Teaching Portfolio
Alison MacGillivray
Standard 5: assess, provide feedback and report on student learning
5.1 Assess student learning
Demonstrate understanding of assessment strategies, including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to assess student learning.
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Assessing student’s work is essential not only for establishing where their knowledge lies, but also for guiding their future learning. During my pre-service placement I conducted numerous formative assessment tasks to establish my students understanding on a completed topic. This allowed my mentor teacher and I to adequately provide future learning experiences for the students whether through extension or additional support. Evidence 5.1_1 shows a formative assessment task conducted on my students after a unit of work on capacity. The students were assessed according to competency levels ranging from above average to limited to no understanding.
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The Waddington spelling test measures the chronological reading and spelling age for students. The test consists of 70 words that the teacher delivers in uniform conditions each time it is conducted. I had the experience of managing a Waddington test for a composite year 1 and 2 class. It was a very valuable experience and evidence 5.1_2 exhibits the Waddington test words, and a sample of the class’s work, one from a year 1 student and the other a year 2.
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5.2 Provide feedback to students on their learning
Demonstrate an understanding of the purpose of providing timely and appropriate feedback to students about their learning.
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Providing timely feedback to students allows teachers to discuss any errors with them and assist them with making corrections. I found writing lessons to be a valuable time to move around the classroom and have students read their work back to me. This enabled me to discuss the work with the individual student and ascertain where their strengths and weaknesses were. It was also a valuable opportunity to compliment students on the positive aspects of their work. Evidence 5.2_1 is a sample of a students work with comments written during the class.
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Throughout my pre-service placement I found the value of circulating amongst the students to be invaluable when it came to providing feedback and support for their learning. There were many times that students appeared to be engaged and on task, but on closer inspection they were struggling to understand the concept of the lesson and needed additional support. By actively monitoring and questioning students learning throughout the set tasks, I was able to observe my students and assist those that required additional guidance. Evidence 5.2_2 demonstrates me assisting my class with a tallying exercise.
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5.3 Make consistent and comparable judgements
Demonstrate understanding of assessment moderation and its application to support consistent and comparable judgements of student learning.
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While every student is individual with unique learning needs and abilities, there is still a need for consistency amongst certain assessment tasks to enable educators to monitor and document students learning. Numerous schools that I attended for my pre-service placement were using the Jolly Phonics Learning program throughout their literacy lessons and would often assess student’s phonetic knowledge with the use of the programs techniques. The results of these tasks were used for both formal assessment and to guide further teaching. During one of my placements I was asked to perform an assessment task with a student to establish his understanding of phonics, evidence 5.3_1 is a sample of the assessment task. In comparison to other student’s abilities, it was evident that this student required extra support with his phonetic learning.
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Evidence 5.3_2 shows the results from a students PM Benchmark Reading Record assessment. This assessment provides educators with an explicit summary of students reading levels, both instructional and independent. As this assessment is consistent for all students, it allows educators to confidently determine each students reading level accurately.
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5.4 Interpret student data
Demonstrate the capacity to interpret student assessment data to evaluate student learning and modify teaching practice.
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Evidence 5.4_1 shows a “non word” assessment that was conducted with a reception class during my pre-service placement. The students were asked to use their phonetic knowledge to write the made-up words as the teacher read them out. The results were marked not on correct spelling, but on the correct phonetic sounds that were used. Students were able to use alternative ways to write the sounds such as ‘ai’ or ‘ay’ to make the long ‘a’ sound. The results were extremely useful in establishing the level of phonetic understanding the students had.
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The data I collected from the PM Benchmark Reading Record [evidence 5.4_2] indicates whether the student is reading with above 95% accuracy (independent), between 90-95% accuracy (instructional) or below 90% (difficult). These results indicated that while the student had excellent fluency in reading, she was unable to summarise what the story was about, resulting in her staying at the current reading level she was. It was also suggested that the next two reading levels be introduced to provide a challenge for her fluency.
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5.5 Report on student achievement
Demonstrate understanding of a range of strategies for reporting to students and parents/carers and the purpose of keeping accurate and reliable records of student achievement.
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I was fortunate enough to attend a parent interview night while on pre-service placement. The event was a valuable experience on how to provide parents with the achievements and areas of difficulty for their child. Parents were given a portfolio of selected pieces of their child’s work to view and discuss with the teacher, however it was not an occasion for parents to discuss in detail their child’s progress, rather an opportunity to touch base with the teacher and identify anything that required further assistance and celebrate the achievements to date. Parents that were unable to attend the evening were given their child’s portfolio [evidence 5.5_1] the following day to view at home.
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Throughout my pre-service placement I discovered that it’s a common procedure for parents to be kept informed about their child’s reading levels by a notice being placed in their diary. Evidence 5.5_2 shows two samples of information sheets used to document reading assessments. While both notes are effective in communicating the results to parents, I believe example 'b' provides both student and parents with a much more effective piece of communication as its visually pleasing with the use of bold, simplified text. Some parents feel overwhelmed with too much information so this short but effective note is an appropriate update for parents.
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AITSL Standards
Professional Practice
