by Tan Ching
Ms. Marie fixed her gaze on the rows of pigeonholes lining the wall, each one bursting with files and folders. With a determined spirit, she began to collect the stacks and sort through the piles meticulously. As she worked, papers rustled, files thudded, and her pen scratched away, leaving a trail of checked boxes and constructive comments in its wake.
Despite the chaos, Ms. Marie’s focus remained unwavering, her dedication to her students’ success driving her through the marathon task ahead. But as the hours passed and the stacks slowly dwindled, Ms. Marie’s thoughts turned inward, and she wondered… “Does this spark joy?”
A Transition
File check is a familiar and ubiquitous aspect of a teacher’s professional life, a regular ritual that provides a snapshot of teachers’ hard work and dedication to their students’ growth and learning. Typically, Instructional Programme (IP) leaders receive files of students, who are at different progression levels, at the end of school term from teachers, to learn more about teaching and learning practices.
Over time, as the demand of teaching intensifies, it is not hard to imagine how this well-intended ritual may become a mere routine, devoid of reflection and growth. Meanwhile, with the advent of technology, the nature of learning materials in schools has undergone significant transformation. While textbooks, worksheets and formal summative assessments remain prevalent in paper form, student learning artefacts hosted in digital spaces also offer a comprehensive snapshot of teaching and learning experiences.
This shift raises a crucial question: how might we revitalise file checks as a transformative practice that fosters meaningful feedback, inspires teacher growth, and ultimately, supports the enhancement of student learning outcomes? This reflection piece revolves around an endeavour to redesign file checks to drive teaching excellence in a rapidly changing educational landscape.
A Transformation
Following a strategic review of the effectiveness and efficiency of file checks in 2023, the school’s file check was revamped and reborn as the Teaching & Learning Conversation (TLC). TLC was designed as a collaborative dialogue between teachers and their IP leaders, aimed at fostering a deeper understanding of teaching practices and driving continuous development and growth.
Key considerations when designing the TLC experience include (1) space to define the focus area of conversation to promote agency and ownership, (2) opportunity for reflective articulation to uncover thinking behind teaching actions, (3) inclusion of digital learning artefacts in recognition of the evolving form of learning materials, and (4) incorporation of teaching and learning frameworks to guide the deepening of teaching practice.
A Thought
When navigating and negotiating the transition and transformation, multiple perspectives had to be considered. As the traditional file-checking process involves three distinct groups: students, teachers, and IP leaders, each group has different expectations and experiences before, during and after the submission of files for checking.
At present, there are no changes in students’ experience with the updated process. Students continue to be guided in practising and maintaining the good habit of filing and documentation. The transformative impact unfolds in the dynamics between the teachers and the IP leaders, with the experience reimagined to embody the spirit of F.I.L.E (Function, Interaction, Learning, Emotions).
Function
With students’ files serving as a consolidation of key learning artefacts, the traditional file check complements other developmental processes such as lesson observation and work review. The triangulation of information helps paint a learning portrait, revealing teachers’ understanding of teaching beliefs and actions.
During TLC, teachers are invited to thoughtfully curate a selection of learning artefacts, gathered from both physical files and digital spaces, to demonstrate and reflect on their teaching processes. This prompts teachers to re-examine the intentionality, coherence and effectiveness of their instructional design and strategies. Furthermore, the opportunity to highlight their skillfulness in deploying key applications of technology to enhance teaching and learning adds another dimension, contributing to a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of teachers’ competencies.
Interaction
A distinctive feature of TLC is the real-time articulation and exchange of information, insights and ideas, creating a vibrant and interactive process. Unlike traditional file checks, where affirmation, clarification or feedback is typically provided post-review based on IP leaders’ interpretations of what is presented in students’ files, TLC’s show-and-tell format enables teachers to share their experiences and reflections in a dialogic and collaborative setting.
Teachers will arrange for a one-on-one session with their IP leaders, to be held anytime in Term 2 or 3. As the teachers present their pedagogical approaches, using visual aids and concrete examples to illustrate their teaching methods and how that has impacted students’ learning and growth, IP leaders listen attentively, asking questions to clarify the teachers’ methods and seeking additional information to understand their pedagogical decisions. Through reflective articulation and professional sparring, teachers and IP leaders engage in a shared learning process, building relationships and negotiating a shared understanding of teaching practices and student learning outcomes. This synchronous interaction promises the fostering of a culture of collaborative inquiry, critical reflection, and co-construction of meaning.
Learning
With the roll-out of national initiatives and educational policies to better support schools and students to shape the Future of Learning, the teaching profession is poised for significant changes. The recent revision of the Teacher Growth Model (TGM) to encompass the five roles of future-ready teachers marks a significant milestone in this transformation.
Against this backdrop of change, the TLC conversation guide (Figure 1) was carefully designed and structured using the G.R.O.W (Goal, Reality, Options, Way Forward) coaching model to foster a culture of lifelong learning and teacher growth.
Teachers will articulate their goals in terms of the ideal learning experience they want to create. Depending on their readiness and choice, some teachers may focus on enhancing the level of engagement while others might be directing their efforts to design empowering learning experiences that foster student agency. Next, they will reflect on their current practices using the Reality segment, which incorporates the TGM’s expanded role descriptors as a self-assessment tool (Figure 2).
With the targets and practice levels clarified, the conversation turns to focus on actions taken. The Option segment presents practitioners with broad categories of teaching actions, aligned to the school’s teaching and learning framework, to encourage teachers to explore diverse approaches. Teachers are encouraged to focus on what matters more to them and to describe their ‘actions, attempts and adventure’ under the Way Forward segment.
All in all, the intentional design of the guide aims to build teachers’ capacity as reflective practitioners, promoting a growth mindset and teacher agency in driving their own growth and student success.
Emotions
Circling back to the vignette at the beginning where Ms. Marie pondered whether file checking sparks joy, we believe that joy is a vital catalyst for learning and growing. The spring in the steps when teachers brought along learning artefacts and the spark in the eyes as they eagerly shared their innovative strategies and insightful reflections during TLC are testaments to the joy that teaching and learning can bring. It is a reminder that emotions play a vital role in the learning process, and that joy, in particular, can be a potent fuel for motivation and transformation.
The excitement and enthusiasm of sharing their students’ progress and their own professional growth are contagious, and they inspire others to embrace the joy of teaching and learning. In that moment, Joy became a powerful connector that brings people together in a shared passion for education.
As we continue to navigate the evolving landscape of teaching and learning, may we remain committed to nurturing and celebrating the joy that sparks learning, growth and transformation.