Helping Students Take
Ownership for Their Learning
Learning Targets
At the end of this session, you should be able to state
the following:
 I can explain the role of the student in the learning
process.
 I can explain the role formative assessment plays
in helping students take ownership for their
learning.
 I can apply strategies that were presented in this
session to help my students improve their
metacognition.
“Students interpret the feedback we give them
to decide whether they have hope of future
success, whether the learning is worth the
energy it will take to attain it, and whether to
keep trying. If students conclude that there is
no hope, it doesn’t matter what the adults
decide. Learning stops.“
- Dr. Richard Stiggins, Five Myths and Their
Consequences
“Smart is not something
you are, it is something you
get.”
Dylan Wilam, 2012
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iD6Zadhg
4M
LEARNING
All theories of learning include four
regulatory processes (Allal, 2010):
1. goal setting
2. monitoring progress toward the goal
3. interpretation of feedback derived from
monitoring
4. adjustment of goal-directed action
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Formative assessment is a process used by
teachers and students during instruction that
provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching
and learning to help students improve their
achievement of intended instructional
outcomes.
The Council of Chief State School Officers
(CCSSO, 2008)
4 Key Words:
Process
During
Feedback
Students
Formative
Assessment is
most useful for
students and
teachers and
much less useful
at the LEA, State,
and Federal
Levels.
Student/Teacher
Parent
School/
Principal
LEA/
Superintendent
State
Accountability
Federal
Accountability
Usefulness of Formative Assessment
Conceptual Similarities
Self-regulated Learning
Formative Assessment
• What am I doing?
• Where am I going?
• Why am I doing it?
• Where am I now?
• How does it help me?
• How to close the gap?
– Schoenfeld (1987)
• Hattie and Timperley
(2007)
11
Clear Learning Targets
Subparts of the objective
One or two lessons
Student friendly language––“I can”
statements
Misconceptions addressed
Criteria for Success

Process Criteria: Identify what students will
need to do to be successful
 Product Criteria: Provide an understanding of
what quality does and does not look like
 Consider writing each expected learning
outcome as an “I will” statement
Descriptive Feedback
• Describes the qualities of the learning in
relation to the learning target and
criteria for success
• Makes observations about the learning
process and strategies that will help the
student improve
• Fosters self-efficacy by drawing
connections between student work and
his/her efforts
When, What, and How
• Timely: Needs to be close to when
learning first took place
• Actionable: Try to focus on one aspect
of quality at a time
• Provide time for students to engage in
self-reflection
• Respectful – nonjudgmental
Characteristics of Good Student Feedback by Gavan
Watson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Huju0xwNFKU
Questions