23: Learning Targets

Chapter 1 in Berger, Ron, Leah Rugen, and Libby Woodfin. Leaders of Their Own Learning: Transforming School through Student-engaged Assessment. Print.

Learning target versus objectives:

Both: aligned to standards, set goals for lesson plans
Objectives: for the teachers
Learning targets: written for and owned by students, written in student friendly language, chunked (1 skill per target)

Benegits of Using Learning Targets to Communicate Goals

Can be used to make students main agents in self assessing and improving learning
Builds investment in learning because students can reference what they know and need-to-know against understandable goals
Helps students define what they are learning and why they are learning it
Builds student motivation by making goals feel accessible
Helps students fit goals into a larger framework
Discussing learning targets builds academic vocabulary
Build sense of ownership and accountability over learning
Can be tied to all school structures: daily work, grades, events, etc.
Reframes lesson in terms of what students will learn, not what teachers will teach
Character learning targets can teach student useful skills such as: risk taking, perseverance, responsibility, etc.

Character Learning Targets

specific expectation that build up positive learning culture and build soft skills needed to learn and to create products
based on school-wide norms for behavior

Design of Learning Targets & Related Materials:

Break down objectives into manageable, student friendly targets
Describe learning goal, not task goal
Prioritize targets
Use long term and supporting targets: 3 to 5 supporting targets per long term targets
Use rigor of targets to design appropriate learning tasks
KISS – limit to one verb and one topic

Implementation of Learning Targets:

Used to track student learning throughout the lesson
Match assessment type to target type
Give students time to discuss learning in terms of targets
Can allow students to revise targets to make them more understandable
Break down target with students
Use targets to conduct timely assessments and reflections on progress
Student read aloud target and restate in their own words to a partner
Can use targets to frame next steps
Can wait to introduce new targets after students have explored new material
Leave time at end of lesson to allow students to use target to debrief lesson
Use informal checks for understanding

School-wide Implementation

Create character targets per grade level
design professional development around learning targets

See benefits listed above.

Learning targets can be used to communicate goals, build student confidence, and build student ownership of their own learning. Learning targets can be used to develop routines that teach students to self-assess and reflect on their progress towards accessible learning goals. Using supporting and long term learning targets can demonstrate to students how learning targets fit within a broader framework of ideas. Scaffolding and assessing character learning targets can improve classroom cultures and develop students’ 21st century skills.

Preparation Steps

Develop Year at a Glance
Prioritize standards – high to low
Write learning targets that are standards-based, specific, student-friendly, assessable, and reasonable
Collaborate with staff to develop school-wide behavior expectations
Write character learning targets that go with school-wide expectations

Early Implementation Steps

Develop routine of discussing learning targets near the start of class with students
Develop routines that have students reflect on their Knows & Need-to-Knows that relate to specific learning targets
Use routines that involve checks for understanding and reflection debriefs

Advanced Implementation Steps

Incorporate long term and supporting learning targets
Find powerful moments to reveal learning targets and reserve learning target discussions for these times
Engage students in creating or revising learning targets
Analyze rigor of learning targets into knowledge, skill and reasoning targets and use these to select correct activities and assessments
Scaffold and assess academic AND character learning targets

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