Begin with clear targets n Clear targets lead
Begin with clear targets n Clear targets lead to sound assessments n What is the intended learning? should drive all planning and assessment
Learning Targets “In order for the learning intention to be shared effectively, it needs to be clear and unambiguous, so that the teacher can explain it in a way that makes sense to her children. ” “…the task has to match the learning intention for the children to have a chance of fulfilling it. ” The learning intention “needs to be the main focus of feedback. ” Shirley Clarke in Unlocking Formative Assessment
Without Clear Targets We Can’t Do Any of the Following… n n n Know if the assessment adequately covers and samples what we taught. Correctly identify what students know and don’t know and their level of achievement. Plan next steps in instruction. Give detailed, descriptive feedback to students. Have students self-assess or set goals likely to help them learn more. Select instructional activities that actually help students achieve the target.
Clear Targets: benefits to teachers n Know what to assess n Clarity on what instructional activities to plan n Ability to balance”in-depth” with “coverage” n Know what your assessments reflect at a finer grain n Accountability n Ability to work collaboratively with other teachers
Clear Targets: benefits to students • “Students can hit any target they can see that hold still for them” (Stiggins) • Teachers explain intended learning in studentfriendly terms at the outset of a lesson • Students write “I can” statements of intended learning • Statements are posted
Clear Targets: benefits to parents • Learning targets can be sent home or posted on website • Learning targets are already in parent friendly language • Parents know what and how to help their child • Understand grades better
Categorizing targets n Multiple ways to categorize the kind of learning target n Bloom’s Taxonomy n Dimensions of Learning Model n Categorization framework Discussion point: What benefit is there to using a classification system for learning targets?
Five Learning Target Categories To build clearning targets we need to understand that there actually five kinds of learning targets. 1. Knowledge- facts and concepts we want students to learn or be retrieved using reference material 2. Reasoning – problems use what they know , reason or solve 3. Skills- use knowledge and reasoning to act skillfully 4. Products- use knowledge, reasoning, and skills to create a concrete product 5. Disposition- attitudes about school and learning
Examples of Learning Targets Knowledge 1. 2. 10. COMPREHENSION/READING STRATEGIES FOR MEANING: Recall/retell details/events in sequence. Reasoning 4. 4. 3. MEASURABLE ATTRIBUTES, MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS AND UNITS: Analyze relationships between perimeter and area Skill 7. 1. 1 MOVEMENT SKILLS: Demonstrate a variety of rhythmic movements (e. g. , square dance, line dance, folk dance, jump rope routines) Product 11. 2. 1 Perform independently on an instrument.
Examples of Learning Targets n Construct a bar graph n Product n Use simple equipment and tools to gather data n Skill n Recognize similes, metaphors, and analogies n Knowledge n Distinguish between fact and opinion n Reasoning
Clear Targets: Dispositions n Students’ attitudes about school and learning n Look for both direction (positive vs. negative) and intensity (weak to strong) about a specific object n Ways to assess: Likert scale activities
Knowledge or Reasoning? n To assess reasoning, we must provide students with novel applications
Balancing Knowledge and Reasoning n Select fact-level content that will give most “bang for your buck” and still leave time to teach students application of that knowledge required for life beyond school (to exercise patterns of reasoning, perform skillfully with knowledge, and create quality products)
Task or target? n Task: activity student will engage in n Target: what they are to learn by engaging in the activity
Good curriculum guides= clear vision of intended learning (targets) n Does my curriculum link each year’s learning targets to the previous and following year’s targets? n Is it aligned with state standards and with accountability measures? n Does it take into account the 180 -day rule? n Are the targets stated so that everyone who teaches a subject interprets them the same way?
Curriculum Problem #1: Substituting a list of units, activities for a curriculum n We know what to teach, but may not know what to assess n No unifying targets, so challenges with building on previous learning n Difficult for others to build on what we have done with students
Curriculum Problem #2: Relying on textbook only n Too much content to teach in a year n Challenges with pacing and depth of coverage n Questions on whether it aligns to standards
Student-Friendly Targets 1. Deconstruct the standard n What is the content standard requiring students to know and be able to do? n One standard can include several skills n Ask: • What knowledge will students need to demonstrate the intended learning? • What patterns of reasoning will they need to master? • What skills are required? • What product development must they acquire?
Student-Friendly Targets Deconstructing the standard: n Deconstruct only the standard, rather than all possible ways to assess it or all possible ways to teach it
Student-Friendly Targets n The learner will examine key ethical ideas and values deriving from religious, artistic, political, economic and educational traditions, as well as their diffusion over time, and assess their influence on the development of selected societies and regions in South America and Europe. n They're supposed to: • • • examine ethical ideas and values that derive from religious, artistic, political, economic and educational traditions. examine how these traditions have changed over time. assess how these traditions have influenced the development of Europe and South America.
Student-Friendly Targets 2) Pick one target from the deconstructed standard. The learner will evaluate the impact of changing distribution patterns in population, resources and climate on the environment in South America and Europe. Turn it into an “I can” statement in terms the students will understand: I can judge how changes in population, resources and climate effect the environment of South America and Europe.
Student-Friendly Targets 3) Define a specific task I can judge how changes in population, resources and climate effect the environment of South America and Europe. This means that I can make predictions about what might happen to the environment in places where populations rise, resources fall, or the climate changes.
Student-Friendly Targets 4) Communicate them with parents and students n n n Post them in your classroom Refer to them during class Put them in newsletters, on your website, etc. Have students write them down, read them at the beginning of class, evaluate whether they met the target at the end of class, etc. Create unit overview sheets
Student-Friendly Targets n 4 th grade inferences n n I can make good inferences. This means I can make a guess that is based on clues 7 th grade inferences n I can make good inferences. This means I can use information from what I read to draw a reasonable conclusion
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