What is the Purpose?

Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.  ~ John F. Kennedy

As we continue to work on the implementation of learning goals and scales in our classrooms, I thought I would share a few thoughts about why this is important, and how we might realistically embed these concepts in our daily instructional practice.

First and foremost, is the notion of "purpose."  As a staff we have had frequent discussions about purposeful practice, and we have spent time reflecting on our lessons and actions, asking: "what is the purpose?"  Knowing why we are doing something helps us develop activities that support our intended outcome, and it adds a sense of relevance to what we are doing.

The purpose, and power, of learning goals and scales has very little to do with how they are posted.  We need to be cautious about thinking of them as something on a long list of things to be "checked off" in order to have a good lesson.  It is the interactions with these tools (for both teacher's and student's) that will ultimately add value to their value.  Marzano's research (as discussed in both Classroom Instruction that Works, and The Art and Science of Teaching) has indicated a clear, and significant, performance gain when students have a clear understanding of what they are learning, and when they frequently reflect on performance and track their progress.  In fact, of the fifteen classroom strategies included in Marzano's meta-analysis, setting goals and objectives and tracking student progress and scoring scales had the highest percentile gains.

That being said, we don't see that kind of gain by simply posting a learning goal and scale in our classrooms.  There must be purposeful interaction with the instruments.  So how do we accomplish this?

1.  As you plan lessons, always keep your learning goal in mind.  The activities you design should lead students to a better understanding of the concepts identified in the learning goal.  If there is not a significant connection, the activity may not be a good use of time.  Reconsider.  Remember, learning goals aren't just for the kids.

2.  Post your learning goal, but be sure to communicate the goal with students.  This might include referencing the goal at appropriate times during the period, but feel free to be sneaky about it - it probably shouldn't always come from you.  Ask a few students to summarize the goal, include it in your warm-up questions, tie it into a ticket out the door, have kids explain it to each other, etc.  The learning goal should be discussed with enough frequency that a majority of students in class could convey the essence of what they are learning (remember, that is the goal).

3.  Make connections between your daily activities and the learning goal (see point #1).  Students should be able to see how individual classroom activities fit into the learning goal.  For example, students who read/discuss the following statement, written on the board, know that they will be analyzing conflicts and writing a new subplot (activities) in an effort to practice understanding and analyzing the elements that contribute to a story (learning goal).

From the classroom of Monica G.

4.  Finally, spend time allowing students to reflect on their progress.  This is the purpose of scales.  It is also a significant challenge since honest and purposeful reflection does not come easily to junior high students.  As you work with students on this skill, start where you want the majority of them to be in the end (a three...if you are using a four point scale).  Explain what it takes to get to that point.  Have them explain where they think they are.  Ask them to consider parts of the learning goal where they might need additional help.  This is going to take practice...for students and teachers.  [More on scales, later.]

Remember that this is a process.  It is going to take time to develop a clear understanding and become comfortable using learning goals and scales.  I know there are still many questions, but we will continue to discuss, share, collaborate and learn together!

Feel free to post comments or questions.