Learning Walks

Walkers debrief and share their learning after visiting classrooms.

The first round of Learning Walks for this year started in mid-November and wrapped up last week; participants are looking forward to the next round, which will begin in mid-January.To date, seven learning walks have been completed, two of which were focused within a single department (Science & Social Studies) and five which were cross-departmental. Sixteen teachers participated as walkers, representing the English, Social Studies, Science, and Global Languages departments. As you can see from the photo, counselor Hillary Hewins, librarian Marie Slaby and Janet Claassen from Educational Programs also participated in the process.

Nineteen different teachers welcomed walkers into their classrooms, with a few hosting multiple times. In addition to the departments mentioned above, teachers from Math, PE and Chinese also hosted their colleagues. The feedback from the walkers has been very positive, with 100% of the participants wanting to continue the practice and also reporting that it was a valuable use of their time.

If you are a first-timer interested in participating in the next round of learning walks, please fill out this survey so I can include you when I do the scheduling. Participants from the first round do not need to fill out the survey, just newbies. Thanks to all who made the first round of Puxi High School Learning Walks a success!

Learning Targets: Q&A

What is the best way to display the learning targets?

One creative display from Pinterest

There is no "best way" to display the learning targets, although if you are referring back to them throughout the lesson, it is convenient to have them on the board or wall, or readily available for projection (i.e. on a slide you can click back to or on a Moodle page). Having a consistent spot is likely a good idea, so students always know where the information is for their class. One idea is to laminate and label a large piece of butcher paper; then you can use dry erase markers on it just like a white board. Not surprisingly, elementary examples dominate the Pinterest boards, but you might find inspiration from the creativity of our colleagues who teach the younger crowd.

There are many creative ways to share learning targets. Check out this Slideshare presentation: 51 Ways to Introduce Learning Objectives to find ideas for making the process of sharing the targets more interactive.

And keep in mind that it is not always appropriate to have the targets on display. The conversation on Joe Bower's blog post "Stop Writing the Objectives on the Board" offers a variety of perspectives and is worth a read.

What is an easy way to display visual learning targets for different classes?
Here's how Amy Foley has a target board set up in her room. Laminated headings or printed magnet sheets help keep your display looking neat and cut down on the amount of writing. If you like the look of this but are not the crafty type, I would be happy to create some personalized headers for you.

How simple can the learning targets be?
I'm not sure that I really understand what this question is getting at. The best targets are written in student-friendly language; however, that doesn't mean that it's not appropriate to include academic vocabulary. Listing a topic or a theme is not the same thing as a learning target. The bottom line is that writing good targets is an ongoing process that takes time and thought, but the payoff is substantial.

Educational blogger Bill Ferriter (The Tempered Radical) has written eloquently about his initial resistance to mandated goal posting and why he's come around. He includes an example of how he formats and shares his unit learning targets with students. He starts with the learning (I can... ) and also includes a defined learning task (This means that...). He writes, "Defining a specific task has even helped ME with my planning and instructional delivery. Now, when working with an objective, I know exactly what kinds of activities to engage my kids in because I’ve detailed the specific outcome that they are supposed to achieve." I highly recommend reading his two part post on Writing Student Friendly Learning Goals.

Is it possible to develop good learning targets in the absence of good standards?
While it may be more difficult, it is certainly possible. I would be happy to consult and collaborate with individuals or teams on developing targets.

Have there been any studies regarding poorly written learning targets vs. well-written learning targets? If so, what are the findings?
In his book Designing and Teaching Learning Goals & Objectives, Marzano includes a chapter that goes into detail regarding the research. We have a copy of this book in our SAS professional library, but if you want a quick overview, check out this summary from The Main Idea. The specificity and difficulty level of the goals are two factors that have been shown to impact their effectiveness. In addition, the effectiveness of goals also depends on their purpose (i.e. mastery vs. performance).

How do we create learning targets for student-led lessons?
When students are engaged in designing lessons, it is a perfect opportunity for them to take ownership of writing the target for that lesson. At first, you might provide the students with the target, which may help them to focus the activities of their lesson appropriately. Aternatively, you could provide them with several targets to choose from, a sentence frame, or some guidelines that will help them craft a specific target. If you are regularly sharing targets with your students, you are providing them with models, but they still might need some explicit teaching and support as they attempt to write targets themselves.

How do we create learning targets for when we are combining multiple things at the same time? Sometimes in English (or other content areas), things are so interconnected, and to put all those targets on the board would take the entire board.
In his blog post "Mandating the mere posting of objectives and other pointless ideas", Grant Wiggins advocates for posting Essential Questions. He writes, "A reason for highlighting Essential Questions is to help students keep the broader goals and value of the immediate learning in view, to connect specifics to bigger ideas and issues which are easily lost in more specific lessons." In the case described above, it may be more appropriate to have a broader goal or question posted, and have more specific targets or outcomes referenced in a different mode, e.g. as criteria outlined in a rubric.

What do I do for learning targets when they are different for each student?
In Classroom Instruction that Works, Marzano advocates for the practice of engaging students in setting personal learning targets. In Chapter One he writes, "Students who are skilled at self-regulation are able to consciously set goals for their learning and monitor their understanding and progress as they engage in a task. They also can plan appropriately, identify and use necessary resources, respond appropriately to feedback, and evaluate the effectiveness of their actions. Acquiring these skills helps students become independent lifelong learners." In a personalized learning environment, establishing routines for students to identify their goals at the beginning of class and then to continually reflect on their progress and/or revise those goals will help them to take ownership of their learning. Read the chapter on "Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback", for more specific suggestions.

Why is it that just knowing what you're supposed to learn in advance increases learning? What if it were like a great novel or a mystery, where the impact is best seen and/or appreciated at the end?
See the multiple blog posts referenced above for a variety of perspectives on the intersection between learning goals, inquiry, curiosity and the joy of learning. Here's a short excerpt from Bill Ferriter's second post, where he responds to a similar question: "For me, learning is making discoveries. Is it possible that posting clear and specific learning targets takes that opportunity away from our kids? And if so, is there a middle ground that we could craft that would allow teachers to post student-friendly learning goals without taking away discovery?" This is a question that we all need to grapple with. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Learning Targets: Analogies

There were some good questions put forth after last week's Learning Target session. One teacher said that they needed more examples from their specific subject area, but alas, that person did not include their name, so I don't know what subject area that might be. If you would like examples from your specific subject area, please shoot me an email and I would be happy to provide some. See the full Q&A in this post.

Creating Comparisons

HOT: Higher Order Thinking

The analogies from the exit tickets were somewhat creative, although it may have helped if I had provided a clear definition of an analogy. Here is one from literarydevices.net: An analogy is a comparison in which an idea or a thing is compared to another thing that is quite different from it. It aims at explaining that idea or thing by comparing it to something that is familiar.

Using analogies or similes is one of the strategies from the book Total Participation Techniques. You can read a full description of the strategy and how it encourages higher order thinking by clicking here. As the results below demonstrate, the key to success with this strategy is to explain the concept thoroughly and model it. Including the explanation or the "because" is an important piece for students to include so you have some insight into what they are thinking.

There are many easy to implement ideas in this book that engage all students. According to the authors, “TPTs are teaching techniques that allow for all students to demonstrate, at the same time, active participation and cognitive engagement in the topic being studied.” For an overview of all of the techniques included in the book, check out this Quick Reference Guide.

Your Analogies/Similes

Learning targets...
...are like signs in the market, telling you where to go.
...are like an energy drink (except they don't give heart attacks) because they get you going and help you focus.
...allow students to navigate their own learning. It's like going on a journey and giving students the map.

Learning targets...
...are the guideposts for METACOGNITION! (because...)
...are like targets because they allow students to know what to aim for. (can you think of something quite different to compare them to?)
...are like passed hors d'ouvres and standards are the main course. (because...)
...are like a map for students to get to the desired outcome of learning. (their learning destination?)

Learning targets...
...are like a public school requirement because I used to have to do these in the public school I left.
...are like targets...for...learning... :0

Learning Targets: Helping Students Hit the Mark

As we are working on answering the question "What do we want students to learn?", it is important to have a shared vocabulary when talking about the goals that we have for student learning. 

Standards vs. Learning Targets

Statements about what students should know and be able to do are written at a variety of different levels of "grain size." Grain size refers to how much or how little information and skill is included in the statement of the learning objective. National or state standards, such as the Common Core State Standards or the Next Generation Science Standards, are examples of large grain size objectives; they are written for teachers and typically encompass significant instructional outcomes that must be developed over time. Learning targets are small grain size objectives and are derived from the standards through an unwrapping process. Written in student-friendly language, they are statements of short term goals, typically outlining what the students should know or be able to do by the end of today's lesson.

Why Use Learning Targets?

There is a large body of research that indicates that when students are clear about the learning target (the goal statement that describes the intended learning) they perform significantly better than students who are given goals that focus on task completion. According to Rick Stiggins, "Students can hit any target they can see that holds still for them." In addition, when students are aware of what the learning targets are, they are better able to reflect on their learning and to assess their own growth. 

Learn More

Click here for real SAS examples!

• Watch this 5 minute video which features examples of Puxi HS teachers sharing learning targets with their students.
• View this presentation from Newport Independent Schools. It provides a nice overview with clear visuals explaining what learning targets are and specific examples from different content areas. 
• Read "Knowing Your Learning Target", a short, informational article from Educational Leadership.
• Talk with your instructional coach to get individualized support.

Innovative Discussion Format

Last week, Year 2 Innovation Institute students participated in a cross-curricular collaborative discussion, during which they were expected to reference texts from both their American Literature and their AP US History classes. Tiffany Kelley and Katie Elliott combined their 1B classes so that students could hear a wide range of voices and perspectives in a conversation focused around four guiding questions:

1. How are ecosystems and human society interdependent?
2. What does it mean to be safe in Colonial America?
3. What types of games do societies play?
4. How do power dynamics influence individual and collective action?

Upon entering the classroom students were randomly assigned to be in one of two groups. The fifteen students in the green group started in the inner circle and had approximately 30 minutes to discuss the first two guiding questions. The yellow group began in the outside circle, and each student was assigned to one of three smaller groups. These groups engaged in an online Skype chat that focused on the same two questions, and they also referred to the content and dynamics of the discussion happening in the inner circle. The online format provided an archived record of each student’s participation, allowing the instructors to primarily focus on recording notes about the inner circle students’ comments, questions, clarifications and references to the text. These two pieces of evidence enabled Tiffany and Katie to provide students with individualized feedback about their strengths and where they need to improve.

About halfway through the period, the yellow group moved to the inside circle for their face-to-face discussion of questions 3 and 4. In order to ensure more equitable participation from each individual (an issue that had surfaced in the green group’s discussion), the yellow group decided that they should raise their hands if they wanted to respond to the person speaking, and the current speaker would then call on someone, making an effort to distribute opportunities for participation equitably.

The concurrent online discussion was something that Tiffany had experimented with last year. “As an introvert, I am very interested in exploring ways of engaging all students, not just those most comfortable with sharing ideas aloud,” she says. “Last year I tried using Skype in the classroom, with small groups on Skype having a conversation where they could not only volley ideas digitally but also respond to the ideas being shared orally. This created more depth in our class discussions – as well as a bit of frustration. If the Skype group is too big, ideas are lost. Some students have a hard time listening to the inner, oral discussion and carrying on a digital discussion at the same time. Katie and I tried to use Skype to engage such a large group of students – some students liked it and others didn’t, so we will be refining ways of engaging all students as we continue to team teach and integrate our disciplines.”

Overall, Tiffany and Katie felt that the students did well with this format.  Reflecting on the experience, Katie said, “I was happy with the connections they were making, but felt that some students needed to work on using detailed evidence to support their opinions.” As part of their homework, students also reflected on their part in the discussion in preparation for a debrief of the entire process, which took place during the following class meeting. At that point, they also received individualized formative feedback on the amount and quality of their contributions to the conversation, so that they know what they did well and what they need to work on for the next formal discussion.

Using Twitter for Learning

Six PxHS staff members met at lunch today to explore using Twitter as a learning tool. Sascha, who has been using Twitter for about two years, walked new users through some of the basic features and demonstrated how to use a Twitter client like TweetDeck to organize various feeds on interesting topics using popular hashtags. Instructional Coach Susan Payne shared the following resources, which also include ideas for how to use Twitter in the classroom. We plan to do another session on September 11, so mark your calendars for 1:00 if you would like to jump on the Twitter bandwagon. If that time doesn't work for you, feel free to drop by and I would be happy to give you a personal tutorial.

See this link for an overview of nuts and bolts/how to use Twitter for your own professional learning. Click here for a list of useful hashtags.

A Sampling of Classroom Ideas:

7 Ideas for Using Twitter in the Classroom – Things you could try right away!

30 Innovative Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom

35 Interesting Ways to Use Twitter in The Classroom  (various content areas represented)