Saturday 1 January 2011

PTLLS Theory Question 6: The need for keeping records and type of records to keep

Assignment 6: Justify The Need For Keeping Records And Describe The Types Of Records
You Would Maintain
By Matthew Oronsaye
The need for keeping records is so vital to the success of education in all its ramifications. The usefulness of record keeping for teachers, training providers, verifiers, inspectors and learners cannot be overemphasized as it helps to track students’ progress and development. Linda Wilson (2009) emphasizes the importance of records in aiding departments. This is why record keeping process should be simple, reliable, accurate and consistent in order to serve as one of the most important management tools for good documentation that maximizes return on education investment. Good record keeping is important in meeting education outcomes and providing the necessary information for initial assessment, needs identification, planning and designing, delivery, evaluation of teaching and learning process for the present, and if need be, for the future. Record keeping saves a lot of time and effort, keeps good track of students as regards their performance, provides management information to base education decisions on, highlights quickly areas where problems could arise and enable remedies to be put in place, and assists in providing information required by qualification bodies to base their judgments on. In doing this, there is wide range of records to be kept. The records include that of: initial assessment, attendance, observation records, feedback reports, tracking sheets, individual learning plans (ILP’s), continuous assessment, scheme of work, session plans, etc

Record keeping through feedback report can be of great benefit to both the teacher and learners. For my students, they get the necessary information as regards how they are faring, that is, where they are progressing, stagnant, or even retrogressive. By this, students are able to work on their weak areas while being motivated to do better in the areas of their strengths. For me, the
teacher, it enables me to quickly have information on any of my students in taking decisions as to how to use the feedback report to strategize for teaching and learning.
Admission records provide background information on students’ background knowledge: the name, sex, date of birth, place of origin, schools attended, skills, previous knowledge, health status, and other information. From this, students needs can easily be identified through initial assessment which enables me, the teacher to understand and judge if a particular course would be suited to prospective students or not. This type of record also helps me to identify any additional needs of the students and how adequate support to learners can be given to help them to successfully complete their course. This timely arrangements for extra support, which makes my students feel included during the course, goes a long way to make their educational experience worthwhile. This is why Francis and Gould (2009) stated that the recognition of individual differences and needs actually starts from the moment that learners apply for courses.

Attendance register is where I enter the names of my students in alphabetical order, using their surnames. Through this, I know the number of students who enrolled for my course. It is on the bases of this number that I make plans for appropriate instructional materials that would be adequate for the number of students in class for teaching sessions and also help in referral of students to other professional bodies. Another reason for attendance register is that it can explain why students achieve or not in their course of study. It is likely that students who don’t attend sessions regularly cannot perform well academically as those whose attendance is regular. This record can also be used to spot students who may be having family or personal problems that are obstructing their regular access to their course of study. With this, measures that are appropriate could be taken to fix the problem through one to one discussion between me, the teacher and the student. Attendance register also equips me (the teacher) with the information to use for advising my employer. For instance, I can advise my employer as regards the upwards and downwards trend in enrolment: whether this is influenced by the seasons of the year, celebrations or special annual festivals. Enrolment for a particular course could be upward during the summer than in the winter season. This helps my employer to plan for the efficient application of resources to prevent wastage.

Continuous assessment record kept by me tracks the progress of each student for the duration of his or her course, the assessment of students' conduct through periodic observation.

In record keeping, syllabuses and schemes of work are kept and made available readily to teachers when needed for purpose and direction. This is why Reece, Walker (2007) describes scheme of work as ‘series of planned learning experience,’ that are sequenced in order to achieve the aims of the course in the most effective way.

REFERENCE
Francis and Gould., 2009. Achieving Your PTLLS Award: A Practical Guide to Successful Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector. Sage Publications Ltd.
Linda Wilson (2009) Practical Teaching: A Guide to PTLLS and DTLL. Cengage Learning Publisher.
Reece and Walker., 2007. Teaching Training and Learning: A Practical Guide. Sixth edition, Business Education Publishers.

2 comments:

  1. Very nice to know this information but I think one must should be a professional before going for a job we offer you the PTLLS Course on a reasonable offers....

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  2. The PTLLS Courses qualification is for new comers to the Lifelong Learning Sector. The qualification is also ideal for people who already work in the industry but want to obtain an official qualification. Before you sign up for a PTLLS course it is a good idea to know what subject you would like to teach, so you can work towards the award in that area.

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