My mind is constantly reflecting and looking for a better way to do things. Today I want to share two areas I have been thinking about:
1) 3-Way Interviews:
With the desire for my students to take greater ownership of their learning, I seized an opportunity to encourage this at the Term 1 Parent-Teacher interviews. I invited families to bring their son/daughter along for the 15 minute “interview”. (Many teachers have been doing this for a while in other centres but this was my first time.)
The meeting began with the student logging into their ePortfolio and sharing a sample of their Reading, Writing and Maths. The student traversed through their ePortfolio showcasing their work on our class’s data projector stopping to read off their reflection statements that accompanied each sample. The reflection statements were scaffolded using the following prompts: What (what is it) – So What (what does it show) – Now What (what is the next step). Parents and I interjected if we had any questions.
This generally took about 5-8 minutes. I then pulled the student into the circle of chairs and used the remaining time to focus on any key issues or questions, followed by a simple overview of the student (as you do normally in a Parent-Teacher interview).
Note: If I had any concerns for the student I would have asked them to leave for a moment while I talked to their Parents alone. I may bring them back and debrief them depending on the situation.
So what did I think about the 3-way interviews?
The Positives:
- The student was able to speak about their own work and share their reflections and thoughts on their learning, attitudes and work ethic.
- The student often expressed a sense of pride about their work as they shared goals achieved and other successes.
- Next steps where considered as a group of 3 (parents, student and teacher) keeping communication open and clear.
- The student gained an insight into what their parents and I valued. This helped them put things into perspective.
What I will change next time:
- Prepare the students better by helping them develop a flow diagram identifying the samples they want to show and the things they want to say. I think we will do this on a cue card in future.
- I had one “average” experience where the Parents and student started to argue. At first it surprised me and then I wasn’t sure if I should step in or not. I was slow to respond and this negatively effected the climate of the meeting and wasted some time. I will be more careful to actively monitor the emotional climate and assertively direct the meeting in the future.
- Set a little beeper to go off when 3 minutes is remaining so that I can begin summarising the student’s progress (if I haven’t begun this already). This will keep us all to time and make sure that I have the last say so that things are kept in perspective.
Do you run 3-way interviews? What structures or strategies have you put in place to assure their success?
2) Priorities:
In 2009 my class spent a lot of time collecting and uploading samples to their ePortfolios. In hindsight I realise they did this at the expense of other more important areas of their ePortfolios. If our time was shown as a pie graph it would look like this:
This year I have been far more protective of the time we as a class have working in our ePortfolios. We are limited to two computer lab slots a week (45 minutes each) and our four classroom computers. I do feel blessed to have this equipment available but we could do much more with greater access to the internet. Therefore this year I have been careful to plan, monitor and effectively utilise the learning time. Our focus is on the learning process so I have been conscious to uphold the formative side of their learning eg: reflecting, setting goals and giving feedback and feedforward to their peers. This year our pie graph looks like this:
This change has felt more powerful and healthy in the student ePortfolios. If I was to compare 2009′s ePortfolios to 2010′s it would be like comparing a obese child who has had lots to eat but is not using this energy, with a healthy looking child who is using the energy they get from their food and applying it to practical activities.
So how does your class spend the limited time available in their ePortfolios?
Cartoon Author:
I would like to make a special mention of my new personal Cartoonist; Angela Captein.
Angela has graciously drawn the picture of the little boy and it is entitled “My Learning”.
