. It's very important that you read the syllabus because I'm not
going to go through all of it,
but you are responsible for knowing the information that's provided there.
At the top of the syllabus for this class
is my contact information. The best way to contact me is by email.
Phone is not a particularly good way to get to me.
The textbook for this course is Families, Schools,
and Communities: Building Partnerships for Education,
the fifth edition. There are many additional materials you will read and watch
which are important for this class. They'll be posted on D2L
and you need to check that frequently. So, to begin with, this course embraces
a systems framework
of human growth and development which is emphasizing the importance of the
interface between the home and family
and the child's school environment or daycare
or child-care environment. The goal for this class
is for you to be able to analyse the
influences of the family and the impact of education
on the developing child and to be prepared to
facilitate a positive interaction between the two systems.
We, as educators and parents together, can have a very
positive impact on the development and education of
children. This class is designed to foster professional leadership
attributes
which include critical thinking skills and evaluation of societal trends
in family and community engagement and lastly
the assessment of ethical issues. I'll let you read and review the two sections in
the syllabus on the relationship of
the course to the college program and the specific
course objectives. If you have any questions
or concerns about this information just email me.
I want to spend a few minutes describing the course requirements,
though you will see receive more details about these assignments.
You will find information about each of these assignments
in D2L by going to the content page
and opening up the major assignments folder.
First, there are online discussions.
There will be 10 online discussions that will be led by me.
There will also be some online discussions that will be led by
students, but the format is basically the same for all of these discussions.
The discussion prompt, which is made up of two or three questions,
is designed to stimulate discussion and encourage students to analyze
what was read and expand on this by discussing the implications
of their analysis. The leader is expected to post the discussion prompt
by Saturday at midnight during the week prior to the
week that it's due. This gives the students an opportunity to work on the
initial post
to the prompt on Sunday. All students are expected to post their
initial prompts
by Wednesday and then to post their responses to what other students say
and what you've read from the others students by Saturday.
You have two major assignments that require you to go out and conduct
interviews and observations and then to write up what you've learned
through these projects. The first
interview assignment is to interview a director or principal
and a teacher from the same organization
to learn about their philosophy and strategies
for engaging families. You will need to
identify a possible child care program or elementary school
and ask if they're willing to help you. For those of you who are working in
childcare, Head Start, or a school
currently, you cannot use your place of employment.
I want you to go outside of your environment and examine the philosophy and
strategies
as an outsider.
You will need to read the assignment director and principal and teacher
interview document
that is... provides the guidance about this process
and makes it clear what the expectations are. You will conduct interviews
and write a paper. The paper must be typed, well-written,
and in APA style. This is true of all the materials you have to write for me.
The second interview assignment is the family study project, which involves
interacting with the family, with a family,
that you do not know well. This includes three visits with the family
and is structured to support you as you gain greater awareness and appreciation
of diversity across individual family beliefs and values.
This assignment has several parts to it
and we will begin talking about it early in the semester to give you plenty of time
and information about it. Again, be sure to review the description of the family
study project in the major assessment folder on D2L
as soon as possible so
if you have any questions you can get me to answer them. The third assignment
is the individual current trends events issue project
which allows each student to select the topic
of interest related to the current trends, issues,
events that impact families and their relationships with the adults
and the organizations that promote their children's
learning and development. Some of the issues that have been
of interest to students in the past have included poverty,
gun violence and shootings in schools, and children with disabilities.
You also have to develop
discussion prompts related to your topic and your topic must be approved
by me prior to your working on it. You can choose a format
whatever you want in terms of presenting the information; for example, you can make a
video or a PowerPoint,
or write a report. I am open to any interesting ideas. Just let me know what you want to do.
Another assignment is the program model project.
In this project, you will research a program model
that was developed to support and enhance family school
engagement practices. You will develop a presentation from the information
you gather about the program and share it with the class.
For these two projects, the individual current trends project and the
program
model project, you will have online discussions in which you will have to
participate.
You will notice in the syllabus that
there are bonus points available. I am willing to give
up to 15 points per person when your assignments demonstrate your ability
ability to analyze and evaluate the information you're reading.
I want to reward people who pause and reflect on the information that they're
given,
evaluate what is being said, analyze how it relates to other materials
that we are studying, and generate new conclusions
or challenging questions. Please take note as you examine the rubric for each
assignment,
I do not give full points to people who just tell me what they read.
You will only get full credit if you take it to another level.
The syllabus also discusses
Disability Services, academic responsibility,
which I take very seriously, and outlines the course.
It also provides late work and attendance policies.
I'll let you go through those sections yourself. Please let me know if you have
any questions or concerns.
Lastly, I want to talk about confidentiality,
another issue that I take very seriously. You have an ethical
obligation to protect the confidentiality
of all the people that you interview. It is best practice to change the names of
all the people
you interview in all of your written materials. Give them a pseudonym.
It also means that you cannot share the person's name
or information with family or friends. No video or photographic
images can be shared with anyone. Though I have not reviewed
everything on the syllabus, I hope that what I have covered has been helpful
and don't hesitate to raise questions or concerns
with me. I'll be more than glad to try to answer them for you.