Documenting key competencies development of learners

Documenting the development of learners' key competencies 

Key competency documentation strengthens the key competencies through the process of ongoing learning and reflection. It aims to outline how students' capabilities are evident as they participate with others in a specific context.  

Key competency documentation should be useful to learners, teachers, and whānau. It is an opportunity to promote the Te Tiriti o Waitangi principle of partnership. Ākonga, kaiako, and whānau can work together to reflect on their growth in personal development through the key competencies. 

Key competency monitoring documentation is not about recording indicators, criteria, marks, grades, or rubrics. 

Key competency monitoring documentation is more about rich descriptions, examples, accounts, and narratives. 

Strategies for documenting learners’ development in the key competencies 

Learning logs or journals

A way for learners to reflect on their ongoing learning needs and record evidence of their success in meeting competency-focused and other learning goals in particular situations.

Portfolios

Lifelong learning is promoted through annotated evidence of learning. Students select items for inclusion and reflect on what this evidence shows about their learning. They are an opportunity to reflect on what is important to each learner and should be a celebration of their unique cultural identity. Rather than being a single snapshot, portfolios accumulate evidence over a period of time. Kaiako should provide models for ākonga to follow that enable each student to feel safe to honestly comment on what they perceive to be their ongoing learning strengths and needs. Portfolios contribute to reporting when they are used as the basis for a three-way teacher, student, and parent conference.

E-portfolios  

"An e-portfolio is an electronic format for learners to record their work, their achievements, and their goals, to reflect on their learning, and to share and be supported in this. It enables learners to represent the information in different formats and to take the information with them as they move between institutions." (Banks, B., 2004, e-Portfolios: Their use and benefits). 

E-portfolios assist students in taking responsibility for their own learning. The learning process and final products are shown through text and a range of media, including video, sound, and images.

• Why use e-portfolios? - Seminar with Nick Rate, a national facilitator working with ICT PD clusters around the country. In this summary of his recent breakfast presentation on e-portfolios, he highlights how they assist schools to improve learning outcomes, enabling increased student engagement.

Learning stories  

These narratives provide evidence of a learner's development of the key competencies. Over time, the accumulated stories provide a picture of the learners developing and strengthening of the key competencies. This assessment method was developed in early childhood settings but has been used at all levels, including secondary school (Carr, 2001; Ministry of Education, 2004). An early childhood example: Becoming part of the group.

The stories may be instigated and written by the teacher, the student, a parent, or another person. They will be developed collaboratively and may include photos or other evidence.

Strategies for thinking about student development of the key competencies 

10-minute reflection time 

Whānau are informally welcomed into classrooms at the end of the day to be part of a discussion about how key competencies were integral to learning throughout the day.  

Leaving slips  

A slip of paper where learners record a key thought about what they learned or their experience of the learning during the day. These can be placed in a box by the door on their way out for teachers to read. 

Learning blog 

Students detail their learning experience for whānau comment. 

Reflection/discussion prompts 

Prompts relating to key competencies as suggestions for discussion as part of homework / home learning.

Peer-recognition  

An opportunity for peers to share what they have noticed about each other's competency development in particular situations outside of class throughout the day.

Camera on hand 

Students can use a camera or other recording device to capture examples of students using key competencies in their learning.

Monitoring the teaching / learning environment 

Is it conducive to key competencies? 

Alongside monitoring and documenting students’ ongoing development of key competencies, it is important to reflect on the nature of the opportunities provided by the  school/class programme. How does the programme facilitate students’ development of key competencies? 

How can we monitor key competencies? 

The role of assessment in relation to key competencies is constantly being considered and refined. As teachers explore approaches to the key competencies, they are recognising that monitoring key competency implementation involves strategies in a range of areas. 

Learner activity in the classroom: 

• learners perform real tasks in real contexts
• learners interact with others rather than working in isolation 
• self- and peer-assessment rather than just teacher judgements

Kaiako, ākonga and whānau partnership:

• kaiako monitor key competency development with ākonga rather than ‘doing monitoring’ to them 
• kaiako, ākonga, and whānau work together using informal strategies and then formalised reporting to reflect on key competencies development.  

Learner activity outside the classroom: 

• noticing learners’ application of the key competencies in day-to-day life at school, not just designed activities 
• monitoring what the students have learnt in specific contexts and how this new learning is transferred to other situations. 

Monitoring and reflecting on key competency implementation and assessment: 

• evaluate units/lesson plans for both subject content and key competency learning 
• rather than purely summative conclusions, focus on formative assessment opportunities that enable responsiveness 
• rather than just quantitative information, focus on qualitative information. This supports the development of the dynamic, contextual, and complex nature of the key competencies 
• reflect on an individual student's key competency development within a learning experience. Did the task recognise and strengthen their unique cultural identity and support their learning needs? How has completing the activity developed their learning in both the subject area and the key competencies? What are the next steps for the future within key competency development?