Success Criteria and effective goal setting.
One of my goals this year is to gather and use formative assessment data in a more effective manner. I had thought about how, as a teacher I was using this data to plan and implement my teaching sessions, although Michelle pointed out that I needed to work on how I was going to help my students use this to set goals.
I had already thought about how to make sure the students could use a goal sheet to refer to next steps but had not thought about how to help them assess their own work. The next step should be to ensure they are able to independently decide if they have met their goals. I knew that this is linked strongly with feedback and feedforward because the ability to be focused on the specific goals means your feedback and feedforward is focused on specific criteria as well. Consequently, success criteria has been a massive focus this year for everything learning area.
Today during reading the students were having trouble talking about why they thought something was or wasn't a key word. We had our success criteria on the table from a previous lesson and because they can already agree/disagree this became our reasoning. They recognised it matched the icon on our work (both key word lessons, but a bit different) and knew they could use it, even though I hadn't referred to it this lesson.
'I agree with xxxx, I think xxxx is a key word because it xxx'
All abut whether the words met our criteria.
It was a perfect meld of critical thought, reading strategies, writing strategies and just focusing on one thing at a time. Yes, we used lots of different reading strategies, and writing ideas, but we were only learning about one thing and I didn't talk about lots of different things to work on next.
They were way more willing to share once they had the security of a talking frame. When I said talk about what you think initially, they didn't know how.
So WHAT?
I learned that
-I can always use the SC to help the students discuss the learning. That this is why it's so important for them to understand the SC- (co-constructing them has been working so far, sometimes with heavy guidance).
-The talking frames and discussion norms are helping in all areas because it is giving them confidence to disagree with each other without fear of being wrong.
-judging their own work and ideas is an excellent introduction into critical literacy
-slowing down and really being deliberate in my questions and focus is helping the students see what the focus is and what the point of the learning is.
-linking ideas visually, with icons that match (reading strategies and writing skills) are helping the students refer to the SC as we work.
MAINLY- Continue referring SC as the corner stone of our discussions, does it meet the SC and use the talking frames for this to assist.
I had already thought about how to make sure the students could use a goal sheet to refer to next steps but had not thought about how to help them assess their own work. The next step should be to ensure they are able to independently decide if they have met their goals. I knew that this is linked strongly with feedback and feedforward because the ability to be focused on the specific goals means your feedback and feedforward is focused on specific criteria as well. Consequently, success criteria has been a massive focus this year for everything learning area.
Today during reading the students were having trouble talking about why they thought something was or wasn't a key word. We had our success criteria on the table from a previous lesson and because they can already agree/disagree this became our reasoning. They recognised it matched the icon on our work (both key word lessons, but a bit different) and knew they could use it, even though I hadn't referred to it this lesson.
'I agree with xxxx, I think xxxx is a key word because it xxx'
All abut whether the words met our criteria.
It was a perfect meld of critical thought, reading strategies, writing strategies and just focusing on one thing at a time. Yes, we used lots of different reading strategies, and writing ideas, but we were only learning about one thing and I didn't talk about lots of different things to work on next.
They were way more willing to share once they had the security of a talking frame. When I said talk about what you think initially, they didn't know how.
So WHAT?
I learned that
-I can always use the SC to help the students discuss the learning. That this is why it's so important for them to understand the SC- (co-constructing them has been working so far, sometimes with heavy guidance).
-The talking frames and discussion norms are helping in all areas because it is giving them confidence to disagree with each other without fear of being wrong.
-judging their own work and ideas is an excellent introduction into critical literacy
-slowing down and really being deliberate in my questions and focus is helping the students see what the focus is and what the point of the learning is.
-linking ideas visually, with icons that match (reading strategies and writing skills) are helping the students refer to the SC as we work.
MAINLY- Continue referring SC as the corner stone of our discussions, does it meet the SC and use the talking frames for this to assist.
Hi Sally. It's great that you're moving this to a more student centred way of thinking and that you're recognising how to deliver an effective lesson combining evidence based best practice. It will be exciting to see you building on this through the year. I'm looking forward to seeing how sharing students assessment data through asTTle and PAT assists them in identifying their next steps.
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