Leadership Activity 4Juliann Greene

Marta YangDebra Yasutake

Main Article: Whitbread, K. M., Bruder, M. B., Fleming, G., & Park, H. J. (2007). Collaboration in special education: Parent-professional training. Teaching Exceptional Children, 39(4), 6-14.

° The article describes a 4-year project designed to foster successful relationships between parents and teachers.

Main Article and Objectives

1. Increase awareness of how misunderstanding and a lack of knowledge can hinder relationships between parents and teachers.

2. Increase awareness of how miscommunication can impede parent-teacher relationships.

3. Teachers and school personnel will improve communication with parents by avoiding abbreviations for professional terms when possible.

4. Teachers will offer explanations about the abbreviations to parents in order to improve communication.

Objectives:

Jeopardy Game Two teams http://jeopardylabs.com/play/special-

education-jeopardy12

Activity

On a scale of 1 to 5, rate how the Jeopardy game increased your awareness of how miscommunication and a lack of knowledge can hinder parent-teacher relationships.

Reflect on your own IEP experiences where a parent has demonstrated a lack of knowledge about special education. What, if any, steps did you take to assist the parent? What would you do differently?

Assessment

Dabkowski, D. M. (2004). Encouraging parental participation in IEP meetings. Teaching Exceptional Children, 36(3), 34-39.

Hess, R. S., Molina, A. M., Kozelsi, e. B. (2006). Until somebody hears me: Parental voice and advocacy in special education decision making. British Journal of Special Education, 33(3), 148-157.

Additional References