By Amber Strong Makaiau and Kathy Galdeira
There are a number of characteristics that help to define a progressive educator’s approach to assessment. This includes an overall philosophy of education that values intellectual curiosity, initiative, independence, collaboration, evidence of growth over time, and a pedagogy for measuring student learning in accordance with these values. Assessment is differentiated, allowing children many ways to demonstrate what has been learned. Individual learners are responsible for learning and are taught how to set goals, define evidence of goal achievement and reflect about progress. Students’ skill development (e.g. in math, language arts, inquiry, etc.) is reported on a continuum with descriptors to show what children are able to do at various points in time. The assessment also focuses on the entire learning process, not just on the final product of a unit of learning. It is a strengths-based model, supporting both the work of students and teachers, “designed to measure individual growth–not in comparison to others of their grade–to guide future planning and goal setting” (Peters, 2019, p. 58).
At Hanahau‘oli School, the student-led three-way conference is a critical practice for carrying out the school’s progressive approach to assessment. Student-centered strategies for assessing and measuring student growth have always been a part of Hanahau‘oli’s 104 year-old program, but in recent history faculty worked with children to solidify a common protocol for conducting student-led three-way conferences. Former Head of School, Robert G. Peters explains, “by 2003, three-way conferences (student-teacher-parent) were being held and children shared their portfolios showing evidence of learning, and goals were being collaboratively set” (Peters, 2019, p. 58). In this blog I share about my recent experience participating in a three-way conference led by my son Ka‘oli, and the ways in which this progressive education approach to assessment not only helped to report on his learning but also taught important lessons about asset framing and self-direction.
Ka‘oli is currently a member of Mrs. Kathy Galdeira’s second and third grade multi-age class at Hanahau‘oli School. A thirty-three year veteran of the school, Mrs. Galdeira is an extraordinary progressive educator who embodies the art of teaching. When asked to provide some background on student-led three-way conferences, Mrs. Galdeira shared:
To foster our school/home partnership throughout the year, with children I refer to an image of a triangle, representing the parents, the child and teacher on its points. We pledge together to keep this triangle strong, healthy and connected as we continually communicate about school life. As the child is the go-between school and home, we put the child in charge of as much communicating as is appropriate. This takes the form of a daily planner, where the child lists daily homework responsibilities and asks the family to view this list and related work, acknowledging with a signature. This is but one way we connect regularly; leading to a healthy three-way relationship. I feel strongly that this partnership is crucial to a child’s learning progress as all players are on the same playing field. While this is often assumed, it does require cultivation.
As a Hanahau‘oli School parent, I am familiar with the school/home partnership that Mrs. Galdeira describes. Ever since Ka‘oli entered the Junior Kindergarten at Hanahau‘oli, his teachers and our family have worked together to support him in communicating and taking ownership of his learning and responsibilities. This has included him leading conferences with his parents throughout his time at the school, starting when he was a five-year-old. Now that he is nine, I can see how the opportunity to practice being an active agent in the assessment of his learning is paying off.
To follow is an account of Ka‘oli’s most recent third grade conference. While actively participating in the conference I took notes, and organized my observations into six main sections. They are:
1. Introductions: Mrs. Galdeira briefly welcomed our family to the conference. She stated that she was “excited for Ka‘oli to tell us how he is growing as a learner and thinker.” She then immediately turned the conference over to Ka‘oli. Ka‘oli welcomed us to the conference and talked us through the “Student Conference Outline” that he had developed for our time together. He also gave us a general overview of how he has grown as a learner. He shared, “My year is going good because I got way better at reading. I started at Bob Books and now I am reading Mr. Lemoncello's Library and A Fire Within. I also get my homework done all the time.”
2. Strengths: Next Ka‘oli told us that he wanted to share more about his strengths as a learner. He read a page from his portfolio. “I love reading. I read all kinds of different books like comic books, chapter books, manga, and regular books. I also ask questions to know more about the subject.” He also shared that he had selected his “Best Work Samples,” and elaborated on a page in his portfolio that described what he saw as his best work in math, writing, reading, and unit. Mrs. Galdeira made some comments about his sharing and asked more probing questions that he followed up on. She also added what she appreciates about him as a learner, “that he knows what he is responsible for and that he follows through.” My husband and I also commented on his strengths and acknowledged his successes.
3. Challenges: Then Ka‘oli transitioned into talking about his challenges as a learner. This time he read a different page from his portfolio. “A challenge for me is cursive and good handwriting. Cursive seems like it is a different language and it is very hard, and it is hard to keep your hand in the right place for handwriting. I also think it is hard for me to make good choices sometimes because some stuff is fun, but it is not good.” Mrs. Galdeira used this as an opportunity to share about some social challenges Ka‘oli had been dealing with and the strategies they were using to make improvements. My husband and I had the opportunity to ask questions and think together with Ka‘oli about possible pathways forward. It was a very constructive conversation.
4. Goals: To follow, Ka‘oli directed us to the page in his portfolio where he had developed some goals for the remainder of the school year. He shared that he is working on being a more independent and reflective learner. He then read his goals out loud: “1. Filter my thoughts so the kind words come out. Be a leader! 2. Explore how cursive letters go.” For each of these goals he also explained what he would do to practice these goals. Mrs. Galdeira followed up on what he shared by giving examples of scenarios in school and asking him how he might apply the goal to that particular situation.
5. Evidence: Finally, Ka‘oli took us through the rest of the academic work that he had assembled for his portfolio. He took us through his best work samples and spent quite a bit of time reading us some of his strongest work from the unit they had just finished about schools. He wanted us to pay careful attention to the amount of writing he had done and how he had given thorough explanations to the prompts in the assignment. This was a true celebration of his learning over the course of the semester.
6. Closure: To close our time together, Ka‘oli asked us if we had any more questions. He listened intently and responded with a degree of seriousness rarely seen in our life with him at home. At this time Mrs. Galdeira was able to add any additional comments and information she wanted to make sure Ka‘oli was included in our three-way conversation. At the very end of our time together, Ka‘oli thanked us all for coming.
To build on my account of the process, Mrs. Galdeira adds:
One delightful followup of the three-way conference experience takes the conversation to another loving level: we ask the family to write a message of appreciation to their child. As simple as this task seems, it holds such importance to the child as evidenced when the children post these loving letters prominently at their work spaces as a source of encouragement and pride. They are reminded by the people who matter most of the importance of their efforts to grow as learners each day. Our conferences truly become a joyful celebration of this growth over time.
As is the case with most progressive education practices, there is so much intentional preparation that goes into student-led three-way conferences. Modeled after a self-assessment and goal-setting framework created by Anne Davies (2000), Hanahau‘oli School teachers work alongside children to reflect on their learning, set goals, and practice how they will lead a conversation with their teacher and parents. Mrs. Galdeira explains:
Preparatory steps do take time, but this rich reflection process sets the child up with confidence. Work samples are indeed the child’s choice and they are notated with prompts such as “I’m proud of this work because it shows . . . . and . . . . This work surprised me because . . . .”. Goals are determined during private teacher and child sessions where we consider the child’s strengths and challenges socially and academically. Approaching from a strengths based mindset allows the child to feel safe about sharing areas needing attention. It is this process that is the basis for the student led conference and the pieces of the puzzle that guide the conference. Role-playing practice in class also offers a chance to visualize how their conference will actually unfold.
As a parent, there is so much to appreciate about the student-led three-way conferences. Primarily, as it is portrayed in my account of the conference, this time provides Mrs. Galdeira and Ka‘oli with the opportunity to authentically communicate progress made in school to his parents (also shared with us on his report card). Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, the intentional and planned practice also provided Ka‘oli with real world experience in learning how to navigate his life using his assets and self-direction.
Trabian Shorters coined the term “Asset-Framing” for the purpose of introducing a narrative model that defines people by their assets and aspirations before noting the challenges and deficits. This model, like the progressive education movement at-large, invests in people for their continued benefit to society. He explains,
Asset-framing is a direct expression of the love doctrine…It is defining people by their aspirations and contributions, before you get to their challenges. So whatever is going on in someone’s life, you don’t ignore it, but you don’t define them by the worst moment or the worst experience or the worst potential; none of that. You have to look past their faults, to see who they really are... So what we want to do is acknowledge the true person, the true spirit living in someone — the thing that motivates them; what gets them moving…There is something that they aspire to have, to create, to give to someone else. And if you start your relationship with a person by acknowledging what spirit is actually living in front of you, then you’re going to have a different relationship (Shorters, 2022).
Imagine if all children had the opportunity to ground themselves in their assets when thinking about themselves as learners. This seems like a more socially just pathway (Wormeli, 2022) toward developing a growth mindset or “individuals who believe their talents can be developed (through hard work, good strategies, and input from others)” (Dweck, 2016, p. 1). It also seems like a required attribute for cultivating and nurturing genuine “lifelong learners.” And it is most certainly a starting point for creating a more hopeful and humane society.
The three-way conference also fosters self-direction. Advocates of the Self-Directed Education movement and progressive educators share the common belief that “education is the sum of everything a person learns that supports them toward living a satisfying and meaningful life” (The Alliance for Self-Directed Education, 2022). This includes “knowledge of oneself, skills in planning and directing one’s own activities, skills in how to get along well with other people, and an understanding of the world around oneself sufficient to navigate that world effectively” (Gray, 2017, p.1). For eight years, students at Hanahau‘oli practice organizing, facilitating, and dialoguing with a group of adults (and peers in other settings) about their strengths, challenges, and goals as a learner. This ongoing practice reinforces self-direction or “children’s natural drives to understand themselves and the world around them and to use whatever resources are available in their environment, including knowledgeable and skilled others, to achieve that end” (Gray, 2017, p.1). As a parent, these are critical life skills that I want my child to develop as a part of their progressive education.
When asked to give one final reflection on the power of student-led three-way conferences, Kathy Galdeira shares with me:
Participating in these three-way conferences brings me such joy! Not only are children given the opportunity to showcase their learning, passions and growth over time, but they are the center of the conversation. Offering children this chance to lead the meeting is one of the keys to this powerful experience, and entrusting this leadership to the child solidifies the role. As a teacher it is no longer my voice and input that matters most, but rather the child’s realizations and reflections. Inviting the parents’ insights during the meeting also ensures an authentic and honest interchange.
Just one testament to her expertise and artistry, I am so thankful to Mrs. Galdeira for teaching asset framing and self-direction to Ka‘oli through this important progressive education practice. Both are priceless gifts she has given to our family and so many more.
Works Cited:
The Alliance for Self-Directed Education. (2022). What is self-directed education? https://www.self-directed.org/sde/
Davies, A. (2000). Making classroom assessment work. Connections Pub.
Dweck, C. (2016, January 13. What Having a “Growth Mindset” Actually Means. https://hbr.org/2016/01/what-having-a-growth-mindset-actually-means
Gray, P. (2017). Differences between self-directed and progressive education self-directed education, not progressive education, is the wave of the future. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/freedom-learn/201706/differences-between-self-directed-and-progressive-education
Peters, R. G. (2019). Hanahau‘oli school: 100 years of progressive education. Honolulu: Mutual Publishing.
Tippet, K. (Host). (2022, February 3). Trabian shorters: A cognitive skill to magnify humanity [Audio Podcast Transcript]. In On Being. https://onbeing.org/programs/trabian-shorters-a-cognitive-skill-to-magnify-humanity/
Wormeli, R. (2022). GRIT and Growth Mindset: Deficit Thinking? https://www.amle.org/grit-and-growth-mindset-deficit-thinking/
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Dr. Amber Strong Makaiau is a Specialist at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Director of Curriculum and Research at the Uehiro Academy for Philosophy and Ethics in Education, Director of the Hanahau‘oli School Professional Development Center, and Co-Director of the Progressive Philosophy and Pedagogy MEd Interdisciplinary Education, Curriculum Studies program. A former Hawai‘i State Department of Education high school social studies teacher, her work in education is focused around promoting a more just and equitable democracy for today’s children. Dr. Makaiau lives in Honolulu where she enjoys spending time in the ocean with her husband and two children.
Kathy Galdeira Many places of learning have contributed to Kathy Galdeira’s passion for teaching and commitment to children. Beginning at Lanikai Elementary, continuing into the Punahou School community then onto Lewis & Clark College, each learning community offered her insights into the joyful process of learning. Earning a B.A. in Elementary Education and Psychology, her classroom career began in Oregon and found its way back to Hawaii. Her relationship with Hanahau’oli School began in 1987, spanning 34 years of classroom teaching, all with 7-9 year olds. Her children are alumni of this special place. Together they share a passion for this beautiful Island Home.
