November 11, 2019 – November 15, 2019

Throughout this whole week, my mentor teacher and I have been participating in Parent Teacher
Conferences. We have had half days all week and have dedicated most of our time at school to
and with the parents and families of the students. This was my first time really experiencing a
parent teacher conference in this position. When I was younger, my parents would often discuss
with me what my teachers and they talked about. But I had never been in the room, let alone
participate and conduct parent teacher conferences. Therefore, this was a really interesting, eye-
opening, and exciting experience where I was able to further my capability of communicating
with the students families as well as enhance my planning and preparation, instructional delivery,
and overall, my professional responsibilities. This experience allowed me to observe how to
create a beneficial, effective, and respectful discussion about the student’s development and how
to approach, both positive and negative, manners. Additionally, this experience of participating
in the Parent Teacher Conferences allowed me to observe how students may act differently in
school compared to being at home. A few of the students’ parents/family members stated that
when the student is reading at home, they will begin to cry because they do not want to read.
However, in school, all students complete at least thirty minutes of independent reading and all
students are actively engaged and effectively comprehend their books. To help encourage
students to read at home, my mentor teacher and I discussed interactive reading platforms and
programs with the parents/families. The parents/families seemed to really like the suggestions!
Throughout the conferences, I was able to practice providing my thoughts on the students
development and growth and provide student examples to demonstrate and support my views.
One really interesting and beneficial feature my mentor teacher added to the Parent Teacher
Conferences was allowing the students, themselves, to come in towards the end of the meeting to
discuss their development. I found this to be very helpful and constructive for my mentor
teacher, myself, the parents/family, and the student. It was interesting to hear how the students
viewed themselves academically and socially. Many of the students were right on track with
identifying their strengths and weaknesses. The students also stated that they enjoyed the
experience and liked “being a part of the conversation.” When students are able to participate in
a Parent Teacher Conference, it allows the student to take ownership of their learning,
development, and actions. Moreover, I feel like it provides them with more responsibility for
their education. In general, I found this experience to be really beneficial since I was able to be
hands-on and interactive throughout the preparation of the conferences, the actual conferences,
and the reflections. Overall, I am very grateful for this involvement with Parent Teacher
Conferences as it has allowed me to continue to develop and deepen my skills, abilities, and
understanding of becoming a responsive, equitable, and reflective teacher and supporter.

Reflection:

Before participating in the Parent Teacher Conferences, I have to admit that I was a little
nervous due to never having real formal conversations and discussions with the parents.
Although I had met most of the parents on Back to School Night, the Parent Teacher
Conferences were more structured and official. However, once I began my first one, I become
comfortable and quickly relaxed. In general, I really enjoyed the Parent Teacher Conferences
because it allowed me to further my experience and deepen my understanding of communicating
with parents/families.
 When using the Danielson’s Framework for Teaching to analyze any themes throughout
my journal entry, I observed that I participated in most of the domains. I participated in Domain
1b: Demonstrating Knowledge of Students when I communicated with parents about the
students’ development, learning process, academic interests and needs, and their overall skills,
knowledge, and proficiency. The parents/families and I were able to understand one another
because we both had prerequisite information about the students. Additionally, I was also able to
participate in Domain 3a: Communicating with Students throughout this experience. I
participated in this domain by communicating with the student about their development, growth,
and overall self-reflection and evaluation. Moreover, throughout the conferences, if we needed
students to understand the expectations of learning, my mentor teacher and I would clearly re-
state the learning outcomes focused on within the classroom to the student. Students were also
free to ask questions, make comments, and state concerns about their personal growth and
progress. This type of student reflection helps to promote a growth mindset as well as enhance
their intrinsic motivation. When analyzing the journal entry, I was able to observe that I was
participating Domain 3e: Demonstrating Flexibility and Responsiveness. Throughout the
conferences, parents/families and some students expressed their dislike for reading at home.
Therefore, my mentor teacher and I were responsive to the students’ needs and started to
incorporate more interactive and hands-on activities to learn the skills and importance of reading.
Furthermore, my reflection allowed me to understand that I was also contributing to Domain 4a:
Reflecting on Teaching. Throughout this week from November 11th to the 15th, my mentor
teacher and I had frequent meeting to reflect on our teaching and the students’ progress.
Additionally, my mentor teacher and I also reflected on the new information we were learning
and how to motivate and engage students based on it. I was also able to demonstrate my
participation within the Domain 4b: Maintaining Accurate Records by providing parents/families
with the students records from the beginning of school. To observe and monitor the students
progress, my mentor teacher and I created folders of the students’ work to see their
comprehension, skills, and retention of lessons. Throughout the conferences, these
records/folders were extremely helpful in explaining the student’s overall development.
Moreover, throughout the majority of the week, I contributed to Domain 4c: Communicating
with families due to spending more time conversating with the parents/families of the students.
Throughout the conferences, parents/families were actively engaged, and my mentor teacher and
I made sure to effectively respond to any family concerns. Additionally, since the classroom is
ELL, if parents/families needed a translator, the school provided our classroom with one. We
also used paraprofessionals and specialty teachers as the translators. Throughout analyzing the
journal entry, I was able to observe how I participated in Domain 4e: Growing and Developing
Professionally by requesting feedback from my mentor teacher about my abilities, strengths, and
weaknesses throughout the Parent Teacher Conferences. Since this was my first time
participating and observing Parent Teacher Conferences, I wanted a veteran teacher to observe
my interactions and provide effective feedback. My mentor teacher explained that I did a really
good job and was able to clearly communicate my views with parents in a “respectful and
constructive manner.” Finally, I was able to contribute to Domain 4f: Showing Professionalism
through demonstrating my leadership within the conferences and overall classroom and lessons.
When reflecting on my experience, I was sure to always demonstrate my honesty, integrity, and
confidentiality when discussing the students and their development. Throughout many of the
conferences, my mentor teacher and I emphasized that all students within the classroom are
provided with equitable learning opportunities, modifications, assistance, and time. In general,
this was a significant experience where I was able to step out of my comfort zone and challenge
myself. Overall, there are definitely strategies and techniques I will take away from this
experience and the conferences and use throughout my continued teaching career to create strong
classroom communities.
The overall student learning was affected because my mentor teacher and I learned more
about the students’ behaviors at home and how they were different than in school. Therefore, we
implemented new strategies to improve at-home attitude and behavior. Throughout my
experience, I learned how to create meaningful and respectful relationships with the
parents/families. I also learned how to successfully talk about concerns or issues with
parents/families about the student’s development or behaviors. And finally, I learned about the
value and importance of parent teacher conferences as a teacher. The Parent Teacher
Conferences are important and helpful to teachers as they provide insight into the student’s home
and personal life. A few goals that I have set for myself as a result of this learning is to
participate in family school events and to frequently communicate with the parents through
newsletters, emails, instant messaging, and photos, to name a few.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed participating in this experience. It provided me with a
unique opportunity to connect with the parents/families on a deeper level. Additionally, it
allowed me to reflect on how Parent Teacher Conferences can impact and affect classroom
managements, teaching styles, and student behavior. Furthermore, this reflection assignment
allowed me to analyze and reflect on my own teaching skills and beliefs to ensure that I am an
equitable and well-educated teacher and resource for the students. Overall, my experience within
the classroom has been really amazing and I am excited, motivated, and eager to continue
learning, growing, and developing my skills as an effective and equitable teacher and educator.