Prior to the simulation, all TCs receive the information pasted below and answer several short questions on their goals in the conference and about building rapport with parents.
Synopsis
It is early October. Your classroom is coming together well, but Katie, a student in your classroom, does not seem to be making friends in the class and is worrying you. Katie is a strong student and hardworking, but when you try to talk with her about friendships, she gets quiet and will not respond.
You spoke with her dad, Bennett Reed, at the start of the school year when you did your introductory phone calls, and he told you to call him or her mom if you were ever concerned about Katie. You have invited her parents in for a meeting to discuss your concerns about Katie. During this scenario, you will not have time to create a plan with the parent.
This is a 7-minute scenario.
Objectives
Information from Introductory Phone Call
When you called home at the beginning of the year to introduce yourself, Dad stated that he was excited to talk to you. He let you know that both he and mom try to make school meetings, but both work, which can make that hard. He let you know that they always try to answer phone calls from the school right away, but sometimes when they are both in meetings, their phones might be off, and you should just call his office if there is an emergency.
About Katie
Age | 3rd/9th grade
Note: For elementary teachers, Katie is your 3rd grade student. For secondary teachers, she is a 9th grade student in your subject area class. |
Academics | Above grade level in reading, has a strong fiction preference and will only read nonfiction when asked (prefers biographies over other forms of nonfiction). Close to or at grade level in all other academic areas. |
Work completion | Work is generally done on time. If unsupervised will often pull out a book and needs prompts to do the assigned task. When asked to do a group project, will often work independently instead. |
Class participation | Generally quiet. Participates in class discussion only when called on and then says very little. When asked to speak in whole group discussions, she often mumbles, looks towards the floor, and/or hunches. During individual discussions with the teacher about the content, Katie has insightful comments but still says little and generally needs prompting to elicit longer responses. |
Peer interactions | Chooses to sit or work alone whenever there is a choice. When peers come over, tends to look down at the table, mumble, or respond minimally. Peers have generally stopped trying to engage her, perhaps due to lack of responses. Peer interactions at this point happen almost exclusively with teacher facilitation and then rarely go past basic greetings or dividing up tasks for a group project. She does not appear bullied in class but does appear ignored by peers. You have tried finding a preferred peer for her to work with and tried talking to Katie about her peers but have not had success. |
Previous meetings | You met with Katie one on one about her experiences in the classroom. In the meeting, Katie spoke very little, answering most questions with a nod, head shake, or by saying “Fine” or “Okay.” When you asked her about the other students in class, she said they were “fine.” When you asked if there was anything you should know, she said that there wasn’t. |