Learning Targets Chapter 2: Learning Trajectory?

Learning Targets Chapter 2 (part 2 in a series to summarize the book Learning Targets by Connie Moss and Susan Brookhart)

“The whole concept of standards-based instruction assumes that individual lessons, over time, will amount to achievement of a larger standard.”

 (Moss & Brookhart pg. 29)

From my perspective, there are few things more beautiful that the trajectory of a homerun ball as it leaves the bat and towers toward the outfield bleachers (Yes, I am imagining my many wonderful summer days sitting at Wrigley Field with my Dad).  The sound of the crack of the bat, followed by the immediate gasp from the crowd, and then the celebration that begins long before the trajectory of the ball has stopped is upward spiral and falls to earth is something that every baseball fan has experienced and leaves you with a certain adrenaline rush that can’t be explained.  It becomes the “it” moment of the day. 

The best teachers, and even some average ones every now and then, experience that “it” moment while teaching and learning.  It happens at that moment when every thing comes together perfectly and their plans turn into reality as their student meet and exceed their expectations.  In Chapter 2 of Learning Targets, Moss and Brookhart, explore the concept of potential learning trajectory.  The authors are clearly challenging educators to go deeper and think about how they plan lessons.  On page 29, they state that planning for effective daily instruction consists of three things:

·      What are the essential knowledge (facts, concepts, and generalizations, or principals) and skills (or procedures) for the lesson?

·      What is the essential reasoning content for the lesson?

·      What is the potential learning trajectory in which the lesson is situated?

If you consider and can articulate these things you are ready to design a dynamic learning experience for your students.   The authors outline four steps in designing a learning target.  They also highlight several misconceptions and implementation mistakes teachers often make by not going deep enough with their planning. 

STEP 1: Define the Essential Content for the Lesson

STEP 2: Define the Reasoning Processes Essential for the Lesson

STEP 3: Design a Strong Performance of Understanding

STEP 4: State the Learning Target

All our students are on a learning trajectory…some days we hit home runs with them and the trajectory goes up and sometimes we strike out and the learning trajectory goes nowhere.  By intentionally planning for the learning with not only the content in mind, but also our student learning trajectory, we can formatively gauge the lesson throughout and monitor our own effectiveness.

Questions for thought:

·      How do you and your PLC identify your instructional objectives, the essential content, and the thinking skills they require to address various stages of students learning trajectory?

·      Learning Targets are not the same as Learning Objectives, after reading the Chapter 2, what is the difference?

·      If you already use “I will” and “We Will” statements, how do you incorporate them throughout your lessons?

Learning Targets: Chapter 1 Reflections

In our district, Northwest ISD, we adopted a five-year strategic plan this year that includes a number of ambitious goals.  First and foremost, our #1 operational goal states: “Northwest ISD will design dynamic learning experiences to ensure that all students are future-ready learners.”  When faced with such an ambitious task, often determining a starting point is the most difficult part of the challenge. During our Leadership Team Academy this August, each campus will bring a team of teacher leaders to continue the work of designing dynamic learning experiences for our students.  One of the resources we will use is the book Learning Targets by Connie Moss and Susan Brookhart.  I will be offering some reflections and questions from a chapter each week in this blog in order to prepare for the discussion.

In their book, Moss and Brookhart, outline an excellent process for intentionally planning lessons in a way that insures all stakeholders (students, teachers, and administrators) are consistently working towards the same goal.  They also share their own theory of action:  “The most effective teaching and the most meaningful student learning happen when teachers design the right learning target for today’s lesson and use it along with their students to aim for and assess understanding.” (pg 9)

While many versions of learning targets (some might call them learning objectives) are actively used in schools, for the purposes of their book, the authors specifically note that a learning target must be shared by both the student(s) and the teacher.  This has very specific implications for the way teachers plan lessons, the way they formatively assess students during a lesson, and the way they assess their own instruction about what works and what doesn’t.

Maybe the largest implication of Learning Targets in Chapter 1, revolves around the effects on professional learning communities (PLC). Designing and sharing specific learning targets to enhance lessons requires teachers to continually work together to establish exactly what the students will learn and just as important, teacher look-fors to guide instructional decisions during their lessons.  When used correctly, learning targets should guide lessons as teachers work to meet the learning goals of all students.  In addition, campus administrators that facilitate PLC discussions, create schedules and expectations for these things to happen on their campus, and to provide feedback on the quality of the learning target implementation play an essential role in successful implementation.

Finally, as the authors so clearly state, “Improving the teaching-learning process requires everyone in the school- teachers, students, and administrators- to have specific learning targets and look-fors.”

Reflective Questions from Chapter One:

•       Our espoused theory of action is what we say we believe; our theory of use is what actually guides our day-to-day behaviors. On your campus, where are these two theories aligned and where are they in conflict?
•      Do you have your own theory of action about quality instruction?
•       What implications does fully implementing the formative learning cycle have on your current practices?

Please post thoughts, reflections, and questions about Chapter One…we learn best together.

Night of No Limits: Authentic Learning on Display #nisdnonl

Tonight my school district (Northwest Independent School District) pulled off an evening that quite frankly, if you were not there, I am not sure you can truly appreciate. We call it the “A Night of No Limits” and that is truly what it was!  Over 1000 students ranging from Kindergarten thru 12^th grade were nominated by their campuses to share their learning, but it was much more than an open house. It was both a display and a celebration of authentic learning.  Our students experienced and applied “real” learning. There were so many wonderful examples that the excitement literally could be heard up and down the hallways. I listened to a group of first grade students explained the research they conducted on “What makes people smile” and watched high school students demonstrate robots and rockets they designed and built themselves.  Each group was confident and articulate about what they had learned and they were eager to share.

I was amazed and I wasn’t the only one. I heard one proud parent walking away sharing with another…”I had no idea my son knew so much…” I even had a principal share (with a tiny built of guilt in their voice), “How did I miss this going on at my own campus?”  I had to admit, that as much as I try to know what is going on, there were surprises at every turn tonight.

 

 

 

 

I am really proud to be in NISD.  I believe we have a great District and focus on providing the right kinds of learning experiences for our students. Tonight validated those beliefs.  Our teachers should be congratulated for providing learning activities to their students that allow the kind of experiences they had tonight. It truly was a Night of No Limits.

(for more picture and examples search #nisdnonl)

364 > 1

In my school district, we spend 364 days of the year teaching and learning and preaching that a “one day, one test” assessment will not define us.  We talk about all the wonderful celebrations we have at school each day. We design dynamic lessons. We formatively assess. We do all the things we believe produce engaged students and authentic learning.  We are awesome!!!

We do all these wonderful things and then a day like today comes along and we get the first round of scores on our State’s STAAR test and for a few brief moments we forget get all that we believe about teaching and learning to inspect each line of the data report with a fine toothed comb. Whatever the numbers say, there will be those of us that celebrate and others that beat themselves up because a bunch of 8 year-old students (or an even more unpredictable group, 13 year-olds) did or did not do well on STAAR day. 

The truth is test scores are important.  Used correctly they can inform all of us about individual student progress and the even the curriculum we are teaching.  Test scores, for the foreseeable future will remain gatekeepers to future opportunities in both college entrance and many careers. They matter and therefore we must stop and look at them. We owe it to ourselves and our kids to determine how we did on the particular set of standards and this particular test so that we can do better next time.  However, we also owe it to ourselves and to our kids to remember the other 364 days of the year.  To remember the time the class worked collaboratively to solve a “real-world” problem.  Or maybe when the shy kid in the back of the room stood up an explained to the class how to solve a math problem or read a piece of original writing they created.  All of these things and many more happen every day, all year long.  They are examples of real learning and they are how we should judge ourselves and our schools. 

I hope that every teacher that reviews their STAAR scores in the days to come will remember that each of those students have a lot more to offer, not only this year but in the future. For those that are celebrating today, congratulations!  You deserve it!  It is a job well done to meet or exceed the standard set forth by our State.  I mean that.  And if you happen to be discouraged with your scores, keep your chin up.  Remember what it is you believe about teaching and learning and whatever you do, make the other 364 days of year count far more than just one!

Learning? You have to own it before you can share it!

  

I haven’t had the chance to write in a while, but I heard a question last week that I have been grappling with…why do we put so much emphasis on student-centered instruction?  Great question.  I believe the answer lies somewhere in Einstein’s quote:

“If you can’t explain it to a five year-old, you don’t understand it yourself.”

Students have got to own learning if they are going to share it.  The best teachers find ways to motivate and encourage students to be responsible for what they learn and how they articulate it.  They insist students take responsibility and become engaged in a lesson. Once kids do this, they are much more likely to not only “go deeper” into the learning, but also retain the information.  If they own it, they can share it!  However, knowing the information is not enough. Providing the extra opportunities for kids to share their learning with their peers is the final, essential piece of many lessons.  Many of us call it “closing the lesson.”

So where does collaboration connect to ownership? Collaboration has become a key goal in education as more and more teachers recognize the value of students working together to discuss and explore new learning.  What many of us don’t realize is how doing so has the potential to take away the student ownership of the learning.  Several warning signs: 

·      Does the individual student voice get lost in the group?

·      Can a reluctant learner “hide” and let others do the work?

·      Does each student feel responsible for the learning?

·      Can one influential group member override the input of others?

There are many other potential pitfalls when setting up collaboration in the classroom, but NONE of them should keep a teacher from pushing forward.  The aspiration, just as in the chart above, should be for group ownership of the learning.  When true collaboration takes place, ALL the students participating own the learning and in an ideal setting, ALL should be able to share it. We OWN, We SHARE.

It is paramount that teachers remember when students share their work with others that they can’t share, what they don’t own.  If a student is struggling to articulate their learning, it is highly likely they never owned it in the first place.