Learning Environments
Student Management & Learning Management Systems 1

 

The purpose of a Student Management System is to collate data which reflects the capabilities of students, in line with the Ministry/Department of Education policies on desired outcomes as well as record critical data on students in relation to attendance, classes, personal details and progress indicators.

Generally speaking there are two components that make up an SMS:

Data Component:

The data sets required for the administrative side of this responsibility are quite straightforward and are dealt with quite well by most systems. The next step is to have this data in a format that makes it useful and valuable in predicting trends and enabling the school to pre-empt issues such as changes in attendance, changing progress indicators etc.

Data management is a key strategic tool
in effective school management.

Using the data to make changes in order to optimise the learning and teaching within the school "on the fly" is critical to successful 21stC schools.

Assessment Component:

In many countries there has been a transition in thinking away from the need for specific (atomistic) skill sets to more generic core competencies.

The core competencies as described by the DeSeCo report in 2001 revolve around:

  • Capability for thinking
  • Relating to others
  • Belonging, participating and contributing
  • Making meaning from information

When considering a comprehensive assessment solution it is then necessary to choose a suite of tools that provide the capacity to report back on these capabilities effectively.

Underpinning assessment of these core competencies will be specific capabilities and knowledge and your SMS system needs to be able to record and then represent this data in a format that allows it be used proactively and creatively to improve the teaching and learning within the school.