Learning Goals and Scales

The flawed notion that progress happens in leaps and bounds is an organizational curse.  Real progress starts and ends with teams committed to taking ONE STEP AT AT A TIME, TOGETHER.  ~ Unknown

As we begin implementation of the new evaluation instrument and the integration of strategies from The Art and Science of Teaching in our classroom instruction, I thought it might be helpful to share how teachers are approaching the idea of learning goals and scales.  I realize that this is a significant shift and I want you to understand that I see this as a "process" that will take time to perfect.  Remember, we are trying to hit a home-run, fifty feet at a time.    

There are a number of ways that you might approach the posting of a scale.  The picture above is an example of a scale, on a small whiteboard,  in Mr. Kidder's science class.  This scale is set-up to monitor/assess student progress related to the following learning goal:

Students will be able to describe the composition of the Earth's interior.

You will notice that most of the wording in the scale can be used for multiple learning goals (text written in black marker).  The information specific to this particular learning goal is written in a different color -- this is the information that will change from one learning goal to another.

Again, this one way you might go about addressing a posted learning goal and scale in your classroom.  Please feel free to share your ideas, or alternative suggestions in the comments to this post.  

One step at a time...together.