Instead of the usual parent teacher interviews, Class 5C tried a new initiative this term… student parent interviews. However, it wasn’t the students' own parents that they spoke with, it was the parents of their peers.
The students began the process at the beginning of term, by each randomly selecting a name and conducting "research" on their subject's social, emotional and physical learning. The results were compiled into a report folder to present to the child's parents.
Over the coming weeks, the students were prepared and provided with both guidelines and practice. They were all engaged with this activity and developed their capacity to reflect on, and evaluate, another student's learning.
One facet of this experience was that students were able to speak with confidence and clarity about what they had discovered about their peers. The real challenge for them was to understand that everyone learns differently and each person has areas of both strength and weakness. Communicating these subtleties to parents was a huge task but one that every child in the class managed extremely well. They exceeded my expectations and I was very proud of all of them.
Cherie Kendall
Class 5 Teacher
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