Learning Goals, Scales and Learning Activities

Office of Academics and Transformation Millard Lightburn, Ph.D. Science Supervisor Mary Tweedy and Keisha Kidd, CSS Learning Goals, Scales and Learning Activities Department of Mathematics and Science

Learning Goals, Scales, and Learning Activities Florida Educators are tasked with guiding our students towards mastery of the New Florida Standards and Next Generation Sunshine State Standards. To accomplish this task, it involves establishing and communicating learning goals that will enable student learning growth. Department of Mathematics and Science

Learning Goals and Progression Scales Contemporary researchers state: • Knowledgeable teachers know what concepts are central to a discipline. • No curriculum can replace the knowledge and expertise of a teacher. • Learning goals with scales are one of the instructional planning processes that enable teachers to focus on instruction that is most important. Department of Mathematics and Science

WHAT ARE LEARNING GOALS? Learning Goals are statements that communicate to teachers and students what students will understand and be able to do at the conclusion of instruction. They encompass two broad categories of knowledge: Declarative and Procedural. Department of Mathematics and Science

Categories of Knowledge in Learning Goals Declarative Knowledge is student recall of information about facts, generalization or principles e.g. Student will understand….. Procedural Knowledge involves skills, strategies or processes. e.g. Student will be able to…… Complex learning goals may involve both e.g. The student will understand “x” and be able to do “y”. Department of Mathematics and Science

Research on Learning Goal Robert Marzano, John Hattie et al reveal that goal-setting and monitoring of progress on goals have the potential to increase student performance. In Marzano’s meta-analyses he found that a student who receives instruction with clear learning goals will likely score 16 to 41 more points on an assessment than a student who does not have a learning goal. Department of Mathematics and Science

Effectiveness of Learning Goals and Scales For learning goals to have a positive impact on student performance, it must include a rubric or scale for learners to monitor their progress and celebrate their growth. For learning goals to be effective, they need to focus on the important knowledge and skills needed to master the standards. Department of Mathematics and Science

Learning Goals and Students Learning goals must be: Comprehensible to the student and measurable either by scale or rubric both for the teacher (to monitor) and the student (to monitor his/her understanding and progress towards mastery). The students must be able to understand what they are expected to understand or able to do. Department of Mathematics and Science

Learning Goals and Students Standards are written for professional educators. Learning goals may need to be “translated” into terms students understand. Goals should be Measurable because tracking progress (by teacher and student) is an essential aspect of quality instruction. Both teacher and student must be able to recognize when students move from one level of the scale to another. Department of Mathematics and Science

SCALES I think it’s called a scale but mom calls it a @#$@#$ Department of Mathematics and Science

WHAT ARE PROGRESSION SCALES? Stages or progression points that move a student towards mastery of the goal and a set of formative learning activities that support the learning goal. Scales provide a clear progression of what a student should understand or be able to do. The progress points built into the scale should be appropriately sequenced in ascending levels of difficulty. Department of Mathematics and Science

IMPORTANCE OF SCALES Scales are formative in nature because they help guide students towards mastery. Marzano states that the use of clear learning goals is identified as a high-effect size instructional strategy. When used appropriately, scales in conjunction with formative assessments have the potential to greatly improve student performance on summative measures (e.g. FCAT, EOC etc) Department of Mathematics and Science

Learning Activities Learning activities are purposeful exercises that engage the student with explicit content to promote mastery of the learning goal. Learning goal is where the student needs to be at the end of a unit and learning activities are the vehicles and paths the student uses to get there. Learning activities should be planned in a way that students are engaged at a level of cognitive demand consistent with the learning goal. Department of Mathematics and Science

Developing Learning Goals At MDCPS we decided to use the achievement level descriptors and the item specifications to guide the development of the learning goals with appropriate scale progression. We will develop learning goals for all annually assessed benchmarks from grades 3-5. A sample Grade 5 Science Learning Goal is shown on the next slide. Department of Mathematics and Science

Sample Learning Goals for Grade 5 Science Department of Mathematics and Science

References The information contained in this PowerPoint was taken from the summary of the Florida Leaders online course “Learning Goals with Scale-an introduction to a high effect size instructional strategy that support standard based”. (https://www.floridaschoolleaders.org/resources/index.aspx) Classroom Instruction that works: Research based strategies for increasing student achievement (2001) by Robert Marzano, Debra Pickering, Debra and Jane Pollock. Department of Mathematics and Science

Learning Goals, Scales and Learning Activities