Reporting methods and strategies for children, parents, and professionals

¶ … Reporting and Giving Feedback on Student Learning of Viewing and Reading

Students learn an essential skill such as reading through a variety of ways, spanning from personal experience, breaking down the process into phonetics, and listening to the teacher reading aloud. Teachers should use a wide range of methods to address the multifaceted nature of learning. For example, to reinforce the goal that students will "recognise and select vocabulary and interpret the effect of literal and figurative language," teachers can assign books with that make use of such language so students can gain a general and holistic impression of the way literal and figurative language is used; teachers can assign worksheets and exercises to help students identify the difference between metaphors and similes and assonance and consonance (for example); and students can also be assigned the task of writing their own works, making use of specific types of literary elements (Essential learnings, 2011, QSA).

Most classes make use of formative and summative assessments: formative assessments provide feedback to the student and the teacher about the student's progress over the course of the learning unit. Common methods are quizzes, tests, and short papers. Teachers may modify their syllabus, based upon their perception of how much the class is retaining. Summative assessments like chapter reviews and portfolios are comprehensive in nature, and measure the overall retention of the student after the unit is completed. Ideally, the teacher should not only give a chapter review, but should also use some type of assignment, such as a portfolio of the student's best work or a research paper, that requires the student to use multiple skills. Allowing a student multiple ways to shine is keeping with the principles of integrity, equity, fairness, thoroughness, validity, and reliability that are at the heard of the educational system.

Parents

Parents receive feedback on student's progress through the use of report cards and the grades students bring home on papers. Some teachers require students to have their parents 'sign' or initial that they saw a (poor) grade. Parents are also asked to have conferences to discuss their student's progress on a regular basis. Teachers have a responsibility to the parent to ensure that the parent is kept informed about the child's needs and development over the course of the educational process.

These are the most direct methods to ensure that parents are aware of how and what their child is learning. Indirectly, encouraging parents to volunteer to chaperone field trips; to make contributions of their knowledge to the class if they have relevant experience in what is being studied (for example, if a parent is a doctor and the children are reading a story about doctors, the parent could be asked to come to give a short talk about his or her profession); and following up when there are concerns about a child's social or academic development are all ways in which teachers can ensure that parents are part of the learning team and are friends, not adversaries.