Learning Targets

1. Learning Targets What is a learning target???

2. A learning target is simply a statement of intended learning. If we don’t begin with clear statements of the intended learning, we won’t end with sound assessments and instruction.

3. Example: • “Students will be able to comprehend fictional, informational, and practical-workplace text.” What does to comprehend mean?? ---Identify the main idea and supporting details ---Summarizes text ---Makes inferences and predictions ---Uses context clues to determine the meaning of unfamiliar words

4. Teacher Benefits: • Know what to assess • Clarity on planning instructional activities • Balance “in-depth” with coverage of content • Finely-tuned assessments

5. Student Benefits: “Okay class, take out your math books. Who remembers what we are studying? Yes, decimals. Please turn to page 145. Everybody ready? Today we are going on a decimal hunt. Read the directions on page 145, and then when you know what you are supposed to do, come up to the front to get your materials.”

6. What information did the teacher give the students? • Subject (math) • Topic (decimals) • Resources (pg. 145) • Activity (decimal hunt) What is missing from this lesson?

7. The INTENDED LEARNING is missing! Without clarifying and sharing (posting) the learning targets, the intended learning could have been many different possibilities! “We are learning to read decimals to the thousandths place and put them in order.”

8. How do we create student-friendly statements of learning? • Define the word. (Process verb) • Rewrite the definition as an “I can” statement in terms that your students will understand. • Refine as needed.

9. “Students will be able to summarize text.” • Define the term. “Summarize: To give a brief statement of the main points, main events, or important ideas.” • Rewrite as an “I Can” statement. “I can summarize. This means I can make a short statement of the main points or the important ideas of what I read.”

10. Let’s Practice “Students will make inferences based on evidence from a passage.” *Rewrite this standard as a student-friendly learning target.

11. I can make inferences. This means I can use information from what I read to draw a reasonable conclusion. Would this be an appropriate target for a 3rd grade student??

12. We are learning to → Make good inferences We are looking for → Guesses based on clues

13. Activity: • Locate a learning target on your pacing guide. • Does is state the intended learning? • Is it language-appropriate for your age group? • Do you post these daily?

14. Types of Learning Targets: All learning targets can be classified into one of the five categories based on the following criteria. • Knowledge Targets --Represent factual underpinnings in each discipline (knows, lists, names, identifies, recalls, knows how, uses)

15. Reasoning Targets ---These targets expect students to be able to apply knowledge already obtained. Reasoning targets represent mental processes such as predicts, infers, classifies, hypothesizes, compares, concludes, summarizes, analyses, evaluates and generalizes.

16. Performance Skill Targets ---Skills that must be demonstrated and observed—heard or seen---to be assessed. Examples include fluency in oral reading, driving a car, serving a volleyball, directing scenes and productions, science process skills, etc.

17. Product Targets --creating a product such as, “creates tables, graphs, and scatter plots to display data, notates music, uses software appropriately, writing samples, research projects, scientific displays, etc.”

18. Dispositional Targets ---Student’s attitudes about school and learning (address through student surveys) ---Understanding a student’s disposition provided valuable insight into who they are as learners.

19. The goal of state standards is to set priorities on what students need to know and be able to do. But, have you ever looked a content strand or standard and asked yourself any of these questions?? • What am I supposed to be teaching? • How do I explain these targets to students? • Will other people interpret this the same as I do? • What will I do to enable students to do well on this? If you have, you are not alone. These statements can often be very broad and vague.

20. Deconstructing StandardsIn order to write appropriate learning targets, we must “unpack” the content standard to determine what students must know and be able to do to reach mastery of the standard. • Choose your standard or benchmark. Also include the AE and POS as the key words (those that will determine what type of target to create) are often included in these standards rather than the core content standards.

21. Determine the type(s) of learning targets embodied within the benchmark. • Unpack the standard --Consider the knowledge, thinking and reasoning, and/or performance skills that underpin the competence on the standard. Ask yourself the following four questions. Don’t list every little piece of knowledge or itty-bitty skill, just the major ones. A. What does a student need to know and understand to attain mastery on this standard? B. What patterns of thinking or reasoning, if any, are required to attain mastery? C. On what specific performance skills, if any, must students attain proficiency to reach mastery? D. What products, if any, would students be proficient in creating if they were masters of this benchmark?

22. Develop a student-friendly learning target based on the “unpacking” of the standard. *Key points to remember: --Teachers and students benefit from learning targets if teachers understand what type of target they are dealing with --Not all standards embody all types of learning targets --You are looking at what students are to know and be able to do—not how you will assess it

23. Activity: • Working with your learning club members, identify a content standard to deconstruct and turn into student-friendly learning targets.

24. Pacing Guide Reviews: • Two major areas of focus at this time: A. Timeline B. Learning Targets • Should not include chapters from the textbook---should not be your driving force. • Critical vocabulary does not have to be listed on this form. Already on maps.

25. Learning Targets: Are they student friendly? Do they tell what students should be able to do? If you posted them on the board, could your students understand them? • Core content numbers included with targets. Whole strand/standard is not needed. • Learning Targets and Core Content standards are not the same. • Consideration for non-instructional days • Look for collaboration opportunities with other teachers.