Educators: Amy Eide and Erin Heiman
District: Pewaukee School District
School: Pewaukee Lake Elementary
To learn more about the elements highlighted in this post, click the links below:
Focus Element: Family Engagement
Additional Elements: Learner Choice Incorporated, Assessment of/for/as Learning, Learning Aligned Technology
How are you incorporating the selected element in your classroom?
As teachers we often hear parents say, “I would like to be involved in my child’s learning” or “I want to make sure I know how my child is doing.” Giving specific feedback for every child can be tricky and time consuming for teachers. This year we have started using Seesaw, an online student portfolio to increase family engagement. Seesaw provides parents with a personalized snapshot of their child and what they have been working on at school.
How has implementing this element improved your practice?
We view the video and provide feedback and use it for assessment purposes. We are provided with frequent student data through the use of Seesaw. We use the work they upload as a formative assessment throughout a unit of study and a summative assessment at the end of a unit. The examples students upload allow us to see when a student achieves proficiency and what they still need to work on. We use the data from these assessments to guide our instruction through mini-lessons, small groups, and individual student conferences.
How has implementing this element helped your learners?
Our students are empowered as learners through Seesaw. Students are expected to self reflect on their skills before they upload a demonstration of their learning. After they upload, they are encouraged to go back and view the video or reread the document and reflect again. We are finding that students start off always thinking they are proficient, however, as time goes on students are becoming more insightful about where they are at as learners. They have learned that it is okay to say they are not proficient. Being truthful about where they are at will only help them meet their learning goals.
Want to know more about the Honeycomb Model of personalized learning? Explore our Interactive Honeycomb!
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Image:
© Can Stock Photo Inc. / jannoon028