Passive Listening

1a

involves not speaking and only listening. This type of listening sends the message that we are focused on what the speaker is saying.

1b

Door Openers

2a

statements that a listener uses to encourage the speaker to provide more information (e.g., “Tell me more about that.”).

2b

Active Listening

3a

involves a give-and-take exchange in which the receiver of a message reflects his or her interpretation of that message back to the speaker.

3b

Pickering / Connick Balancing Test

4a

refers to disciplinary actions that school administrators can take against teachers for speaking out publicly against their school, when that speech is viewed as interfering with the efficient operations of the school.

4b

Daily and Weekly Folders

5a

used to exchange a range of materials and information between the classroom and home (e.g., money, notes and other class materials, reading logs, etc).

5b

Photo Newsletters

6a

contain photographs of children engaged in classroom activities. These are especially useful following holidays and classroom celebrations when there are many photographs to share with families.

6b

Interactive Bulletin Boards

7a

actively engage viewers by requiring them to take some type of action.

7b

Classroom Newsletters

8a

a multipurpose outlet used to provide families with information about classroom events, field trips, school policies, words of the week, lesson highlights, upcoming parent-teacher conferences, reports from classroom committees, and general items of interest concerning children’s development and education.

8b

Parent Diaries

9a

these are especially useful in facilitating communication within family support groups. The leader of the group assigns a topic for parents to write about between meetings. The entries are then used to structure group discussion.

9b

Home-Classroom Dialogue Journals

10a

these are especially useful when parents and teachers must keep in close contact, like when a doctor asks that a child’s medical condition be closely monitored throughout the day.

10b

Podcasts

11a

a classroom audio or video feed that can be downloaded over the internet or on an iPod

11b

Communication Cartoons

12a

these are useful in explaining classroom procedures to immigrant parents who do not read English and to English-speaking parents with limited reading skills.

12b

E-Pals

13a

a modern day version of pen pals. This form of communication is especially useful for family members living in other regions of the country or abroad.

13b