SAO + to be completed following your SimLab Parent

Interview Situation
Describe the scenario of the parent interview.

The parent interview took place after school hours, in my classroom. The meeting involved
Max, Ethan's father, who was aggravated by the bite marks and bruises on his son's body.
Max was angered by the lack of knowledge on my behalf and questioned my abilities to keep
his son safe while in my care. He wanted to know what I was going to do to fix this problem
and ensure the safety of his child.

Action
Comment on how the first interview experience compared to the second.

The first interview experience was highly intense and unpredictable. Max was extremely
aggravated and concerned for Ethan's safety which he clearly voiced. I was unable to set the
scene effectively and diffuse Max's approach to the meeting. This caused tension for me as I
felt I didn't want to overstep his voicing of the issue. I focussed on attentive listening and
using my body language and gestures to make Max feel respected and heard. The SIB (set the
scene, identify interests and brainstorm ideas) approach I took to this experience did not
work as well as I had hoped, which I reflected upon. During the second interview, the
experience went smoother as I felt more prepared with strategies to work on during my
meeting with Max. I focussed on the structure of active and attentive listening,
acknowledging Ethan's importance often, addressing what I was personally going to do and
arranging a regular form of communication with Max. This structure worked well for Max as
he was calmer which diffused the tension of the meeting.

Outcome (What was the effect of your Action?)

What were the issues you experienced in the parent interview and how did you overcome
them? Reflect on why you think your Actions in attempt two were more effective.

The first issue that arose from the parent interview was in diffusing the situation and creating
a calm environment. This was a personal struggle for me during my first experience. In
overcoming this issue I worked on following the structure of active listening and
acknowledging Max's concerns. Another issue that occurred during the interview was in
responding to Max's negative statements about being successfully responsible for Ethan's
safety. This was also a challenge in the first interview as I worked to follow the SIB model. In
overcoming this issue during the second experience, I focussed on my philosophy for student
safety and bullying, what I am going to do, and how highly I value Ethan's wellbeing. The
actions I took in attempt two were more effective as I was able to work with Max in a calmer
and more productive approach.
What is the learning from this SimLab experience that you will take to your future practice
when dealing with parents. Do you think you will be able to apply your learning from today to
other conflict resolution situations? If yes, then please provide an assumed future or past
school experience example. Did you find the SimLab parent interview experience useful to your
development as a soon to be newly graduated teacher? Why?

This Simlab experience was a great way to experience an animated parent interview before
experiencing this in the real world. The learning I took away from the interview was to focus
on the importance of Ethan's wellbeing and Max's expectations. I also learnt the importance
of attentive listening and paraphrasing the main ideas that the parent is addressing. This
shows you aren't just listening but you are acknowledging and hearing their concerns. In
utilising my learning in a future potential meeting with a parent, I would use this approach to
parent concerns about bullying, neglect or social/emotional difficulties. It is important to hear
what the parent is concerned about and show your empathy for how your student and
parent are feeling. It is also important in keeping in regular contact with the parent and focus
observations on the student during the following weeks.

The Simlab parent interview experience was useful to my development as it prepares me for
potential experiences as a new graduate teacher. The learning gained during the two
attempts and communication with Anne-Marie was essential to improving my approach to
effective teacher-parent interviews. Anne-Marie gave effective suggestions and listened to
my reflection of my first attempt. This made the experience a much more beneficial and
successful learning experience for me as a pre-service teacher.