PD Follow-Up

After our professional learning day last Friday, some teachers said it would be helpful to see high-quality examples of completed unwrapped units. There is now an Unwrapping Examples collection in the PLC Resources folder with seven different examples from a range of content areas.

A number of people also expressed an interest in getting more clarification around Enduring Understandings and Essential Questions. After doing more reading and thinking about EUs, EQs, standards and targets, I created the graphic below to help myself (and hopefully others) clarify the relationship between them, as well as to envision how these elements actually come into play in day to day instruction and assessment. The instructional cycle starts at the bottom with the Essential Questions.

Feedback? Questions? Please let me know!

Here are some texts that you might find helpful:

"Put Understanding First": High-school specific article by Wiggins and McTighe; a good introduction/review of the philosophy behind EUs and EQs.

"What Makes a Question Essential?": First chapter from Essential Questions by McTighe and Wiggins. I have a copy of this book if you are interested in reading additional chapters.

"How to Use Essential Questions in the Classroom": Blog post from the Global Digital Citizen Foundation.

"On Genuine vs. Bogus Inquiry" - Using Essential Questions Properly": Blog post by Wiggins. Math teachers check out the EQs that are at the heart of genuine problem solving in math.

"What is a Big Idea?": Another post from Wiggins on the Authentic Education blog.

"Essential Understandings": This is a chapter excerpt from Mapping Comprehensive Units to the ELA Common Core Standards, 6-12; however, the information at the beginning and end of the chapter is more general and is applicable to all subject areas.

If you'd like some time to peruse these resources or discuss these ideas further, come to the TTT session on Wednesday in Margaret's room. Teams who want to work on unwrapping are encouraged to attend.

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.