Active Learning Strategies for Parents: Fostering a Successful Learning Environment

Effective parent engagement is a crucial component of early childhood education, creating a successful and positive learning environment for young children. By actively participating in their children's learning journey, parents can reinforce learning beyond the classroom, boost academic scores, and improve graduation rates. This article explores various active learning strategies for parents, emphasizing the importance of communication, collaboration, and creating a supportive home environment.

Building Strong Foundations: Communication and Positive Reinforcement

Many parents only hear from their school when there’s a problem or concern with their child. By changing the conversation and sending home positive feedback early in the school year, parents are more enthused to be involved in their child’s education. The key is to establish an open and relaxed pathway for communication between the school and home.

Active Listening and Responding

When engaging with parents, it’s important to actively listen and respond to their needs, concerns, and feedback. By building a relationship of trust and respect, parents feel heard, supported, and understood. This involves allowing enough time to truly listen to families and maintaining constant communication through various means.

Collaboration Between Parents and Teachers

Collaboration between parents and teachers is critical to supporting children’s learning and development. By including parents in classroom activities, inviting them to share their experiences, and providing regular updates on their child’s progress, parents feel valued and engaged in their child’s learning journey. School and afterschool leaders must identify the barriers within their particular communities that prevent parents from being more active in their children’s education.

Extending Learning Beyond the Classroom: Strategies for Home

By providing parents with guidance, understanding, and fun learning activities for home, teachers can create opportunities for parents to reinforce learning beyond the classroom.

Family Engagement Activities at Home

School administrators have a huge opportunity to deepen caregiver and parent involvement in student learning through thoughtful family engagement programs. By providing intentional guidance and specific examples of family engagement activities at home, educators set up new ways for families to catalyze their student’s future success. These types of family engagement initiatives reinforce student learning by emphasizing the crucial role that parents, caregivers, and guardians play in the school community. In the end, effective family engagement in schools includes strategies for the home environment. These approaches to family involvement in children’s education are worth the time and effort invested in developing them.

Elements of High-Quality Family Engagement

According to the Dual Capacity-Building Framework by Dr. Karen Mapp, family-school partnerships that truly benefit students and families are:

Equitable: Creating an inclusive environment with accessible entry points for all families, especially historically disadvantaged ones.
Culturally Responsive: Recognizing and celebrating cultural identity to build trust and tailor engagement opportunities.
Strengths-based: Emphasizing families’ existing resources, abilities, and knowledge to improve student outcomes.
Doable: Integrating activities into existing routines at home to accommodate busy schedules.
Fun: Making learning experiences enjoyable for both children and adults.

Creating Equitable Opportunities

Family engagement positively impacts all students’ future success, but it is particularly important for historically disadvantaged families. These families benefit tremendously when schools create an inclusive environment with accessible entry points that involve parents and other critical adults in students’ lives. Therefore, it is important for schools to ensure they build equitable and accessible family-school partnerships. In other words, schools that want to support all students need to meet families where they are and provide many ways for them to make a positive impact on students’ education. Community-based organizations can open doors for educators to connect with parents in familiar spaces where they already gather. These organizations often offer an environment for students and families where they already feel safe and a strong sense of community. Community partnerships can also help schools understand what community resources families need most, so schools connect families to them. Such collaborations help increase a family’s capacity, trust, and engagement in school activities.

Fostering Cultural Responsiveness

A family’s culture has a huge impact on partnerships between school and home. It guides what a parent, caregiver, or guardian believes their role to be in their child’s education, as well as what factors contribute to their sense of community. This in turn affects parent involvement and participation in student learning. Cultural responsiveness is closely related to equity, in that its core purpose is to design inclusive opportunities for individuals of all backgrounds and cultural experiences. Cultural responsiveness goes beyond translating school communication into families’ native languages. Instead, culturally responsive family engagement is a pathway to building a partnership, from setting the right tone to creating listening opportunities and more. Schools that recognize and celebrate cultural identity lay the foundation for encouraging parents’ trust in their community. With this foundation, educators can then learn so much more about how to involve families such that they enable students’ academic success - all with the family cultural context in mind. Effective family engagement strategies account for cultural diversity by creating an inclusive community with engagement opportunities for all families.

Adopting a Strengths-Based Approach

The term ‘strengths-based’ describes methodologies that emphasize one’s assets or strengths, rather than center on deficits or lacking resources. In social work, from where the term originally comes, a provider engaged in this type of family advocacy concentrates on connecting a parent to existing community resources, assets, or personal abilities to support their needs. In education, school staff using strength-based teaching strategies focus on leveraging the abilities and expertise of parents to improve student outcomes and the daily school experience. Strengths-based engagement highlights all opportunities for parents to play an active role in their children’s learning, even in small ways. This approach to family involvement practices boosts a family’s confidence and belief that they can - and do - help their students thrive. By emphasizing families’ existing resources, abilities, and knowledge, school staff develops stronger relationships with families. In this way, school staff and families become true partners with the shared goal of improving social, emotional, and academic outcomes for students.

Read also: Enrichment and Engagement

Making it Doable

Like educators, parents and other family members caring for students have limited time to invest in one-on-one learning time with each child in their life. Because time is such a precious resource, high-impact family engagement activities are more successful when they fit into existing routines at home. Such activities need not be elaborate, either. That trip to the grocery store is an opportunity for parents to challenge their kids with fun activities that boost learning - for example, a race to find a specific word or letter on product labels, to reinforce early literacy skills in young children. Another great idea is for parents to use the journey to and from school to practice, say, math skills. Parents can challenge students to count all of the red cars they see along their way to school - then ask if they spotted more or fewer red cars than the previous day. Each of these small, but effective tips for parents have a positive impact on student learning. While homework folders and other traditional strategies may require time carved out from the day, fun activities that fit right into everyday schedules are easier for parents to do on a regular basis. Families benefit from this kind of ‘family engagement toolbox.’ Educators can give families right-sized games, challenges, and other methods to practice math, literacy, and more developmental skills that work around time constraints. By getting kids engaged in learning activities at home, families continue their kids’ learning well after the school day has ended.

Infusing Fun into Learning

Last, but definitely not least, learning experiences at home can be immense fun - and not just for the kids! Adults too feel the joy of learning when using family engagement activities at home. Whether it’s snuggling up for reading time at the end of the day, or leading a quick math challenge while folding laundry, supporting students can be an absolute blast. Fun-filled family engagement activities at home make all the difference in encouraging parent involvement in learning. They ensure that home becomes another supportive environment for student engagement and growth. On top of that, they encourage parents to become role models of joyful learning for their children, demonstrating that learning offers people of all ages joy. Family engagement at home offers unique and powerful learning moments for students.

Practical Activities for Parents

Here are a few activities for families that create learning moments at home and in other informal settings. Each family activity - whether it supports literacy, math, science, or social-emotional learning- is easy and fun for the whole family.

Language and Literacy Activities

Literacy is by far one of the most important skills for American students to be best positioned for success after graduation. Once students learn how to read, they read to learn and communicate. Many educators are familiar with past studies highlighting the correlation between third-grade reading proficiency and later life outcomes. These findings underscore the importance of building literacy and communication skills in students both at home and in school. Families are also well-positioned to apply similar practices for reading skills like comprehension, fluency, and more at home - and not only during nightly reading time. Specifically, parents, caretakers, and guardians can prepare students for literacy instruction. Before students even set foot in a classroom, families can start them down the path toward becoming strong readers.

Early Childhood: Play rhyming games to build your child’s knowledge of sounds and words. For example, while eating together at dinner, rhyme “spoon” with “moon”, “cartoon”, and “soon” aloud.
PreK - K: At bedtime, invite your child to pick their favorite book, but before reading, ask them “What do you love about this book?” Ask your child to show you their favorite page in the book as your read.
Elementary school: Invite children to help prepare a meal by reading and finding the ingredients needed. Offer help when needed and lots of praise!
Middle school: Continue expanding your middle schooler’s vocabulary by challenging your middle schooler to identify a new or interesting word during their day. Do they know its meaning? Figure it out together!

Mathematics Activities

Similar to literacy, math proficiency also contributes to American students’ success beyond school. Past studies have indicated a connection between early math skill development and long-term student success.

Read also: The Power of Active Learning

Early Childhood: Practice categorizing similar colors to practice your child’s observation skills. For example, name the color of your child’s shirt, then hunt around the house for other items of the same color.
PreK - K: Fold counting challenges into everyday routines. As you fold laundry, for example, challenge students to count to 20 before you finish folding the last item.
Elementary school: Ask them “What is the biggest number you can make using all these numbers?” Of course, help wherever needed.
Middle school: If your child is struggling with a math problem, encourage them to explicitly map out their steps toward a solution. For example, you can ask “What do you do first? Then what? Can you show me?”

Science Activities

But science is another area of learning that greatly benefits children.

Early Childhood: Warm up your child’s five senses - all of them are needed in scientific discovery! Take a look at our guide Kitchen Sink Science for a few ways to engage your child’s senses in learning.
PreK-K: Practice using key science words during activities, like “experiment”.

Empowering Parents: Strategies for Educators

Educators play a vital role in shaping a student’s education, but the partnership between educators and families is equally crucial for a child’s success. When parents and guardians actively engage in their child’s learning, it creates a powerful support system that enhances academic growth and fosters a love for learning. Just as students need to be directed in the classroom, it can be helpful to talk to families about how they can best support their child.

Open and consistent communication: Set the stage early by welcoming families at the beginning of the school year and clearly communicating your expectations for parental involvement.
Clearly communicate learning goals: Offer guidance and resources on effective learning strategies that families can use at home to reinforce classroom learning.
Offer education workshops: Collaborate with colleagues, community organizations or specialists to offer workshops on topics such as literacy, math strategies, study skills or fostering a growth mindset.
Promote a culture of collaboration: Encourage parents and guardians to share their insights, experiences and concerns regarding their child’s education.
Acknowledge and celebrate families’ efforts: Publicly recognize and appreciate involvement through newsletters, social media shout-outs or appreciation events.
Create a warm and welcoming classroom environment: Host open houses, back-to-school nights or family engagement events where parents and guardians can familiarize themselves with the learning environment and get to know other families.

Additional Strategies for Involving Parents

Mystery Reader: Invite caregivers to be a weekly Mystery Reader, reading aloud a book of their choice for 10 to 15 minutes in the classroom.
In-Class Events: Invite parents to help with in-class events like holiday craft stations, game days, or messy science labs.
Classroom Tasks: Assign classroom tasks like organizing the library, changing bulletin boards, or prepping materials to volunteers.
Academic Coaches: Invite parents to serve as academic coaches, volunteering regularly during specific academic activities like math stations or writing workshops.

Addressing Potential Roadblocks

There are many potential roadblocks for family engagement in schools. Common reasons include demanding work schedules that allow little time for volunteering, discomfort communicating with school officials due to cultural or language barriers, and difficulty with transportation or childcare. School budget cuts and stretched resources may leave teachers, counselors, and administrators less time to create effective systems for family involvement. But when parents are able to get involved, their participation can help schools make the most of existing resources. And there are many ways for parents to stay involved in their children’s education that don’t require a trip to the school! Through open communication and collaboration, parents and teachers create important opportunities for teens to develop social, emotional, and academic skills.

Building Trust and Respect

Showing families respect is more than being polite-it is esteeming or honoring families. Family members want to feel respected as their child’s first and most important teacher; they also want to see that you respect their family values, culture, and home experiences. Respect does not equate to agreeing with every decision made by families. Respect also calls on educators to embrace a strengths-based approach to their interactions with children and families.

Fostering Classroom Community

To foster cross-cultural learning and deeper relationships in an ongoing way, ask family members to complete an “all about my family” activity that you package in a backpack. Ask families to include items that are important to them in the backpack and to unpack it in class as they share information about each item and answer children’s questions.

Ensuring Responsiveness and Flexibility

Family members need to be reassured that you care about meeting their child where they are and that you are knowledgeable about their child as an individual and as a part of social and cultural communities. They want to be reassured that their child will not be singled out, labeled, forgotten, or harmed-but will be kept safe and be engaged in activities that are suited to their child’s unique strengths, interests, preferences, and needs. They also want to feel that you are responsive and that they can trust you to address their concerns and questions. For educators to be responsive, they must embrace flexibility.

Utilizing Technology for Communication

Technology has transformed the way parents and caregivers stay connected to their child’s education. Maintain constant communication with families through apps and other means. Use an app (like Seesaw or Bloomz.com) or design a private, secure webpage that includes the classroom newsletter, weekly plans, photos of the children, a resources and upcoming events section, a forum for asking questions, and an activity for families to complete with their children each week.

Resources for Parents

There are numerous resources available to help parents learn more about social and emotional learning in schools or in their own parenting practices with their children. These resources often utilize research literature to ensure that their work is well-informed by science and are created with the parent audience in mind.

Websites and Online Tools

Parenting Changemakers: Offers resources and ideas for acting as a parenting change-maker with a focus on building skills in family life including empathy, teamwork, new leadership, and change-making.
Common Sense Media: Reviews the vast majority of movies, apps, video games, and other media available to children, providing age ratings and content information.
Defining Actions: Focuses explicitly on actively promoting kids’ social, emotional, and ethical development.
GreatSchools: A community resource to find and share information about schools.
Consortium for Science-Based Information on Children, Youth, and Families: Provides developmental markers at each age/stage with guidance for parents on how to support each aspect of development.
StopBullying.gov: A site dedicated to helping parents, educators, and community members stop bullying.
Youth Service America (YSA): A global organization that supports youth involvement as significant contributors to communities through learning, leadership, and service.
Edutopia: Maurice Elias, a long-time CASEL collaborator, writes on social and emotional learning topics regularly for the Edutopia blog.
The Research Mom: Written by a psychologist and researcher, the author finds popularized research and examines it for rigor and validity.
Harvard Family Research Project: Conducts research on the best ways of increasing school-home and school-community collaboration.

Books and Publications

School, Family, and Community Partnerships: The most influential leaders in the field provide essential information to better understand and improve the nature and quality of school-family partnerships for the benefit of all children.
Rewarding Resilience: Introduce their most compelling research, announce groundbreaking findings, and share real-life stories from adults and youth to show parents, teachers, mentors, and kids how to achieve greater life satisfaction through gratitude.
The Whole-Brain Child: Dr. Siegel is a leading expert in brain science. This book sheds light on the often misunderstood yet critical time in a child’s life in which they straddle childhood and adulthood but don’t fit squarely in either phase.
Unconditional Parenting: Stiffelman shows you how to awake your child’s natural instincts to cooperate by being the confident parent your child needs, teaching you how to parent from a place of strong, durable connection, and helping your child navigate the challenging moments of growing up.
Learning as a Family: Packed with helpful guidance from more than 60 parents who are also experts in learning and/or education, this book will support Moms and Dads who recognize learning as core to their purpose.

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