Week 9 Term 1 - Monitoring Progress (Mar 28 - Apr 1)

CURRENT SITUATION: of the immediate present; in progress

The last few weeks of term are typically academic driven. We should be at a stage where we are closing the loop on internal assessments and finishing text studies but the nature of Term 1 has been quite disruptive. Our landing spot looks a little different at this stage in the term, with student attendance low (to both online and onsite classes) due to COVID 19 including ourselves having to isolate throughout the term, our current position is somewhat - challenging. However I read something this week that spoke about the position that we are in our own lives. If we find ourselves in a challenging situation or in a situation that we are happy to be in, regardless of the nature of it, we are called to be in that position for a reason. What we do and how we approach the position that we are in will determine how we experience it. 

The position that I am currently in with my akonga is one where we are playing catch up and trying to finish work. For the most part, playing catch up has been my place of residence with my students. We are always finding new ways or nurturing well-oiled ways that work, when it comes to monitoring and tracking student progress. Monitoring the progress (or lack thereof) has been a focus for myself over the last 2 and half weeks. There are a few things that work well for me that I want to share and also there is one way of monitoring progress that I am hoping to integrate into my work in Term 2. 

TRACKING SHEETS: the act or process of following something or someone

My tracking sheet for 2022 (Level 2) 

Tracking sheets were introduced a few years ago, as a way to manage student's work. The aim of the tracking sheets is to have a centralized document that documents all internal assessments, external assessments and tests that the students undertake throughout the area. During my isolation period when I was from home, the tracking sheet was a useful tool that helped me monitor student progress. In particular with my Level 2 and Level 3 NCEA English students, I was able to track their assessments and provided some feedback. It is a clear and simple system that gives me a sense of control when managing and tracking my student's progress. For my Year 9 students, I have started to fill out their tracking sheet with their PAT Reading Comprehension Test and Asttle Writing Test results. I can see where they are at and it is a good visual reminder on what I need to do to help them go forward. As many students were staggering back to school (from isolation) the tracking sheet allowed me to track students who did not complete the test and I could follow up with them. I check this daily to make sure that I am following all of my students progress closely, even though we have Hapara Teacher Dashboard as a way of monitoring their work, I find that this (Google Spreadsheet) is easier to manage and work with. 

FEEDBACK: If you get feedback on your work or progress, someone tells you how well or badly you are doing, and how you could improve. If you get good feedback you have worked or performed well.

Feedback to my Level 3 student for their 91480 Assessment

I have reflected on what meaningful feedback should look in regards to the feedback we give our akonga. Since writing the reflection, I have made sure that the feedback has clear expectations, that I affirm what they have done well and use this as leverage when I give my suggestions and finally, I personalize it in a way that is fitting to the student. This takes time, but it does work in the end. I have spent time with my students to talk them through the feedback, to ensure that they do understand what I need from them. I get the sense that the students feel a little bit more confident in what they are doing when I give them positive affirmation - not just a laundry list of things that they need to do. I try to provide feedback once a week so that the students have something to work with throughout the week (whether they are working onsite or online). As we are working in a Hybrid Learning environment, feedback can often be the only type of communication I have with the student throughout the week so I have make sure that it is meaningful and worth it. 

ATTENDANCE: the action or state of going regularly to or being present at a place or event.

An excerpt from our Totara House Attendance Tracking Sheet

I have outlined some of the things that I do to monitor my student's work as an English teacher. I have used the same approach with my students in my whanau group, in role as Whanau/House Dean. An area that it is constantly reviewed and scrutinized is attendance. Over the last two years, our attendance has fluctuated due to the disruption of the pandemic. With so many students isolating at home, working or reluctant to return to school, attendance has and will continue to be a focus for those us involved in pastoral care. It is a huge area to unpack and analyze, it takes and needs time to be explored. I have created another Google spreadsheet for my Whanau/House that is shared weekly with my mentorship team. The Google spreadsheet holds the weekly attendance data for the 8 classes in my Whanau group, the mentors are able to add updates on students in their mentor classes. I am also able to refer certain students to the mentors (students who I feel need to be contacted by their mentor teachers). It is an open document so that all of the mentors can access each other's class tab and add information if they know anything. I have also shared this with the Director of Deans, Director of Pastoral and the Pastoral team. I update this weekly and use this as a focal point in our discussions when we do meet. For me, it is a good way to centralize our Whanau/House specific attendance data so that I am not having to sift through everyone's data on KAMAR. 

WORKSPACE: Hapara Workspace is a platform for teachers and learners to create highly personalized learning experiences that deepen collaboration and differentiation throughout the learning cycle. Teachers are able to streamline the process by tracking progress, submissions, and providing feedback to their learners.

Mrs Harde's NCEA Level 2 English Workspace

Over the last 10 years, I have been inundated with all types of educational online tools. Hapara Workspace is one of those tools that I have yet to add to my toolkit, but I am hoping to integrate this into my online learning space in Term 2. My focus group will be my NCEA Level 2 (201ENG) class and I will be trialing Workspace with them for their Term 2 Internal Assessment (91104 - Connections Essay). My fellow colleague and English Department member, Mrs Pravina Harde, is quite experienced with Workspace and was able to share this with our team at our Department Planning Day in Term 4 2021. I really liked how she used the app and how her students knew how to access it and use it well (even in her absence). Mrs Harde has created a Level 2 English Workspace that I am going make a copy of and then modify to fit my class. I am hopeful that this will be another effective way of tracking and monitoring student progress. 

I have made a deliberate attempt to integrate all of these monitoring measures in my weekly routine at school. It gives me a sense of 'control' over what I can control and manage. I do know that student achievement and attendance will always have gaps, that will not change. However how I approach it and try to monitor it, in some ways helps me grapple with it as it can be quite overwhelming. These measures are result of my experiences with our first lockdown in 2020. It is way of keeping me accountable to my students and the teams that I work with. It is also a way of keeping me in line and on the pulse with what is going on with my students.