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Documentation and Communication Plan for Students and Families

Ayat Yousef

Department of Teaching & Learning, Old Dominion University

TLED 360: Classroom Management and Discipline

Dr. James Godfrey

November 23, 2022

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Documentation and Communication Plan for Students and Families

Documentation and communication are key contributors to classroom management.

Ensuring a safe learning environment requires the establishment of rules and consequences and a

method for documenting violations. Communicating with students and families about behavioral,

academic, or general concerns is equally as important for the learning environment. In this essay,

I will outline my plans for documentation and communication in my future classroom.

Establishing Rules and Consequences

The student-centered learning environment that I plan to adopt involves the cooperation

of students and the incorporation of their ideas. As Milner et al. (2019) note, “. . . part of being

student-centered is co-constructing classroom norms and expectations” (p. 101). On the first day

of class, I plan to go over the rules that I would like to see followed in my classroom. While

doing so, I will invite students to modify or add to these rules as they see fit. Questions and

concerns will also be welcomed to ensure the entire class has an equal understanding of these

expectations. As students directly engage in the formatting of the classroom’s management, they

are made aware of its norms and of their role in contributing to the safety and functionality of the

learning environment. In addition, Marzano et al. (2003) suggest creating a written statement of

beliefs as a way of communicating the norms and expectations of the classroom (p. 83). I believe

I could incorporate this method through a collaborative poster that may be placed at the front of

the classroom, or anywhere where students can examine it. Such creative projects engage

students by having them (literally) spell out the disciplinary procedures of the classroom.

Routines for Effective Classroom Management

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Routines aid in effective classroom management by communicating to students a

constant awareness and attention to their role in the classroom. One routine I plan to implement

in my future classroom is a daily wellness poll. At the beginning of each class, I will ask students

to complete a poll that asks how they are feeling that day; this poll will also allow students to

discreetly communicate concerns they may have or issues they may be facing. Establishing such

a poll can prevent misunderstandings from occurring. For example, if a student refuses to

participate in collaborative assignments, it may be because they are experiencing extreme

hardships that day, which I might learn from the daily poll. Persistently checking up on students

“continually reinforces the relationships as the foundation of their learning community” (Milner

et al., 2019, p. 112). My relationship with students serves as the foundation of classroom

management as well as students need to feel understood. Thus, students can understand why

certain rules and precedents exist in the classroom and may be more motivated to abide by these

norms.

Another procedure I will adopt is allowing space for make-up work or missing

assignments. Although I want students to be punctual with the completion of their work, I also

want them to understand that when circumstances arise that prevent such completion, they will

not be severely penalized. I believe that students should not be punished for events out of their

control, therefore I will establish the routine of grace periods. For example, all major

assignments in my classroom will have at least a 3-day grace period to allow students to turn in

work on time without missing marks. I won’t do this for every assignment, but at least for the

ones that require the most time and effort for completion. I will also allow for work to be

completed past the grace period if necessary. My reason for these actions stems from personal

experience as I have been in situations where I could not focus on school because of difficult
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circumstances. Therefore, I want to provide students with opportunities that my own teachers

failed to provide.

Documenting Violations and Behavior

Though I may establish norms and procedures with my students, it is inevitable that these

may be accidentally or intentionally ignored. It’s important that I document these violations

alongside other concerns to see if a possible correlation may serve as an expectation.

Additionally, documenting these violations ensures that a record may be communicated to both

students and families. Serious violations such as insults, offensive language, and physical

altercations will definitely be documented to understand a student’s motivation or reaction to

these events. Other minor violations such as skipping class, being late, or refusing to collaborate

with others will also be documented. In addition to these violations, I will also document general

observations such as a student’s response to the daily wellness poll, private conversation about

events in a student’s life, or the motivation and cooperation of a student. I plan to use a simple

spreadsheet to highlight concerns and observe my students’ behavior in my classroom.

Spreadsheets organize information and can be saved and shared across multiple platforms, so

using one to document violations ensures the classroom is monitored efficiently.

Figure 1

Sample Excel Spreadsheet for Documenting Concerns and Violations

Communication Between Students and Families

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Communication between students and families is essential to effective classroom

management. I want students to have autonomy over their learning and establishing consistent

communication practices ensures this autonomy. Additionally, I acknowledge the value that

families bring to the learning environment when they are made aware of students’ actions,

progress, and activities. At the start of each week, I will provide students with an overview of the

week’s topics, events, and assignments. At the end of each week, I will provide an overview of

what to expect for the upcoming week. One way of ensuring this communication is clearly

presented is with a digital calendar. Digital calendars are easily accessible offline and online and

can be downloaded or printed if needed; I plan to share calendars with both students and families

so they are knowledgeable of events within and around the classroom. Marzano et al. (2003)

highlight the use of calendars as decorative elements which can mark events that aren’t specific

to the content (p. 98). For example, I could include different cultural holidays, school events,

sports games, breaks, vacation days, and more. This tool ensures both students and families are

constantly aware of the changes that occur in the learning environment and how it effects their

own knowledge. It’s important to note that other technologies like digital newsletters can be

accessed via email, text, print, or QR codes and communicate events to families; many local

districts have adopted paid services such as Smore to send out monthly newsletters. For my

classroom, a simple template in Word processed as a PDF serves a similar purpose.

In addition to communicating events, I will establish a means by which students and

families are updated about grades. The use of a learning management system (LMS) allows for

an efficient means of distributing and communicating grades. Google Classroom is a popular

LMS used in districts around me, but, like many other systems, it is not easily accessible to

families. To combat this, I will communicate academic concerns by inviting them each quarter to
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a private meeting after school; some districts have a specific day for such meetings often termed

“parent day” or “back-to-school night.” Recently, apps have been developed specifically for

communication with parents; Parent Portal is one example that acts like a LMS in displaying

students’ grades. Because students may express concerns that they wouldn’t share with families,

I will plan to have private meetings for individual students each quarter. As previously

mentioned, I will use an Excel spreadsheet to document behavioral and academic concerns. This

spreadsheet can be referenced during my private meetings alongside a LMS.

Conclusion

A plan for documenting students’ actions and academic progress and communicating

these to them and their families is essential to the management of my future classroom. By

allowing students to participate in the establishment of rules and practice consistent routines, I

can enable an environment that promotes learning, Additionally, documenting concerns beyond

violations aids in understanding students’ progress in the classroom. With the use of digital

technologies and private meetings, I can ensure that all components of my classroom are

distributed and discussed with students and families.

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References

Marzano, R. J., Marzano, J. S., & Pickering, D. J. (2003). Classroom management that works:

Research-based strategies for every teacher. Association for Supervision and Curriculum

Development (ASCD).

Milner, H. R., Cunningham, H. B., Delale-O’Connor, L., & Kestenberg, E. G. (2019). “These

kids are out of control:” Why we must reimagine “classroom management” for equity.

Corwin.