Parent-teacher interviews are a great way to establish and maintain respectful, collaborative relationships with parents and carers regarding their children's academic achievement, learning and wellbeing.
Schools offer parents and carers the opportunity to engage in parent-teacher interviews twice yearly. Usually they are short meetings—about 10 to 15 minutes long.
They provide a formal opportunity for teachers, parents and carers to discuss student achievement and learning behaviour, share children's progress, and establish goals for improved learning and achievement in future.
It also gives teachers the chance to understand a little more about the students in their classrooms.
If you are a beginning teacher, parent-teacher interviews may be a new experience for you.
We've pulled together 6 ways to make the most of parent-teacher interviews:
1. Be prepared
Share the student's assessment folio with the responses to summative assessment and the related marking guides used to make judgments about the student's overall levels of achievement.
2. Be purposeful
Ensure your meeting covers both the student's academic performance against the relevant Australian Curriculum achievement standards and the student's responsible learning and behaviour.
3. Be positive
Always include positive points about the student's areas of strength, as well as areas for growth.
4. Be respectful
Remember that supporting students to succeed is a partnership; don't be afraid to let parents speak. It's okay to just listen.
5. Be open
Use evidence about the student's learning and behaviour when having a challenging conversation, if necessary, ask somebody else to be there with you.
6. Be futures-oriented
Finish the meeting co-creating clear learning and behavioural goals to guide the next steps in student learning and achievement.
Remember, you can always arrange a follow up meeting with parents and carers if needed.