Empowering Families in the Interview Process

I recently experienced my first parent-teacher interview from a mother's perspective. As a teacher I have held hundreds of interviews with families related to their children's progress and development in our classroom. Participating in the interview from the other side helped me realize how I could modify my interviewing process to help families feel more comfortable and get the most for the very short duration of time we are together.

Consider:

-providing families with a template for the interview ahead of time that will guide them through the process and help them consider what information and questions they really want to discuss with you

-have children's work available to families before the interview (e.g., on their desks, in file folders) so families can spend the time waiting for the interview reviewing this work

-consider having copies of recent newsletters, memos, and any other pertinent classroom information posted outside the interview space for family review

-encourage families to bring their children to the interview so they can be a part of this learning experience

-provide families with a 'comments' form to return after the interview that allows them to ask further questions and provide feedback to you regarding the interview experience

Leaf Man (Elhert) Science Center

Curriculum Expectation: Patterning: identify and describe informally the repeating nature of patterns in everyday contexts (e.g., the patterns in nature), using oral expressions and gestures

Learning Opportunity: At this center children will have the opportunity to explore and discuss the various patterns they discover in objects found in nature (e.g., flowers, leaves, animals)

At whole group learning time the teacher will read the story Leaf Man (Ehlert, 2005) in order to introduce the concept of autumn objects (e.g., leaves, acorns, seeds) and evoke a sense of wonder and excitement in students. During the read aloud the teacher can be thinking aloud and pointing out the various aspects of the illustrations, in particular the patterns that can be found in the pictures of natural objects such as leaves and seeds (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2003). After the story the teacher can display various pictures of animals (e.g., zebras, peacocks) and encourage children to find patterns in their appearances. The teacher can point out to students that everything explored (e.g., leaves, seeds, fruit like apples, animals) are objects found in nature.

At the science/exploration/tactile center children can be encouraged to become “nature detectives” and invited to continue investigating patterns at the science/exploration/tactile center during center time. Tweezers and magnifying glasses can be used to explore the materials in depth. Children can be invited to dissect materials for further exploration (e.g., the inside of a seed or apple). Sorting plates can be provided so students can group materials. A top-secret ‘science observation journal’ (since students are pretending to be investigators) can be placed at the center along with writing materials so students can record their observations of the materials.

Props:

Circle Time – Leaf Man (Ehlert, 2005), pictures of natural objects and animals (e.g., flowers, seeds, birds and animals, close-ups of snowflakes)

Science/Exploration/Tactile Center – numerous natural objects including rocks, shells, seeds, leaves, real or dried flowers, various nature pictures, faux animal fabric (e.g., zebra print, snakeskin), magnifying glasses, tweezers, sorting plates, blank journal, writing and drawing materials including crayons and pencils

Play: At this center children can role-play that they are detectives on a mission to discover and discuss the patterns they find ‘hiding’ in everyday objects. Using the materials provided they can explore various natural materials, make connections by sorting and classifying the objects, and discussing and recording their observations in a ‘top secret’ observation journal. An adult can help scaffold the learning by participating as the ‘top secret spy’ at the center and using science and math language to help children find challenging and abstract patterns (e.g., not only are there patterns on leaves, but trees also follow a pattern in how they grow, colour, and drop their leaves with each season).

What might children say or do: I believe that children will readily buy into the idea that this center is meant for ‘science investigators’ on a mission who are using top-secret materials. The possibilities of this center allow them to group and classify materials in numerous ways. Kid talk might include: “Look at what I found!” “There are lots of patterns here” “I put these materials together because…” “I wonder why…”

Assessment: This experience can be assessed in a number of ways including: a teacher recording anecdotal notes on what children are saying and doing; using a checklist and recording which students were able to find one or more patterns or who used mathematical language (e.g., word ‘repeats’ when describing the pattern) while engaged in play; analyzing the observation journal to see what children discovered and recorded; asking students in an informal interview to describe what they did at the center and recording it verbatim; asking children to draw and discuss a picture of one pattern they discovered while at the center

Ehlert, L. (2005). Leaf man. New York: Harcourt, Inc.

Ontario Ministry of Education. (2003). A guide to effective instruction in reading: Kindergarten to Grade 3. Toronto: Queen’s Printer for Ontario.

Ontario Ministry of Education. (2006). The kindergarten program (revised). Toronto: Queen’s Printer for Ontario.

Direct Observation as an Assessment Tool

I believe that too often educators overemphasis the use of product-driven, developmentally inappropriate tasks like worksheets when assessing young children. A much more effective tool is direct observation.

A description of the strategy/tool: This is the focused observation and recording of what children say and do in a specific activity. Is it considered an essential first step of planning because it provides teachers with a very effective way to quickly and clearly gather information in order to assess student knowledge and progress up to that point.

How it could be used: A variety of methods of gathering information should be used by teachers in order to observe students in action, record information about what the students are saying and doing, and compile the information in a meaningful and systematic way. Three common formats include anecdotal records, observation checklists and rating scales.

When it could be used: It should involve repeated observations of students in a variety of contexts and activities and occur over a long period of time.

Why it could be used: Directly observing students and recording exactly what they say and do helps teachers to recount incidents with children, helping to document the specific language and behaviour associated with the action. Teachers might consider recording their interpretation of the incident along with the direct observation.

A tool I use frequently in the classroom to help organize my direct observation of students in action during lessons, whole and small group organized activities, centers, and independent free choice time is a VENN diagram graphic organizer. At the top of the page I quickly describe the context within which the observations took place (circle, centers, gym class, etc.). I label each whole circle (e.g., the left as independent, the right as not independent) and I record the children’s names and brief information regarding each (what they did, what they said) within the appropriate circle. This way I can still record information specific to each child, but I can also organize it in a systematic way so that by quickly glancing at the page I can see where students fell within the continuum of the VENN diagram.

Websites for further reference:

Detailed description of what direct observation is and how it can also be used in research: http://www.idemployee.id.tue.nl/g.w.m.rauterberg/lecturenotes/UFTdirectobservation.pdf

VENN Diagrams: http://arb.nzcer.org.nz/strategies/venn.php