Assignment:
Effective Communication as an Educational Leader
A day in the life of an early childhood education professional is filled with many different roles, from educator, to caregiver, to role-model, and even to protector. It is crucial that in all of these roles, effective communication is present. Gestwicki discusses several strategies that educators can use to effectively communicate with the families of children in their care. In addition, the required readings this week share some effective communication tools that early childhood professionals can use to support home school partnerships. Some specific methods that educators can use to communicate with families are:
- Electronic Communication (i.e., Website, Video, Text, Blog)
- Bulletin Boards or Classroom Displays
- Traveling Backpack
All of these tools allow educators to communicate with families, to share ideas and information, or engage them in supporting their child's learning. Using these ideas, as well as the recommended readings for each tool, develop a model of how you can use one of these tools to engage in effective communication with families on a chosen topic.
For this discussion, choose a content area of interest such math, reading, writing, art, music, developmental play, science, etc. Select one tool that you will use to create a project to share with families on your chosen content topic (e.g. a webpage for your families that explains the importance of play, a bulletin board for an environment that shows several science activities that families could do with their child, a traveling backpack that children could take home to explore number sense with their families).
- All of these tools (webpage, bulletin board, or traveling backpack) support active communication and engaging family partnerships.
Be sure you meet the following requirements in your discussion, including text and an attachment for your discussion.
As an attachment to the discussion forum:
Develop your tool, including the content theme you selected, by utilizing one of the following:
- Electronic Communication (i.e., Website, Video, Blog): Develop and share a link to a form of electronic communication you created.
- Bulletin Board: Develop and share a photograph or visual of the bulletin board you created.
- Traveling Backpack: Develop and share a photograph or visual of the traveling backpack you created.
In the discussion forum:
- Describe the tool (webpage, bulletin board, or traveling backpack) you have selected and why you feel it is valuable to use with families in your classroom.
- Explicitly state the purpose of your communication with families.
- Explain why you chose the contents and information included in your communication.
For this discussion, you must submit a text-based assignment in the discussion area, including a response to the three required criteria, as well as an attachment with an example of your project. Please be sure to view the Instructor Guidance for an example of this.