Introducing live reporting through digital platforms will have a wide ranging impact on a number of audiences including students, their whanau and teachers. In this reflective entry we look at the impact this area of research will have on our audiences.
Studies have shown that having an authentic audience is a powerful motivation for students (Wright, 2010). We believe that the students will value the ability to have their whanau as an authentic audience. We have both experienced the impact that having a direct link to whanau has had on the students' engagement. As an example, Kirsty had a particularly disruptive student in her classroom. Much of the communication Kirsty had been having with the student’s whanau revolved around her behaviour in class, and Kirsty had previously struggled to meet with the caregivers. The digital platform allowed this student, her whanau, and Kirsty to engage in a more positive form of dialogue that was based around her learning. This in turn had an impact on both her behaviour and her engagement in her work. It also strengthened relationships between Kirsty and the student’s whanau.
A second group to consider is our colleagues. We both come from schools where digital technologies were embedded in our practice. Our current school is at the beginning of it’s journey into incorporating digital technologies into classroom practice. For many of our colleagues the transition to digital learning has been challenging and a move to direct reporting on digital platforms represents a big change, which can bring with it fear. According to theorists Labbas and Abir (2013), when teachers fear change it becomes difficult for them to move away from traditional methods of teaching. It is important that we encourage and support them towards this digital change as the Ministry of Education requires that all schools and kura be teaching new digital technologies content from 2020 (Te Kete Ipurangi, n.d).
Aside from the fear that comes with a change towards direct reporting, many colleagues would value the increased engagement of whanau in their child’s learning. We have both had conversations with our colleagues whereby they state their disappointment at the turnout for parent-teacher conferences. As educators we all recognised the importance of the relationship between home and school. Although we are striving for parent engagement, we are using methods that exclude our diverse communities for a variety of reasons. Having a platform that provides for regular communication and collaboration between whanau and school would benefit an entire community. Whanau are also calling for this, with the recent Action Plan for Pacific Education (2020) calling for schools and communities to become engaged in reciprocal, learning centred relationships.
‘We need to build and maintain positive, reciprocal and collaborative relationships with all stakeholders’ (Pacific Action Plan, 2020, p.19)
We believe the whanau would also value the regular contact with students and teachers that direct reporting through a digital platform would allow. The current model of reporting is restrictive to culturally diverse families, many of whom struggle to connect with school while managing whanau, work and other commitments. The attendance at parent teacher interviews is low due to these limitations. Having a direct link to families through digital platforms allows for a continued dialogue throughout the year which would help create a reciprocal relationship between school, whanau and community. This relationship would improve educational outcomes for our students. ‘Communicating clear, dependable information about progress and achievement provides a basis for building a strong partnership between the child, the teacher, and the child’s parents, family, and whānau to support learning and improve student outcomes’ (Te Kete Ipurangi, n.d).
Currently we know that our reporting is not engaging the wider school community as well as it should. We hope to achieve more favourable outcomes as outlined above through the use of digital platforms however we would need to consider how we can support the community through this change. There may be some barriers to whanau accessing live reporting. This could include limited access to digital devices and internet, competence using digital devices and language barriers. In addition some families will prefer the more traditional style of reporting that they are familiar with. We will need to ask ourselves how we are ensuring that all whanau are able to access the data. Have we made it accessible to all whanau?
As well as being accountable to whanau, students and colleagues we must also consider the Ministry of Education as a stakeholder in this research. The National Administration Guideline 2 requires that schools report to students and their parents on progress and achievement of individual students:
in plain language, in writing, and at least twice a year; and
across The National Curriculum, as expressed in The New Zealand Curriculum 2007 or Te Marautanga o Aotearoa, including in mathematics and literacy, and/or te reo matatini and pāngarau; (Ministry of Education, n.d)
Using a digital platform to share students' learning progress will allow us to develop some of the key principles of effective reporting as outlined by the Ministry of Education (Te Kete Ipurangi, n.d). Two of these principals, ako and technologies, would be enhanced by our use of a live reporting platform. Ako requires that information sharing is reciprocal whereby parents, teachers and students are all involved in the reporting process. Technology allows this to happen, as it opens up reciprocal information sharing and engages networks to support children’s learning while also making the indicators of a child’s learning more visible (Te Kete Ipurangi, n.d).
We must consider all our audiences alongside our own views when undertaking this research project.
Labbas, R., & Shaban, A. E. (2013). Teacher development in the digital age. Teaching English with technology, 13(3), 53-64
Ministry of Education (2020) Action plan for Pacific Education 2020-2030. Ministry of Education.
Ministry of Education (n.d) The National Administration Guidelines. Website. Retrieved from https://www.education.govt.nz/our-work/legislation/nags/
Te Kete Ipurangi. (n.d). Why Report to Parents and Whanau. Website.
Retrieved from: https://assessment.tki.org.nz/Reporting-to-parents-whanau/Why-report-to-parents-and-whanau
Te Kete Ipurangi. (n.d). Framework for Effective Information Sharing. Website.
Retrieved from: https://assessment.tki.org.nz/Reporting-to-parents-whanau/Principles-of-effective-reporting/Framework-for-effective-information-sharing
Te Kete Ipurangi. (n.d). Digital Technologies and the National Curriculum. Website. Retrieved from: https://elearning.tki.org.nz/Teaching/Curriculum-learning-areas/Digital-Technologies-in-the-curriculum
Wright, N. (2010). e-Learning and implications for New Zealand schools: A literature review. Ministry of Education
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