Martin_Nathan_17590307_EDP323_Ass2

Assessment and recording

Evaluative criteria

i.e. What will I be

looking for to
Learning area tasks

determine they have

met the objective?

Recording

What do the
achievement
standards say?
In pairs, students are to

To ensure students have The learning task will be

plant seeds into pots of

met the objective, they

recorded through the

soil and discuss what

will have to display the

use of observation and

they think may occur

appropriate use of

anecdotal notes.

over time. The objective

vocabulary as well as an

is for students that for

understanding that

plants to live they need

plants are similar to

resources that humans

humans in that they

also need to survive

require resources to

including food and

ensure they stay alive.

water.
Students are to create a

To ensure the objective

This learning task will be

journal with both writing

is met students must be

recorded through the

and illustrations

able to demonstrate an

use of an assessment

demonstrating their

understanding of the

rubric to be completed

observations of their

different parts of a plant

by the end of the unit.

growing plant with

and be able to label

labels. The objective is

them correctly. Also,

for students to begin to

students should be able

write informatively rather to demonstrate

than imaginatively and

informative language in

show growth in their

their observations. They

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independent knowledge

must be able to write

of plants.

facts of what they

observe rather than
making them up in an

Students are to write a

imaginative sense.
To ensure students have This task will be

K-W-L at the beginning

met the objective of this

recorded with the use of

and the end of the unit.

task they must show

a teacher checklist. The

The objective is for

continued development

list will provide

students to establish

throughout the unit. At

significant information

what they know

the end of the unit,

about where student

regarding plants and

students should be able

understanding should

their life and by the end

to demonstrate what

be at specific times

of the unit to discover

they had learnt

during the unit.

what they have learnt.

throughout and compare

them with what they
knew at the beginning of

Students are to create a

the unit.
To ensure students have Through the use of a

poster of a plant using

met the objectives of

teacher checklist,

real life materials. The

this task students must

students can be

objective is to use the

be able to demonstrate

assessed and measured

materials and place

an understanding of key

as to where their

them in appropriate

terms about plants.

development should be

areas while recognising

These key terms include compared to where it is

and labelling key

leaves, branch, stem

at the time of this

sectors such as leaf,

and roots. Students

learning task.

stem and roots.

must be able to show

where they are on their
drawing and be able to
place them correctly
accordingly.

Recording justification

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The measures of recording have been chosen because they all allow for
concrete evidence when interpreting results for parents or carers. By ensuring
that the results from such assessment strategies are recorded and organised
in a manner that enables the teacher to provide proof of student
understandings or lack of understandings, to parents and carers. Anecdotal
notes, teacher checklists, and generated rubrics have both advantages and
limitations. Anecdotal notes require limited training, is useful for future
planning, is open-ended and allows you to catch unexpected discoveries that
students make in a learning environment (Mait, 2014). However anecdotal
notes have limitations that can effect recording, including incidents being
taken out of context, and the quality of records rely on the direct memory of
the recorder (Victoria University, 2015). The use of a rubric to assess student
learning is a strategy that holds various benefits. A rubric allows clear and
consistent expectations stating explicitly what is required from students (Bull,
2014) while it also gives teachers appropriate evidence of student
understanding when communicating with parents and carers. Rubrics also
allow students to self-feedback and well as provide feedback to their peers
which develops a greater understanding of content (Bull, 2014). As with all
assessment strategies rubrics carry limitations. If not done well, a rubric can
place more emphasis on the technical aspect of student work and miss
deeper, creative ideas from students, and this can risk turning student work
into exercises that just follow rules (Bull, 2014). It can have the potential to
create tasks that become narrow and lose the ability to be open-ended and
authentic. If done well and allowing for open-ended, creative thinking then
rubrics can work well as an assessment strategy. Similarly to anecdotal notes,
teacher checklists provide advantages that enable teachers to observe
student learning and follow their development as they reach specific goals.
Teacher lists can be individualised for each student allowing for diversity, and
they also enable the teacher to stay on track of their teaching while also
providing evidence for parents and carers of what stage students are in their
learning (Davis, 2006). Limitations for using teacher checklists are that they
may be narrow and not allow for authentic, open-ended discoveries (Davis,
2006). This can be overcome however by adding an open-ended discoveries
section at the bottom of the checklist (Davis, 2006). The three assessment

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strategies discussed provide significant information on student development
and transfer through learning and are pivotal in enhancing teacher and
student understandings.
Anecdotal notes, rubrics and teacher checklists allow flexibility for diversion in
the classroom. All of the strategies provided can be adjusted for the individual
and with various students in class, all with differentiating academic skills, it is
essential that the procedures put in place are flexible and can cater for the
diverse population. A rubric can be adjusted by setting lower outcomes while
providing students with varying timelines to complete tasks or gain
understandings of specific content can be tailored with a teacher checklist. As
long as every student is developing and reaching target goals (Robinson,
n.d.), assessment strategies can be used in a flexible and adjustable manner.

Reporting Justification (700 1000 words)

Reporting to parents about students learning and development is an important
aspect of teaching to consider. Three main points that teacher should answer
to parents in regards to their childs development are how is my child going, it
everything going OK in accordance to other students achievements and what
can be implemented to make my child learn better (Curtin University, 2015).
Three different ways in which I can report the outcomes of the three-week unit
of work are through parent-teacher interviews, a process portfolio of student
work and an open night for parents to observe student achievements. Parentteacher interviews provide opportunities for parents to be involved in the
assessment process and work together in ensuring improvement goals for
students (Brady & Kennedy, 2012). Parent-teacher interviews also provide
clarification and explanations in uncertainties within the classroom and allow
for goals in the classroom to correlate with a goal at home (Brady & Kennedy,
2012). There are not a large number of limitations toward parent-teacher
interviews. However it is important not to speak in general terms, and if there
are issues, both parents and teachers should address them to find solutions
that can be implemented (Brady & Kennedy, 2012). Process portfolios offer
parents an insight into the ongoing development of student learning. Teachers

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can display various pieces of work to parents including their writing journals
with continuous observations as well as their drawings with labels. To be able
to show the ongoing development to parents assures them that their child is
learning and gradually beginning to understand a concept as parents can see
what students knew in week one compared to week three (Brady & Kennedy,
2012). The limitations that are associated with process portfolios is that they
can be time-consuming for teachers to create and can be hard to evaluate
needs for improvement against other children because all children learn at
different rates. Parents may be concerned that a child is much further ahead
than theirs and ask questions in regards to this. Overall process portfolios can
be a successful way in which to report student achievement to parents. Open
nights or days, where parents visit the school to participate in activities and
assessment with their children to gain insight into their learning and
development. In reference to the assessment of a drawing of a plant with
labels, parents can be given a modified rubric to critique their children and
give feedback in collaboration with teachers to assess student learning. This
style of reporting can give parents a first-hand insight into the development of
their children in a class setting and see how they socialise and communicate
with other students. Involving parents in the assessment process allows
teachers and parents to collaborate on goals and be able to implement these
goals at home as well as in the classroom (Brown, 1989). Limitations of this
style of reporting can be associated with busy work lives of parents and them
not attending to such events can cause a lack of relationship between parent
and teacher which makes it hard to set concrete goals and improve student
achievement in the classroom (Brown, 1989). The three styles of reporting
discussed both have advantages and limitations however it is important to be
able to build relationships with parents and set goals or address issues that
may be occurring in the classroom or at home. It is also important that parents
see their children are developing and that what they are learning at school is
correlating into their lives outside of school. This builds trust between a
parent, teacher, and school and allows for students to continue their
development.