Using ICT to involve parents and improve staff/child interactions
Focus and context
Assessment FOR Learning
Our playroom assessment involves high quality interactions, based on thoughtful questions, careful listening and reflective responses.
Our children, staff and parents are clear about what is to be learned and what success would be like.
Staff talk and work together to share standards in and across establishments.
Curricular areas: Cross-curricular, pre-school.
Project summary
This ASG in West Dunbartonshire brought together four local authority nurseries and one private nursery to explore the use of ICT in Assessment for and of Learning. The project was based on previous work developing Early Learning, Forward Thinking (the national policy framework for ICT in early years) in the authority. The overall aims of the project were to improve staff/child interactions through skilled questioning and to ensure children, parents and staff were clear about what was to be learned.
The project was based around children playing with Duplo buggies, remote controlled Lego toys which can help young children to learn about directional language and basic concepts like cause and effect. The ASG produced a flexible resource pack which staff and parents could use to support and assess children’s learning in the centre and at home.
Case study extract
The Education Support Officer for Early Years established a working group who agreed:
- that Duplo remote control buggies were a suitable resource to be used within the nursery and at home
- to produce a parents’ leaflet which introduced the principles of AifL and further information relating to the project
- to produce evaluative formats for children, staff and parents
- that training was necessary for all staff on the principles of AifL.
The home pack consisted of a parents’ information leaflet, child’s choice of activity, evaluative formats, Duplo buggies, digital camera and associated resources. Each centre managed the practicalities of the project in a variety of ways.
Evaluation
Parents’ evaluations demonstrated that they were more aware of what their child was learning and the importance of questioning. Most parents’ comments were positive and they thought that it was a good way to get involved ‘with’ their child’s learning.
The comments from the children were very positive and they loved taking the resources home. They showed great excitement when it was their turn and were very eager to share their experiences with the staff and the other children. Children were also delighted that they were offering parents advice on how to use the various technologies and parents were equally delighted and amazed at their child’s capability. This in itself proved to be a wonderful confidence- and relationship-building experience.
Staff are becoming more skilled in questioning techniques, especially in the use of higher order questions. Observations showed that most staff were becoming more aware of the importance of wait time. The general agreement of all staff is that they feel more confident in questioning and in the use of ICT to enhance learning. They thought the activities were a good, fun way of involving parents, especially dads, in the children’s learning. Staff thought children, parents and staff learning together helped to develop very good reciprocal relationships. They observed the children transferring previous skills and learning on to new and more challenging learning. They observed children commenting on each other’s activities and praising/supporting each other.
All establishments in the pilot group intend to continue to work in this manner to involve children in planning for learning and to further involve parents in their children’s learning.
Points to consider
- The staff involved in this ASG used remote controlled toys to set up opportunities for children to learn motor skills in collaboration with their parents. In effect, they devised a piece of homework and encouraged parents to become involved in its assessment. Could you devise other ways of sending learning home with your pupils and providing parents with opportunities to share in its assessment?
- Staff used this project to improve how they used questioning to explore children’s learning. In particular, they believe they learned about the value of giving children time to answer. How has your experience of becoming involved in some aspect of AifL led to a greater understanding of why a particular interaction is worth doing?
Posted July 2008
Contact details
If you would like further information on this case study, please contact the local authority assessment co-ordinator. You can find contact details for each authority area on our local authority co-ordinators' contacts page.