The admin side: advice on student records

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Sroka
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Posts: 2
Joined: 19 May 2015, 09:18
Status: Teacher

The admin side: advice on student records

Unread post by Sroka »

Hi all,

I have been teaching for about 3 years now but am yet to find an easy and quick method of keeping student records. I teach private students, one-on-one and generally do not follow a book. Most of my lessons are created to suit the student.

While I always do a lesson plan so have I have these to refer to, it is time consuming and awkward to go back through the plans to see if I have already taught something.

If anyone uses a simple system or software that would be helpful here I would be grateful if you could let me know.

Thanks in advance.
L
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John V55
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Posts: 467
Joined: 02 Apr 2015, 01:34
Status: Teacher

Re: The admin side: advice on student records

Unread post by John V55 »

I can’t think of any software that would organise lesson plans. Many people I know simply prepare lesson plans according to whim and find that by the year’s end they’ve run out of topics and also have to backtrack to see if they’ve already done something.

I find that if you develop a syllabus you can use that and adapt it to various strengths and capabilities. I use English culture as a starting point and divide it into sections so that students get both the language and knowledge. I base it on the level of interest by age group, so an emphasis on music and sports with plenty of games and activities at the younger basic level and grammar/public speaking for the more advanced. That way I’m know where I’m up to, what I’ve done and what comes next. An example of the syllabus is: http://www.academia.edu/11730502/ABL_TEFL_SYLLABUS

Preparation in advance can take up a whole holiday period, but once done it can be recycled and adapted to suit varying needs for years to come and you’ll always know at what stage you’re at.
demetris
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Posts: 1
Joined: 22 May 2015, 07:57
Status: School Admin

Re: The admin side: advice on student records

Unread post by demetris »

Hi Sroka,

I just read your post and I think I have a very good suggestion for you.

My team and I have been developing a Student Administration Software for the last 2 years and we've consulted hundreds of tutors along the way to make it as simple and flexible as possible.

You set-up your one-on-one lessons with custom days to suit your students, and also quickly refer back to previous lessons to see what you have taught. You can also keep record of the student details, attendance and payments in the same place.

Feel free to give it a try at www.teachngo.com.

I would be more than happy to give you a personal demo and quickly get you up to speed of how it works. If you're interested just reply here and I'll get in touch.

Thanks,
Demetris
Awalls86
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Posts: 48
Joined: 06 Feb 2015, 03:07
Status: Teacher

Re: The admin side: advice on student records

Unread post by Awalls86 »

Perhaps a simple solution is just to use windows itself which allows you to add tags to office documents.

For windows 7: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/window ... windows-7/

Alternatively, how about more of a portfolio approach? You encourage your student to maintain a folder as a record of their efforts. In here they can include examples of writing, handouts, a log of what they did, evaluation of the strategies that are working/not working for them. But also to help you with knowing what to cover they have a list of language goals (which you can devise and edit for particular students) which are expressed as can do statements.

Some examples might be:
I can count from 1-20
I can talk about my daily routine
I can deliver a 10 minute presentation
(depending on the students level and personal or professional needs)

Periodically, you go through these with your student to see what you have covered and what they feel confident about doing. Maybe it is not a simple can/can't option but a scale. You ensure you also have a copy and you make sure that both of your copies are kept up to date. I think this is a nicer approach as the student can also see what you have been trying to get them to do, the progress they have made on this and where they still have to go.

This is perhaps only suitable for adults or mature teens, however you could gamify such an approach.
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