Learning focus area 1: Reimagining student reporting

Partnering to learn with families, students and colleagues

Driving Question: How might we reimagine student reporting in our context?

Overview

About Partnering to Learn

The idea of Partnering to Learn underpins this Learning Focus Area (LFA).

It invites students, their families, teachers, school leaders, and other members of the school community to come together to learn from and with each other.

It creates opportunities for rich dialogue and deeper understanding. It also aims for the co-creation of aspirations for the future and their attendant pathways.

Throughout this Online Student Reporting Professional Learning Program, 'student reporting' refers to a school's reporting processes and approaches. 'Student report' refers to the actual report document. 

What is the purpose of this Learning Focus Area?

1. This LFA supports a school community to engage in an investigation to:

• better understand quality student reporting processes and approaches
• identify a reporting approach that would better serve the aspirations of students, families, and educators.

2. The investigation findings help participants develop a coherent approach to meaningful student reporting. They will be guided to build on current strengths, identify changes, and stretch collective thinking. 

"…there are multiple and diverse ways of seeing and knowing, constantly in flux…"
                                                                                                                               (Bunce, 2022) 

How will this Learning Focus Area help participants achieve its purpose?

1. This LFA supports participants to:

• identify and document aspirations for student reporting, with a focus on the student as a learner
• investigate and analyse strengths in contemporary student reporting processes and products
• identify opportunities for strengthening student reporting
• think through what reporting could look like 'on the edge of possibility'
  
• identify and document initial considerations and implications for leading change. 

Investigation 

Outline of the investigation

The table below outlines the sections of the investigation and participants this LFA uses to achieve these steps.

To complete the investigation, follow the steps in each section below. 

1. What can we learn from our current context? 

1. Purpose: To find out how students, parents, and carers experience:  

• the school’s current reporting approaches and processes
• the current formal student report 
•  what changes to reports and processes they would value.   

2. Participants:

• School leaders from the investigation team 
  
• Learning community focus group. 
  

How do leaders facilitate ‘What can we learn from our current context’? : 

Workshop 1 - Preparation: School leaders from the investigation team

• Read through LFA 1.1 Investigation: Learning Conversations booklet (LFA 1.1  booklet)
  
• Read LFA 1.2 The pedagogy of listening by Carla Rinaldi. Discuss partnership approaches that support respectful dialogue and deep listening to the learning community focus group. Use accompanying dialogue prompts from LFA 1.1 booklet (page 3).  
  

Workshop 2 - Part 1: School leaders from the investigation team and the learning community focus group 

• Ensure each participant has a copy of the Investigation - Learning Conversation (LFA 1.1 booklet) and any other necessary materials. 
• Ensure similar groups (e.g. students) work together during parts one and two of the investigation. 
• Allocate a leadership team member to record group responses with provided scaffolds (pages 9-15). 
  
• Start Investigation – Part One. Follow prompts in LFA 1.1. booklet (pages 4-11). 
• Collect and keep all documentation. Each focus area documentation will inform future learning focus areas. 

How might participants make sense of our evidence?

• Look at Investigation - Learning Conversation (LFA 1.1 booklet): Part Two of the investigation (pages 12-15). Use the scaffolds to record key insights, strengths, areas for improvement, and questions and/or wonderings.
• Look at Part Three of the investigation (page 16). It details how the group shares key insights learning with and from each other and makes sense of different perspectives offered. 
  

2. What can we learn from other school communities?

1. Purpose: to learn from other communities and decide which possibilities are worth pursuing. 

2. Participants: the investigation team. 

How does the leadership team facilitate ‘What can we learn from other school communities?’:  

1. Download enough copies of the following for each member of the investigation team:

• Reporting student progress: what might it look like? (ACER,2021) 
• Individual version of the LFA 1.3 Note Taking and Discussion Scaffold 
  
• Investigation team Summary version of the LFA 1.3 Note Taking and Discussion Scaffold. 
  

2. Convene a workshop with the investigation team.

1. Read through ACER’s Report and consider: 

• how other school communities partner with families and students in the assessment and reporting process 
• ideas for positioning students with greater agency in assessment and reporting processes 
  
• which of the communication recommendations aligns with what you have learned from families in your community and what they want and need from reporting? 

2. Have individuals make notes on column 1, page 2 of the scaffold in their Individual versions of LFA 1.3 booklet.

3. Discuss individual responses. Have a recorder compile a summary of the most significant insights on page 2 of the investigation team Summary version of LFA 1.3 booklet.  

4. Have individuals respond to relevant questions offered on page 3 of their Individual LFA 1.3 booklet. The aim is to make connections to local contexts.  

5. Have the team share and discuss individual responses, with a recorder compiling a summary of the most significant insight on pages 3-4 of the investigation team Summary version of LFA 1.4.  

6. Retain these summaries for Learning Focus Area 4.  

3. What does the educational evidence say?

1. Purpose: to review the evidence on reporting with a view to incorporating the findings.

2. Participants: the investigation team

How does the leadership team facilitate ‘What does the educational evidence say?’:  

1. Look over these readings:

• Optional Reading: Family-School Partnerships  
• Optional Reading: A review and critique of student reporting

2. Select one of the above readings to explore as a team. 

3. Ensure individuals have their copy of the LFA 1.3 Note Taking and Discussion Scaffold available to take notes 

4. Download Professional Learning Discussion Guides. Use Making Meaning Conversation on page 4 in to discuss and analyse the readings.

5. Work through the steps in small groups of ~4 after reading your chosen Optional Reading.  This process is designed to support teams to have a deeper discussion and analysis of the reading.  

6. Tackle the second reading by choosing one of the other reading processes in the Professional Learning Discussion Guides.  

7. Refer to page 2 of the investigation team summary version of LFA 1.3 Note Taking and Discussion Scaffold. 

8. Optional – an additional reading is provided to explore this further:

• Additional Reading 1: Communicating Student Learning Progress_A Review of Student Reporting ( Hollingsworth, Heard, and Weldon). The executive summary on pages 5-8 provides an overview of the findings of this in-depth study. It specifically reports on discussions with parents and carers.

4. What does the system level say? 

1. Purpose: to understand system-level recommendations for quality report writing and reporting.

2. Participants: the investigation team.

How does the leadership facilitate ‘what does the system level say?’:

1. Scan the following system-level guidance: 

• Reporting Student Achievement and Progress Foundation to 10 policy
  
• Quick tips for writing reports
  
• Student report writing checklist
  
• Reporting to parents and carers - general information
  
• Reporting to parents and carers – students with disability and/or additional needs
  
• Reporting to parents and carers – EAL proficiency and progress
  
• Student reports and parent/carer, teacher, and student conferences
  

2. Obtain the Individual and investigation team summary versions of LFA 1.3 Note Taking and Discussion Scaffold. 

3. Identify the most relevant documents in light of your school context and what has emerged from your investigations to date. 

4. Have individuals read the selected documents and make notes in Individual versions of LFA 1.3 Note Taking and Discussion Scaffold (page 2, column 3) learning from the system level.  

5. Take turns to share and discuss what each person noticed.  

6. Add collective insights and ideas to page 2, column 3 of the investigation team Summary version of the LFA 1.3 Note Taking and Discussion Scaffold. 

7. Analyse further by referring to the discussion guide on page 4. Individuals read through and make notes on their Individual version of the LFA 1.3 Note Taking and Discussion Scaffold.  

8. Summarise main insights and ideas in response to these questions on pages 5-6 of the investigation team summary version of the LFA 1.3 Note Taking and Discussion Scaffold.

5. Pulling it together 

1. Purpose: to use what the investigation team has learned to understand new possibilities for re-imagining student reporting learning partnerships with families. 

2. Participants: the investigation team

How the leadership team facilitate ‘pulling it together': 

1. Download the LFA 1.4 Investigations Key points template.  

2. Use the template to summarise: 

• what the investigation team has learned about your current approach to student reporting and reports 
• the ideas and possibilities that would enable more meaningful reporting to families. 

3. Store these with the collated findings from investigations in your investigation team summaries. This will also be shared with other school community members during Learning Focus Area 4.  

Learning Focus Area 1 Evaluation Guide

LFA 1.5 Evaluation Survey is provided for school leaders to distribute relevant sections to participating members of the investigation team and Learning Community Focus Group. It is designed to determine the understandings and impacts for those participating in the Partnering to Learn investigation (leaders, teachers, parents/carers, and students).