At the end of Term 2, we had our annual parent interviews. This year we had to think of another way that we were going to run our interviews as we had 54 students with two teachers. This would have only given our whanau and students 7 minutes each to talk to both teachers. We decided this was not long enough for students to be able to share their own learning - student agency.
To trail a new system, we had four students within a half hour block along with their whanau. We had an introduction korero sharing how we work within our learning spaces and what our expectations are for the students.
The students were set-up around the room with their books, portfolios, chromebook and a STEAM kit each. All students actively discussed their learning with their parents, sharing what they have been learning, what the enjoyed and what they found challenging. As teachers, we roamed around the room and sat with the parents for short sessions to answer any questions and concerns.
Deb and I felt that this worked really well in the sense that it was less intimidating for students and parents. This gave students ownership of their own learning with less of a focus on the teacher. We are currently surveying our parents to find out what their thoughts were on the process and any suggestions that they would like to make.
