Learning Targets & Formative Assessment

1. Learning Targets & Formative Assessment Fort Vancouver 2011

2. The who, what, why, when, and how of Learning Targets

3. WHY? What the research says… • "Students who can identify what they are learning significantly outscore those who cannot." -Robert Marzano • "Learning is easier when learners understand what goal they are trying to achieve, (and) the purpose of achieving the goal..." • -Stephen Chappuis and Richard J. Stiggins • “Teachers and students can hit any target they can see and will hold still.” • -Rick Stiggins

4. Without Clear Targets We Can’t Do Any of the Following… • Focus all instructional activities on what we want students to learn • Know if our assessment covers the target • Correctly identify if students learned the target • Give detailed, descriptive feedback to students. • Have students self-assess or set goals • Plan next steps in instruction

6. WHAT? • A Learning Target IS… • Also referred to as learning goal, objective, teaching point, or outcome of a lesson • What you want students to know, understand, or be able to do by the end of the lesson • Shared with students • In kid friendly language – brief is better • Posted for reference and for visual learners throughout the lesson • Decided on for every lesson – sometimes the same target can last a few days, but mostly each lesson has its own target

7. WHAT? • A Learning Target… • Should be repeated if students didn’t understand the first time • Is assessed to determine if students learned the target (assessment for learning = formative assessment) and/or what teacher needs to re-teach or teach differently

8. WHAT? • A Learning Target IS… • Best if accompanied by “Why target matters?” • Provides relevance for learning • If you can’t think of why the target matters to students now or in their futures, maybe you shouldn’t be teaching that target??????

9. WHAT it ISN’T • A Learning Target is NOT… • The agenda for the day • The assignment you are having students do • The same as an essential question • Wordy, long, confusing

10. WHO uses learning targets? • State – EALRs and GLEs • Teacher – writes target based on state standards and assesses students for attainment of target • Students – use target to help them know what is going on in class and to monitor their learning • Parents – Have clearer idea of what is happening in school when their child and their child’s teacher can communicate targets.

11. Teachers Forces you to focus your lesson Helps you make every minute of the period apply to the target you want students to learn Helps you leave out irrelevant activities (even if they are fun) Students Can articulate what they are learning More likely to perform well on an assessment to measure the target if they understand what they are learning and why Less likely to see education as pointless and irrelevant WHO benefits from learning targets?

12. WHEN? • Daily at the beginning of a lesson • Referred to as often as appropriate during the lesson • Assessed at the end of the lesson

13. HOW to write a learning target? Decide the following…. • Begin with the end in mind – what do you want students to learn in your unit (core concepts and essential questions)? • What state standard will be the focus of your lesson for the day? • What piece of knowledge or what skills related to that standard do you want them to learn as a result of what you have them do in class? • What activities will you use to help them learn the target? • How will you assess if they have learned the target?

14. A Literacy Example Core Concept • Comprehension • Expand comprehension by analyzing, interpreting, and synthesizing informational and ideas in literary and informational text. • Identify similarities in characters and setting. • I can compare Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Bean Stalk. • Similarities and Differences Matrix • Review student work on matrix to determine learning. State Standard Skill or knowledge from standard High Probability Instructional Strategy Formative Assessment

15. Formative Assessment • Gives data on student and/or class progress towards learning • Used to determine next instructional steps – • Re-teach whole group? • Re-teach a small group? • Re-teach just one student? • Can be quick, short, simple, and/or involve student self-reflection • Giving formative assessments at least 2 times per week results in 29 percentile point gain in student achievement.

16. Four Ways to gather formative assessment through Student Self-reflection • Students rate their comprehension (numerical, agree/disagree scale, color coded cards,hand signals, pre/post rating) • Students represent their comprehension (tableau/skit, play-dough sculpture, sketch, metaphor) • Students write (reflect in journal, self-assess with rubric, exit slip, notecards,etc.) • Students discuss (seminar, debate, literature circles)

17. Numerical rating of comprehension • Give Me Five - Have students show by raising 1-5 appropriate fingers their level of understanding for the concept or skill taught, four being high comprehension, etc. • Have students write on a small white board, or chalk board their comprehension score using the same scale (Informal formative assessment)

18. Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down Rating • Thumbs up if they understand • Thumbs down if they totally do not understand • Thumbs sideways if they are unsure (Informal formative assessment)

19. Color Coded Cards Rating • Give each student a set of laminated red, green and yellow paper squares • Green = got it! • Yellow = not sure • Red = stop! I’m still confused. (Informal formative assessment)

20. Rate with a Survey • Prepare several statements about the topic and have students rate their agreement or disagreement with the statements on a scale • Anticipation Guide: Do same as for survey only have students respond to the statements before the unit of study or lesson and then again after to monitor their thinking and how it may have changed after learning. Agree Disagree (Informal formative assessment)

21. Writing Skills Before Unit After Unit Rate improvement in learning pre- and post- a major project. Content knowledge (Formal formative assessment)

22. Represent with Kinesthetic Strategies (Informal formative assessment) • Have students act out a vocabulary word or demonstrate with a tableau. Other students guess the word. • Have students use Play-Dough to create a representation of a vocabulary word or concept • Have students create a sketch of something that represents a concept

23. Metaphorical Representation • Have students write a metaphor for a concept or idea to show a deeper level of understanding. The bicycle of learning sometimes rolls along without any problems but more often it has a flat tire, is crowded off the road by other things, and leaves its rider weary and needing a rest. Life is a bowl of cherries – sometimes sweet, but filled with pits. (Formal formative assessment)

24. Kinesthetic Representation • Take a stand: Post “Agree” and “Disagree” signs on opposite sides of the room. Read a statement and have students physically place themselves somewhere between the two points to represent their stance. • Four corners: Designate each corner of the room “Agree”, “Strongly Agree”, “Disagree”, “Strongly Disagree”. Read a statement and have students move to the corner that best represents their feeling, then discuss with the others in that corner.

25. Formative assessment in writing • Index cards: at the start of a lesson, have students write what they know about the topic for the day. At the end of the lesson, have them add to or refine what they wrote at the beginning (similar to a KWL chart) (Formal formative assessment)

27. Formative assessment in writing • Exit slips: The last 2 minutes of class, post a question on the board or overhead that students must answer in writing. The question focuses on the skill or concept taught in that lesson. Students must fill out the exit slip before they can leave. Teacher review of these brief answers will make it clear what needs to be re-taught to everyone, what everyone understood, or which small groups of students need to have more instruction. (Formal formative assessment)

29. Formative assessment in writing • Establishmetacognitive journals in which students reflect on their learning each day. Teacher reads/reviews the journals on a regular basis to monitor for comprehension • “What’s in it for me?” exit slip – students reflect on the day’s lesson and write how this information will help them as a learner both in school and in life beyond high school. (Formal formative assessment)

30. Formative assessment in writing (Formal formative assessment) • Use the teacher’s rubric for the assignment and grade themselves before turning the finished work in. Explain their scores in writing. • Have students design their own rubric for an assignment. Discuss as a whole group what constitutes quality work. • Students share writing with peers – Use a “TAG”: Tell one thing you liked, Ask a Question, and Give one piece of advice.

31. Writing Self-Evaluation Complete this form before you turn in your finished writing assignment. Use your own copy of the Writing Washington Grade 10 Content, Style, and Organization Scoring Guide as a reference to decide the quality of your paper and give it a 4, 3, 2, or 1 in each category. (Formal formative assessment)

32. Formative assessment in writing • Check student progress in their learning by asking them: • What is the learning target? • Why is the target important to you? • What are the steps in reaching this target? • Where are you right now in that progression? • What will you need to do to move forward in your learning? • How will you demonstrate that you have reached this target?

33. Formative assessment through discussion • Socratic Seminar • Literature Circles • Debate

34. Formative assessment through discussion • Use the “Take a Stand” or “4 Corners” strategies and have students discuss with others near them why they have chosen that spot. • “Fold” the line in half so that the two ends of the line are facing each other. Have students explain their stance to someone with the opposite opinion. • Do “Concentric Circles” with a circle of students inside facing a circle of students on the outside. Rotate circles and have students stop and discuss with the student facing them.

35. What if…. Let’s do a formative assessment on your ability to write learning targets. • What if 80% of you incorrectly wrote a learning target? What would a teacher do? • What if 25% of you incorrectly wrote a learning target? What would a teacher do? • What if 2% of you incorrectly wrote a learning target? What would a teacher do?