MODULE 4: "STUDENT VOICE AND COMMUNICATION"

Students and teacher talking
Our parents and teachers both shared that the fundamental contributor to successful collaboration was a solid foundation of clear, honest and open communication. Most importantly was two-way communication with the student – focusing on the student voice.

Asking our student for input in all discussions and decisions, is when the greatest levels of engagement, satisfaction and success are achieved. This module gives you the framework and tools that will enable you to foster effective communication and empower the student to use their voice.

“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success”

Henry Ford

Sky border
VALUES
Respect
Commitment
REFLECTION

RECIPROCITY

PRINCIPLES
  • Open and regular communication underpins effective collaboration
  • Positive in approach
  • Student voice is paramount
  • Trial and error, and regular review is inherent in the design
  • School life and home life are intertwined
  • Parent and teacher relationship needs to be equitable, valued and honoured
VALUES
PRINCIPLES
Respect
Commitment
REFLECTION

RECIPROCITY

  • Open and regular communication underpins effective collaboration
  • Positive in approach
  • Student voice is paramount
  • Trial and error, and regular review is inherent in the design
  • School life and home life are intertwined
  • Parent and teacher relationship needs to be equitable, valued and honoured
Sky border
Let’s listen to our student
“It is only by including these voices that the potential of this work to achieve social justice can be realised”

(Walker and Logan, 2008)

Being listened to and being taken seriously fosters a positive relationship between learners and their educators. It encourages a positive sense of self in both parties which can have an enormous impact on individuals’ learning outcomes. Taking the time to engage with students to understand different aspects of their experiences may also contribute to lessening misunderstandings within adult and student perspectives (Graham, 2020:279). The student needs to be the priority – allocate time and process to ensure student voice is at the heart of collaboration decisions.

READ MORE:
Why student voice matters – NSW Department of Education

READ MORE:
Why student voice matters – NSW Department of Education

Exactly what is meant by the student voice?
“Giving students a voice is not simply about the opportunity to communicate ideas and opinions; it is about having the power to influence change”

(West, 2004)

The active and authentic involvement of students has been identified as a key factor in creating a supportive school.

To have a voice, students are actively involved in meaningful decision making processes. ‘Student Voice’ provides students with opportunities to become active participants in their education and to enable them to give their input towards decisions about what, and how they learn, and even how their learning is assessed. Much of the research and literature suggests there is a strong connection between student voice and learning outcomes for students – which of course, is the core business of any school. The desire for students to understand that their voice is heard and matters.

“Meaningful involvement of students means validating and authorising them to represent their own ideas, opinions, knowledge and experiences through education in order to improve our schools.”

(Fletcher, 2005)

“Co-creation has changed how I think about my learning. I now have more control and my learning is more fun. I am sure that these skills will be beneficial to me in the future. Working with outside agencies has let me know that I can make a difference in the world. I am excited about school and these projects and I can’t wait to see what they look like when they are finished.”

Year 8 student, Campbelltown Performing Arts High School

Let’s give them the skills and empower them to use THEM
“Always invite the student to participate in any collaborative planning meetings and explain from the start that they have a voice in the decisions being made”

Teacher

The student’s voice is the vehicle through which they express the influences on their wellbeing and what they are experiencing: choice, achievement of meaningful goals, developing positive relationships, enjoyment, personal growth and development, health and safety in their school life. As parents and teachers we are aiming to raise their voice to ensure our student contributes to their own wellbeing, that of their peers, and the collective wellbeing of their communities.
Who is your ‘go to’ person? In primary school this is likely to be your classroom teacher, and in high school it could be your head teacher or another staff member who has been allocated.
Teaching and empowering our student to input and use their voice may be initially a challenge – particularly if they have not been listened to or heard in the past. Student Voice needs to be included and validated. Our students need to be taught skills to develop and value their voice and be empowered (by us) to use their voice. A student’s voice is not always verbal – it is the ability to move in and out of spaces and situations.
TIP: Click on the + sign to see a list of tips to make all children feel known, valued and cared for
TIP SHEET
  • Identify and agree how the student voice can be communicated and included. It’s very important for the student to have someone to talk to at school in both informal and formal ways.  We may need to be creative to incite their voice: Provide simple choices/images/checklists or choices.
  • Our student needs a ‘go to’ person or people. Those who they have a strong relationship with, who understand them, who have knowledge of the big picture of their learning journey and school life, and ideally who are their champion.
  • Ask for student input before, during and after meetings, and during planning and goal setting. What they may need or want to have it work better for them. Give opportunity to have them offer their own voice alone with the educator or parent present.
  • Use their language or visuals as a base to how we speak about the student and their educational choices, behaviour and consequences, and learning plans.
  • Set up opportunities for daily/informal communication or check-ins with the student
  • For Example: The morning meeting – Life outside of the school, or even just getting to school can be chaotic. A morning meeting has a calming influence, allows the opportunity for students to share any difficult situations that may have come up the night before, and creates a reset of expectations for engagement and behaviour.  It is an opportunity to show and build respect where the sole purpose is to listen to each other, giving students and teachers room to be together positively, listen with empathy, and share opinions, and launch the day together.
  • Undertake written agreements or contracts with student – following the student’s lead.
  • Provide opportunity for choice – Students need to have choice in content, how it is taught to them and assessed.
The role of the parent and teacher collaboration
“Parents and teachers have to communicate to support the child – they can design how they are going to do it, formally and informally, but they are ‘critical friends’ – in the student’s learning journey”

Teacher

Communication between parents and teachers can take various forms, and both formal methods (eg scheduled meetings) and informal methods (emails and phone calls) are essential, and vary depending on the individual needs of the family. Both parents and teachers who collaborated in the creation of this framework agreed that the communication between home and school needs to be more personal.

“As a parent I have no idea how my son is doing socially and behaviourally unless a teacher calls me. My son cannot speak, so unless the school contacts me, I have no idea what is going on good or bad”

Teacher

An example of good collaboration between teacher/parent:
“Quarterly IEP meeting to set goals and review progress. In the beginning the teacher would email if she was going to be away so that I could prepare my son. Teacher provided me with a timetable of the day and also worked with his outside of school service provider team to develop his own detailed class schedule and visuals. The teacher would clearly explain the curriculum that the class was working on and how they were supporting my son with it.”

Parent

Documentation is also key, and most importantly, how this is shared with teachers. It is not enough to make an individual plan available on the school’s intranet. The content of the plan (goals and strategies) needs to be shared with staff in multiple ways and in some cases professional learning maybe required. Teachers also need ongoing support to implement plans and to continue gathering evidence.
Parent question:

“What do I need to know, and when do you need to tell me about things?

“Communication was the biggest tool, being honest, creating a true rapport and having a ready-made relationship to make resolution easier when things went wrong… He was listened to, observed and asked to ensure that strategies were working”

Teacher

Teacher question:

“What do I need to tell you, when, and how often?”

Value and use informal communication to educate and care for our student
“Focus always has to be on the student. Both parties need to realise that no results come easy. The truth is that these students need parents and educators to work hard for them – we must be diligent. There is no room for complacency. The benefit is that when you get results, the value is priceless”

Parent

Ensure communication is not a daily list of what has gone wrong. Rather open a necessary sharing of information about our student. It can be about their health or wellbeing, but also to support our student be successful in class. This might be; pre-reading a book for the week, collecting ideas for writing activities over the weekend ready for upcoming tasks, or prompting our student with the daily routine or changes in the morning on the way to school in the car. Simple support like this could make a world of difference in the classroom, as it helps our student feel more prepared and confident with their work.
How will we do this?
Positive phrases and use of positive language, even when discussing challenges, keeps us focussed on strengths, capacity building, knowing where our student is currently at, and where we are working towards with our student. We adopt a different mindset in how we approach and set a course of action. Built in trial and error, and regular review, allows for time that may be needed until we progress.

Active listening, where we repeat back or re-phrase for clarity what we have heard, ensures we are clear on what we are hearing, and how we are interpreting the information.

“Compromise and flexibility of both parents and teacher is needed”

Parents and teachers from collaboration

TIP: Click on the + sign to see a list of tips for parents and teachers on how to use positive, student-centred language
TIP SHEET
  • Use I statements
  • Consider if there is anything culturally I need to understand in our communication
  • Where possible use student work samples or photos to lead the communication
  • Every communication must have a ‘celebration’ or start with a positive
  • Give the feedback and immediately or as soon as practical
  • “Jessica It’s been great how……. is it possible that ……..”
  • “Jessica I have really appreciated….., can we try ……..” Use student’s name always first, and often
Establishing preconditions that empower students
“If education is to develop young people as capable agents, it can no longer rely on learning by routine. It needs to take people wider, deeper and further, to give them the experiences of what it is like to take action, to make things, to serve the community, to work with others and to take on the challenges that might once have daunted them”

(Leadbeater, 2017)

The teacher’s task is to create a safe learning environment, an environment built on trust and respect that empowers students to share thoughts, ideas, beliefs and opinions.

When teachers are willing to listen to and learn from their students and provide consistent opportunities for them to use their voices, students develop a sense of ownership for how and what they learn.

All teachers and students need to be able to formulate, articulate and share their ideas with one another.

Some students do not always have the skills for, and understanding of, how to use their voice in meaningful ways. Some students need more practice formulating their opinions than others. But teachers can ensure that every student benefits from learning opportunities that build skills and understandings about student voice, agency and leadership.

(Adapted from Empowering students through voice, agency and leadership. Department of Education and Training, Melbourne, Victoria, 2018).

THINKING: “LET’S GET TO KNOW THE STUDENT”
Prior to any conversations it’s good to have thought about what we want to talk about!
Communication is the most important element in any relationship.  Therefore, to enable a trusting relationship with our student, we need to ascertain how they best communicate.  To do this we need to take the time to reflect on our student.
Please click on the icon that applies to you to see the content
We want to hear your voice. How do you want to share your thoughts, needs, ideas and feelings with us?

What is a good/bad learning day? And how can we make it better? Complete the “What is a good/bad learning day” resource below.

How do you want to communicate?

What kind of teacher would you like your teacher to be?

Complete the student section in the “Inciting student voice” resource below.

RESOURCE 1: What is a good / bad learning day
RESOURCE 2
Inciting student voice

“I want to work with you and whatever happens in class. I want to back you up.”

Parent

How does your child communicate?

How does our child communicate? What communication strategies do they use? Do we need to support our child to communicate their needs? How will we make this happen?

Complete the parent section in the “Inciting student voice” resource below.

How do we wish to communicate with the teacher?

What are your personal, preferred modes of communication? Eg. email, texting, communication applications (eg: WhatsApp, See-saw), phone calls, photos, FaceTime/Skype calls, Zoom, face-to-face meetings.

These may vary for informal and formal discussions that need to take place. Formal meetings will be discussed in Module 5. However, it is important to establish what are the best forms of communication between home and school, for things that might just ‘pop up’ or to share quick strategies or even to share good news.

How will parent and teacher communicate important information about our student ? Eg. bad night, event at home, follow up at home from something during the day at school.

What information is important that we are sharing? This may include academic, social and upcoming happenings at school, or it may be regarding events of the day/evening or morning at home.

How often and how? What are realistic response times?

Complete the “Preferred forms of communicating with teachers” form below.

RESOURCE 2:
Inciting student voice
RESOURCE 3:
Preferred forms of informal communication with teachers

“Parents are the first educators.  We are just facilitators and we need parents help to do this”

Teacher

How does our student communicate?

How does our student communicate? What communication strategies do they use? Do we need to support the student? How will we make this happen?

Complete the “Developing the student voice” and the teacher’s section on  the“Inciting student voice” resource below.

How do I wish to communicate with my student’s parent/s?

What are your personal, preferred modes of communication? Eg. email, texting, communication applications (eg: WhatsApp, See-saw), phone calls, photos, FaceTime/Skype calls, Zoom, face-to-face meetings.

These may vary for informal and formal discussions that need to take place. Formal meetings will be discussed in Module 5. However, it is important to establish what are the best forms of communication between home and school, for things that might just ‘pop up’ or to share quick strategies or even to share good news.

How will parent and teacher communicate important information about our student? Eg. bad night, event at home, follow up at home from something during the day at school.

What information is important that we are sharing? This may include academic, social and upcoming happenings at school, or it may be regarding events of the day/evening or morning at home.

How often and how? What are realistic response times?

Complete the “Preferred forms of communicating with parents” resource below.

RESOURCE 2:
Inciting student voice
RESOURCE 4:
Developing the student voice mind map
RESOURCE 5:
Preferred forms of communicating with parents
DISCUSSION: “IT’S TIME TO TALK”
Let’s get to know our student
Let’s use listening and communication to set our student up for success.
LET'S LISTEN TO OUR STUDENT
 
“What sort of teacher would you like me to be?”

We need to share the students thinking, consider how to strengthen/bring on student voice and how to ensure the student is understood, taught and valued.

We need to consider whole class survey of strengths, interests, goals, strategies, what works for them, and what doesn’t.  If your student does not communicate verbally, consider the use of technology and communication devices, a trusted teacher, fellow peers to support and encourage your student to actively participate and be heard.

 

Share – Pre-work on what our student want’s to say and how they want to say it.  What type of teacher would they like?

 

Consider – How we can incite the student voice in our collaboration and decision making in their learning journey.

 

Impact – How might this information now be noted and integrated into how our student is understood, taught and valued.

LET'S COMMUNICATE

“What communication do we need to undertake in order to support/adjust for the student?”

Teacher

We need to think through our student’s routine and transitions at school and reflect what communication supports may change or be required in varied learning spaces, during transitions, with staff who may not have a relationship with our student, if unforeseen events arise and if our student is upset.

How is our student checked in with daily and how this information shared to relevant parties working with them? (Relief or varying teachers throughout the day, support staff)

How is unforeseen important information shared by our student to teachers? Who is our student’s “Go to” person/people?

What is the process for communicating changes and supporting unforeseen circumstances with our student?

 

Share – Let’s share the pre-work from the student, parent and teacher. How does our student communicate?

 

Consider – Informal communication, how regularly and moving away from only talking when something is wrong. How will parents and teachers communicate important information about our student? (e.g. bad night, event at home)

 

Impact – How might this information now be noted and integrated into how our student is understood, taught and valued.

LET'S SET OUR STUDENT UP FOR SUCCESS
It is critical for teachers to have some understanding of what life is like for families of children living with disability. This is important because they are not working with a child in isolation from the family. Parents of children with disability have more competing demands – more than most families of children without disability. It is important for teachers to realise that many parents have had difficult and sometimes distressing experiences with other professionals in the past. One of the most important steps a teacher can take in developing positive partnerships with parents is to ‘discover, nurture and celebrate a child’s abilities and strengths’, as well as focus on the commonalities that exist between the child and his or her peers, rather than focusing only on the differences (Graham, 2020:345).

 
 

“What happens at school is different to what happens at home, the opportunities, but also the challenges are different and they react differently”

 

What is going on at school for you with my child?”

 

Share – Pre-work on what our student wants to say and how they want to say it. What type of teacher would they like?

 

Consider – How we can incite the student voice in our collaboration and decision making in their learning journey.

 

Impact – How might this information now be noted and integrated into how our student is understood, taught and valued.

RESOURCE 6
Conversation Guide – Student voice and communication
RESOURCE 6
Conversation Guide – Student voice and communication
ACTION: ‘PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER’
Let’s share something positive to start with – on the topic of something we have discovered about our student or more generally.

What has been discussed, decided upon?

Has the student been consulted before, during or regards to the outcome?

What needs to be followed up, who will do this, by when and how will we know it’s been done. Is there a review required?

Who else is it important to share this information with? How will we do this? Who will do this? (Consider other staff, replacement teachers, peers).

Now go back to your “Conversation Guide” document and complete the “actions” section