Buniewicz - Anecdotal Records

I think anecdotal recorda are essential for creating a well-rounded student as well as meaningful assessments that can change a students life.  I have always found this to be important, even if I didn't have the terminology or the idea formally formatted in my head.  An educator that I look up to, John Hunter, is adamant about creating self-assessments from students that discuss their strengths as well as areas of improvement as them as learners.  By the end of a marking period and come conferences, Mr. Hunter can present to the parents a snapshot of the student's achievement as well as their personality through the students own words.  This would not replace anecdotal records however.  I liked how the article gave specific ways to make this a manageable and sustainable way of assessing students.  By choosing a group, perhaps five, six students a day, you can make sure to write down meaningful anecdotal evidence that will prove useful when documented.  On Friday, evidence will be written down about any significant happenings as well as those students who were late, absent or simply need more observations made.  Also, some I learned, or a +, is that abbreviations should be used widely in order to write as many anecdotal records as possible.  However, I don't think that a binder should be made per student.  Instead, I think there should be a binder of all students with printed out forms that have it easy to write important info like date and subject as well as watched behavior.  The form should also have a box for whether additional attention or help needs to be given to student to have them live up to the best of their abilities.  Once you have a form like that, it will be easy to gather evidence and try to establish patterns such as when does a student partake in a disruptive action or when are they particularly helpful.  This will help direct your conversation with the student and their parents, and help them along in their education.