In order to obtain an understanding of a range of strategies for reporting to students and parents/carers, I will observe my mentor
teacher and what strategies she uses. Marsh (2014) states that it is important for teachers to employ a myriad of techniques to get a
broad scope of students abilities. I will take note of how she assesses the students as assessment and reporting go hand in hand
(Brady & Kennedy, 2012). Brady and Kennedy (2012) go on to say that the purpose of assessment and reporting are to improve
student learning. I hope to witness from her the strong link between assessment and reporting.
In my last practicum placement I did not have the opportunity to put to use the results from assessment tasks that I devised. I hope to
see what the results from assessment tasks will be used for in this next placement. I will ask to see how my mentor teacher records
the results, whether it is electronically or in a written form. Readman and Allen (2013) state that an organised system for recording
results of assessments help to make reporting a less difficult task. Having these results readily available also helps when parents
wish to speak to you about their childrens results (Readman & Allen, 2013). Furthermore, Readman and Allen (2013) concur that
when writing reports it is crucial to have evidence for each point that is made. This will be something that I will ask my mentor teacher
how she does. Cohen et al (as cited in Kivunja, 2015, p. 385) write that when parents are reading reports they like to know whether
their child is progressing at the recommended rate, if they are working well compared to their peers, if they have strong points, if
there are elements to work on and what they can do to support their child. I hope to see my mentor teacher relate to parents
informally. I aim to see her also in her preparation for report writing which she will do whilst I am there. Moreover, Churchill et al (as
cited in Kivunja, 2015, p. 385) say that research suggests parents want to know if there is anything they should be concerned about. I
will ask my mentor teacher how she communicates with parents throughout the year before or after official written reports are sent
out.
I would like to see her style of reporting as well. I hope to see if she uses portfolios as a way of reporting students progress to
students or parents over the semester or year. Readman and Allen (2013) agree that each of the reporting styles, that is reports,
profiles and portfolios have merit and effectiveness. I hope to see how my mentor teacher refers to the learning outcomes when
reporting as Readman and Allen (2013) believe that reporting and the learning outcomes are linked together and the key to
successful reporting.
From all these observations of my mentor teacher, my goal is to build my repertoire of strategies for reporting both to students and
parents and I hope to gain valuable knowledge of the purpose of keeping precise and reliable records of assessment.
I have completed the first four modules of the BRiTE program on resilience (Mansfield, Bateman, Broadley & Weatherby-Fell (2016).
I plan to complete the final module to build on what the program has taught me and add the certificate to my portfolio. I have chosen
the third module of wellbeing to further develop. I believe it is important to firstly look after your own wellbeing, which includes
building resilience, so that you are physically, mentally and emotionally able to teach effectively and attend to the wellbeing of your
students. Stafford, Moore, Fogett, Kemp and Hazell (2007) state that in order for schools to provide a supportive learning atmosphere
for their pupils it is crucial for them to see to the wellbeing of their teachers. I believe that I need to look after myself more. As a busy
working/studying single mum of five I need to work out how to attend to my wellbeing a little more, but often find this difficult to do. It
would see me in good stead to begin now before I start teaching full time and have strategies in place ready to go. I believe it is
important for me to attend to my own wellbeing in order to be a role model for my future students. ResponseAbility, (2014) states that
teachers can display the type of talk and behaviour that they wish to see in their students.
My short term goal is to find out during my practicum placement how experienced teachers look after themselves. I will first ask my
mentor and supervisor teachers what strategies they use or have in place to ensure they are looking after themselves and if they
have any practical examples they can pass on to me. I will also endeavour to ask any other teachers I develop a relationship with
over the four weeks.
Another short term goal would be to develop strategies that I can use to attend to the wellbeing of my future students. In order to
gather these strategies I will observe how my mentor teacher manages the wellbeing of her class. Stafford et al (2007) believe that
teachers have a responsibility to actively create a healthy classroom and school environment where there is warmth, safety, security
and consistency (p. 9). I will aim to create a rapport with my students from the first day. I will build their trust and a comfortable and
safe atmosphere where they can learn, ask questions and rise up from difficult situations. Building resilience is a part of looking after
students wellbeing and is important for many reasons. Stafford et al (2007) declare that there is an intricate connection between
resilience and student academic results.
A long term goal that I will work towards over the year will begin with the strategies and knowledge that I gain from my mentor
teacher on attending to the wellbeing of students specifically regarding resilience and resilience around assessment. Howard and
Johnson, and Fergus and Zimmerman (as cited in Readman & Allen, 2013, p. 29) suggest that people have assets within them and
use resources around them to develop resilience. They go on to say that teachers should develop these assets and maintain and
environment that contributes to resilience. I believe that resilience does not come on its own, but needs to be learned and refined.
Fergus and Zimmerman (as cited in Readman & Allen, 2013, p. 29) believe that resilience matures as a result of exposure to a
degree of challenge. Readman and Allen (2013) declare that an appropriate amount of challenge with regards to assessment builds
resilience and a healthy attitude to assessments. I hope to refine my skills with assessment literacy and how to incorporate
assessment into the learning experiences and units of work I create. I also feel it will be beneficial to build on my knowledge of how
to promote a healthy attitude to assessment for students. There will be an opportunity in my final ten week internship to see my
development in building students resilience especially resilience in relation to assessment.