Learning Targets: Helping Students Aim for Understanding ...

[Pages:7] LearningTargets:HelpingStudentsAimforUnderstandingInToday'sLesson

ASCDWebinar 17July2012 ConnieM.Moss,Ed.D.

Director,CenterforAdvancingtheStudyofTeachingandLearning(CASTL) AssociateProfessor,DuquesneUniversitySchoolofEducation

406CanevinHall?Pittsburgh,PA15282?412-396-4778?moss@castl.duq.edu

LearningTargets,StudentLook-Fors,PerformanceofUnderstanding,FormativeLearningCycle

1.

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LearningTargets

Ifstudentsarenotusingit(aimingforunderstandingofimportantconceptsandbecomingmore proficientintargetedskills)theyarenotengagedintheformativeassessmentprocess,andyour learningintentionisNOTalearningtarget. Studentsmustknowwhatgoodworkmeansintoday'slesson:

o Whattheyareexpectedtolearn. o Howwelltheyareexpectedtolearnit. o Whattheywillbeaskedtodotodemonstratetheirlearning. o Howwelltheywillhavetodoit.

2.

?

StudentLookFors(SuccessCriteria)

Criteriathestudentscanusetojudgehowclosetheyhavecometothetargetinlanguagethat describesmasteryofthetarget,ratherthaningradingorscoringlanguage(letters,points,numbers, percentageright,numbercorrect,etc.).

3.

? ? ? ?

?

? ?

EveryLessonNeedsaPerformanceofUnderstanding:

Perfectfitforthelearningtargetandmakesitcrystalcleartoeveryone. Deepensstudentsunderstandingofimportantcontent. Opportunityforstudentstotryoutthelearningtargetandapplytheirstudentlook-fors. Helpsstudentsaimforunderstandingandassesswhattheyknowandwhattheyneedtolearnmore about. Producescompellingandundeniableevidenceofstudentlearningthroughwhatstudentsdo,say,

makeorwrite. Studentsconclude:IfIcandothis,thenIwillknowthatIhavereachedmylearningtarget.

Teacherconcludes:Ifmystudentscandothis,thenIwillhavestrongevidencethatthey'vemastered

thelearningtarget.

4.

?

?

?

AFormativeLearningCycleThatFeedsStudentsandLearningForward.

Intoday'slesson,studentsandteacherspartnerduringaformativelearningcyclethatmakes learningvisibleandmaximizesopportunitiestofeedstudentsandtheirlearningforward. Itprovidesa"goldensecondchance"thatencourages,expects,andteachesstudentstoimprove theirworkaspartoftoday'slesson. Withoutalearningtarget,studentlook-fors,andaperformanceofunderstanding,feedbackisjust advice--someonetellingyouwhattodo--andhasnoformativevalue.

ConnieM.Moss,Ed.D.,Director

1

CenterforAdvancingtheStudyofTeachingandLearning(CASTL)

DuquesneUniversitySchoolofEducation?406CanevinHall?Pittsburgh,PA15282

Ph:412-396-4778?email:moss@castl.duq.edu

TheRoleofLearningTargetsandSuccessCriteria"StudentLook-Fors"

1.FormativeassessmentistheMeansnottheEnds.Unlessstudentssee,recognizeandunderstandwhat theyarelearningandhowtheywillknowwhentheyreachmastery,theywillneverbecomeindependent, self-directed,assessmentcapablelearners.Rememberthegoalhereistoproducecompetent,self- regulated,andmotivatedlearnerswhocansetgoalsandassesstheirownprogress.

2.Instructionalobjectivesaretoobroadandtooimpersonaltoguidelearning.Studentsneedteachersto describefortheminstudentfriendlyandageappropriateterms(languagetheycanunderstand)exactlywhat isimportanttolearn(notwhatisimportanttodoortoscore)inthelesson/activityathand.Thisdescription shouldbeframedfromthepointofviewofastudentwhohasyettomasterthecontent. 3.Learningtargetsdescribewhatthestudentwillcometoknoworbeabletodoasaresultoftoday's lesson.Theydonotdescribewhattheywillscoreordo.Learningtargetsarenot"directionsforanactivity". Theyareanexactdescriptionofwhatstudentswilllearn.Theyusuallybeginwithaphraselike:Todaywe arelearning... 4.Itisnotenoughforstudentstohearwhattheyaregoingtolearn,theymustunderstandhowteachers willassessthequalityoftheirworkandhowtheycanassessthequalityoftheirownwork.Teachers shouldsharesuccesscriteria(studentlookfors)studentscanuseastheyarelearningandworkingthat answerthequestion:HowwillIknowwhenIamproducingqualitywork? 5.Thepurposeofsharinglearningtargetsandsuccesscriteria(studentlookfors)istoguidethelearning ofthestudents,theactionsoftheteacher,andtheevidencethattheclassroomlearningteamwillcollect tosupportanassumptionthatlearninghasoccurred.Workthatstudentsdoshouldprovideteachersand studentswithstrongevidenceoftheirstandinginrelationtomasteryofthelearningtargetfortoday's lesson. 6.Thebestwaytosharealearningtargetistodesignactivitiesandassignments--performancesof understanding--thatprovidethestrongestevidenceofwhereeachstudentisinrelationtotoday's learningtarget(Moss&Brookhart,2012).Whatarestudentsactuallydoingduringtoday'slessonto: deepentheirunderstandingofcontent(knowledgeandskills),assessthequalityoftheirworkastheyare learning,provideevidenceofwhattheyknowandcandoandhowwelltheyknowitandcandoit. 7.Toraisestudentachievement,youmustbeveryclearaboutwhatachievementactuallymeans! Achievementmeansthatyouarelookingforevidenceof"something".Teachersandstudentsshouldknow EXACTLYwhatthat"something"isfortoday'slesson,andgathercompellingevidencetodetermineif studentshave"achieved"thatexact"something".RaisingstudentachievementduringTODAY'slessonand everylessonmeansthatsostudentsachieveshortterms(lesson-sized)goalsthatadduptolong-term achievementgoals.Thekeytoraisingstudentachievementistohavealearningtargetfortoday'slesson!

ConnieM.Moss,Ed.D.,Director

2

CenterforAdvancingtheStudyofTeachingandLearning(CASTL)

DuquesneUniversitySchoolofEducation?406CanevinHall?Pittsburgh,PA15282

Ph:412-396-4778?email:moss@castl.duq.edu

BuildingaLearningTarget CharacteristicsofaLearningTarget(Moss&Brookhart,2012)

? Alearningtargetdescribesforthestudentsexactlywhattheyaregoingtolearnbytheendoftoday's lesson.

? Itdescribeslearningindevelopmentallyappropriatelanguagethatthestudentcanunderstand. ? Itisstatedfromthepointofviewofastudentwhohasyettomasterthecontent,skillorprocess

thatmakesupthetarget. ? Thelearningtargetisconnectedtothespecificperformanceofunderstandingfortoday'slesson--

whatyouwillaskyourstudentstodo,make,say,orwritethatwilldeepentheirunderstanding,help themaimformasteryofthetarget,allowthemtoself-assessthequalityoftheirlearning,andwill provideyouandthestudentwithevidenceofwhatthestudent'slevelofunderstanding? ? Ahigh-qualitylearningtargetcontainsstudentlook-fors--criteriathestudentscanusetojudgehow closetheyhavecometothetargetinlanguagethatdescribesmasteryofthetarget,ratherthanin gradingorscoringlanguage(letters,points,numbers,percentageright,numbercorrect,etc.).

A4-StepFrameworkforVerballySharingtheLearningTarget:

Tosharethelearningtargetwithyourstudentsatthebeginningofalesson,askyourselfthefollowingthree questionsfromthestudents'pointofview:

1. WhatwillIbeabletodowhenIfinishtoday'slesson? 2. Whatidea,topic,subjectisimportantformetolearnandunderstandsoIcanusethisinformationto

doit? 3. HowwillIbeaskedtoshowthatIcandothis?And, 4. HowwellwillIhavetodoit?

Whatisthepurposeofsharingthetargetverbally?

Yourmissionistohelpstudentsaimforunderstandingintoday'slesson.Itisthe"WHY"ofthelesson.It answersforstudentswhyyouareaskingthemtolearnthischunkofinformation,onthisday,sothatthey candeepentheirunderstanding,showwhattheyhavelearnedinthisway,anddescribeforthemexactly howwelltheywillbeexpectedtodemonstratetheirnewlearning.

ConnieM.Moss,Ed.D.,Director

3

CenterforAdvancingtheStudyofTeachingandLearning(CASTL)

DuquesneUniversitySchoolofEducation?406CanevinHall?Pittsburgh,PA15282

Ph:412-396-4778?email:moss@castl.duq.edu

ElementaryLevelExample

LessononQuestionMarks

WhatwillIbeableto Whatidea,topic,subject HowwillIbeaskedto HowwellwillIhaveto

dowhenIfinishtoday's isimportantformeto showthatIcandothis?

doit?

lesson?

learnandunderstandso

(Performanceof

(StudentLook-Fors?)

Icanusethis

Understanding?)

informationtodoit?

Yesterday,welearned Tobeabletodothiswe Youwillshowthatyoucan Youwillknowthatyou

aboutthequestion

mustlearnand

dothisbyrewritingalistof havehitthelearning

mark,whatitlookslike understandthatsome tellingsentencesasasking targetwhenyouare

andthatitcomesatthe askingsentencesbegin sentencesandendingeach abletosay:

endofanasking

witha"question"word onewithaquestionmark. ? Icanuseoneofthe

sentence.

like:Who,what,where,

askingwordsto

when,whyorhow.

changemytelling

Todaywearelearningto

sentenceintoa

writeanaskingsentence

question.

thathasaquestion

? Icanplacea

markattheend.

questionmarkat

theendofmy

askingsentence.

? Icananswermy

newasking

sentencebyusing

my"telling"

sentence.

*Aftertellingthestudentsaboutthetarget,shareitinotherwayslikegivingstudentsexamples

andnon-examplestoexamineandassessusingthestudentlook-forsaspartoftheirguided

practice.

ConnieM.Moss,Ed.D.,Director

4

CenterforAdvancingtheStudyofTeachingandLearning(CASTL)

DuquesneUniversitySchoolofEducation?406CanevinHall?Pittsburgh,PA15282

Ph:412-396-4778?email:moss@castl.duq.edu

MiddleLevelExample

LessonontheAssassinationofPresidentJohnF.Kennedy

WhatwillIbeableto

Whatidea,topic,

HowwillIbeaskedto HowwellwillIhaveto

dowhenIfinishtoday's subjectisimportantfor showthatIcandothis?

doit?

lesson?

metolearnand

(Performanceof

(StudentLook-Fors?)

understandsoIcanuse

Understanding?)

thisinformationtodo

it?

Yesterday,welearned Tobeabletodothiswe Youwillshowthatyoucan Youwillknowthatyou

howtoperforman

mustlearnand

dothisintwophases.

havehitthelearning

historicalinvestigation understandthateven

targetwhenyouareable

andpracticedthesteps whenanhistoricalevent Firstyouwillworkinyour tosay:

thatweshoulduseto isdocumentedina

groupstoexaminethe

? Icanbrieflydescribe

findoutwhathappened varietyofways,people historicaldocumentsI

aspecific

andwhyithappened. canstillquestionthe havechosenforyouand

disagreementthat

eventandlookatitfrom decidewhatweknowfor

peoplehaveabout

Todaywearelearningto differingpointsofview. sureandwhatwedonot

theassassinationof

lookcloselyatan

knowforcertain.

PresidentKennedy.

historicaleventthat

? Icandescribespecific

peopledisagreeaboutto

Theneachofyouwill

piecesofevidence

thisday--theydisagree

writeashort2-paragraph

thatexisttosupport

aboutwhathappened

statementthatexplains

thetwosidesofthe

andwhyithappened.

onedisagreementthat

disagreement?

peoplehaveaboutthis

event.

*Aftersharingverballytheteachercanshareinotherwayslikegivingstudentsachecklistoftheir

"lookfors"sotheycanself-assessastheyareproducingtheirshort2-paragraphstatement.

ConnieM.Moss,Ed.D.,Director

5

CenterforAdvancingtheStudyofTeachingandLearning(CASTL)

DuquesneUniversitySchoolofEducation?406CanevinHall?Pittsburgh,PA15282

Ph:412-396-4778?email:moss@castl.duq.edu

HighSchoolExample

LessonontheCountriesofWesternEurope

WhatwillIbeabletodo Whatidea,topic,

HowwillIbeaskedto HowwellwillIhaveto

whenIfinishtoday's subjectisimportantfor showthatIcandothis?

doit?

lesson?

metolearnand

(Performanceof

(StudentLook-Fors?)

understandsoIcanuse

Understanding?)

thisinformationtodo

it?

Yesterday,welearned Tobeabletodothiswe Afterourdiscussionyou Youwillknowthatyou

thatmigrationpatterns willstudywhat

willbeaskedtooutlinea havehitthelearning

impactedthepolitical, happenedduringthe well-supportedopinionin targetwhenyouareable

social,andeconomic

2008electionin

favorof,oropposedto, tosay:Icancreatean

developmentofthe

Switzerlandandpay

Switzerland'sstrong

outlinethat:

countriesinWestern

particularattentionto stanceagainstimmigrants ? Beginswithan

Europe.

the"BlackSheep"

fromothernations.

introductionthat

postersusedtoprotest

statesmyposition,

Todaywearelearningto againstforeigners

providessome

evaluatetheimpactthat movingintoSwitzerland

background

migrationhadon

fromothernations.

informationand

Switzerlandin2008.

presentsathesis

statement.

? Presentsmythree

strongestpoints,

onebyone,

supportingeach

pointwithconcrete

evidence.

Aftersharingthetargetverbally,teacherscanshareitinotherwayslike:

? providingstudentswithexamplesoftheoutlineforthemtocomparewiththelook-forsas

partofguidedpractice,

? givingstudentsatemplateforcreatingtheoutline,

? supplyingadescriptive,analyticalrubricstudentscanusetojudgethequalityoftheiroutline

astheyareproducingit.

ConnieM.Moss,Ed.D.,Director

6

CenterforAdvancingtheStudyofTeachingandLearning(CASTL)

DuquesneUniversitySchoolofEducation?406CanevinHall?Pittsburgh,PA15282

Ph:412-396-4778?email:moss@castl.duq.edu

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