The Power of Learning Targets
Transform Learning in the Classroom
Ken Mattingly
Rockcastle County Middle School
Stephanie Harmon
Rockcastle County High School
Representing PIMSER K-12 Outreach
Group Norms
•
•
•
•
•
•
Start and end on time
Put cell phones on silent
Be respectful of all comments
Everyone participates
Exercise the rule of “two feet”
You may not agree with me
…and I’m okay with that!
Our Roadmap for Today
Assessment and
Instruction
Wrap Up
Review Day 1
Types of Targets
Implementation
Considerations
4-2-1 Free Write Organizer
• INDIVIDUALLY, identify four important ideas
from yesterday’s session.
• PAIR UP and compare your ideas and decide on
the TWO most important ideas.
• PAIRS PAIR UP, share your ideas and then
decide on the most important point.
• Then, spend about 3 minutes explaining all that
you know about the most important point.
• Be prepared to share out as a group.
Main Ideas
• Deconstruction – process as important as
product
• The conversation is vital and requires time
• Everything doesn’t need to be graded
• Everyone needs to be assessment literate
• Learning targets are backbone of
assessment and instruction
• Descriptive feedback results in the
greatest gains in student achievement
BEFORE
I didn’t know enough
about Formative
Assessment use.
NOW
I understand how it
can work.
BEFORE
I thought balanced
assessment meant equal
time.
NOW
I know that there are
many more formative
assessments needed
before a summative is
ever done!
BEFORE
I thought this was just
how to write Learning
Targets.
NOW
This is a whole
cultural shift.
BEFORE
I thought all of this
could be done quickly.
NOW
I realize the time
involvement and what
makes it worthwhile.
Learning targets are like…
• A road map to show you how to get to the
learning item.
• A road map. It gives you a starting point and
you travel through experiences. Sometimes the
trip takes several weeks.
• Self assessment. They guide one’s
understanding of content towards mastery.
• A road map. You know the end destination, but
can find many routes to get there.
Review Day 1
• Learning targets can be the primary driver of
classroom assessment and instruction.
• They form the basis for student engagement
with the curriculum.
• They allow students to self-assess their
performance.
• Inclusion of learning targets can be taken to
many different levels.
• Incorporation of learning targets and CASL
methodology requires a great deal of time.
Learning Targets for Day 2
• I can explain the difference
between standards, targets
and activities.
• I can describe how targets are
used in assessment and
instruction decisions.
• I can identify important
considerations for CASL
implementation.
• I can develop a professional
development plan around
learning targets for a school or
district.
Learning Target #1
• I can explain the
difference between
standards, targets
and activities.
QUESTION
What are the similarities and
differences between a
STANDARD
and a
TARGET?
Are the Standards Clear?
• Can your content standards stand alone and be
used as learning targets or do they need to be
deconstructed or ‘unpacked’?
• Deconstruction involves taking a standard and
breaking it down into manageable learning
targets—Knowledge, Reasoning,
Performance/skills, and/or Products—so that
students and teachers can accurately identify
what students should know and be able to do.
An Example
• STANDARD: To shoot free throws with
80% accuracy.
• TARGETS:
– Proper placement for feet (stance)
– Proper hand placement while maintaining
stance
– Shot A, B, C (3-parts to shot)
• ACTIVITIES:
When
should
these be
– Watch videos of great shooters
and
imitate
added and/or
their stance
developed?
Developing Clear Learning Targets
• Individually, draw
the front of a penny.
• Include as many
details as you can
without looking at
one.
• Do not compare with
a partner until
instructed.
Learning Targets
• Knowledge
• Reasoning
• Performance/
skills
• Products
Knowledge Targets
Mastery of substantive
subject content where
mastery includes both
knowing and
understanding it.
Knowledge Examples
• Identify metaphors and similes
• Read and write quadratic equations
• Describe the function of a cell
membrane
• Know the multiplication tables
• Explain the effects of an acid on a
base
Reasoning Targets
The ability to use
knowledge and
understanding to
figure things out
and to solve
problems.
Reasoning Examples
• Use statistical methods to describe,
analyze, evaluate, and make decisions.
• Make a prediction based on evidence.
• Examine data/results and propose a
meaningful interpretation.
• Distinguish between historical fact and
opinion.
Performance/Skill Targets
The development of
proficiency in doing
something where
the process is most
important.
Performance/Skill Examples
• Measure mass in English and SI units
• Use simple equipment and tools to gather
data
• Read aloud with fluency and expression
• Participates in civic discussions with the
aim of solving current problems
• Dribbles to keep the ball away from an
opponent
Product Targets
The ability to create
tangible products
that meet certain
standards of quality
and present
concrete evidence
of academic
proficiency.
Product Examples
• Construct a bar graph
• Develop a personal health-related fitness
plan
• Construct a physical model of an object
• Write a term paper to support a thesis
Clear Targets:
Benefits to Students
• Students who could identify their learning
scored 27 percentile points higher than
those who could not (Marzano, 2005)
• A student’s success on a standardized
math test: 40% is dependent on
mathematics literacy (Jacobs, 2004)
We need Clear Targets to:
1. Know if the assessment adequately
covers what we taught.
2. Correctly identify what students know
and don’t know
3. Have students self-assess or set goals
likely to help them learn more.
4. Keep track of student learning target by
target or standard by standard.
5. Complete a standards-based report card.
Classifying Learning Targets
• Lay out the four learning target category cards—
Knowledge, Reasoning, Performance/Skill, and
Product—in a row in that order.
• Sort the learning target example cards according
to which kind of learning target it is. Lay these
cards in columns under the appropriate
category.
• When you have finished, walk around and look
at what other groups have done and discuss
any differences that you notice.
Learning Target #2
• I can describe how
targets are used in
assessment and
instruction decisions.
How do Learning Targets
connect to our assessment
practices?
ACCURACY
PURPOSE
EFFECTIVE USE
EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION
DESIGN
STUDENT
INVOLVEMENT
TARGET
The Challenge….
How can we use
assessments to help the
student believe that the
target is within reach?
Deconstruction of Standards
Learning Targets
Assessment
Instructional
Plan
Using Formative Assessments
• How will you use
formative assessment
strategies to
determine what your
students know before
its too late?
• Where would you
start?
Developing a Formative
Assessment
• What target are you going to assess?
• What are some strategies you can use to
assess it formatively?
• What will you want to take into
consideration in your assessment design?
• How will feedback be delivered to the
students?
• What happens with the results of these
type of assessments?
Formative Assessment Strategies
• Think of the ways you assess the students in
your class before the end of the unit.
• Make a list of 4 ways you can formative assess
student understanding.
• Pair up with someone else at a different table,
give them one new way from your list, and get
one new way from theirs.
• Then move on to a different person.
• Continue this until you have a total of 8 different
strategies, then return to your table
Developing a Formative
Assessment
• Use our first target for the day: I can explain the
difference between standards, targets and
activities.
• Think about what strategy you would use to
assess whether a participant has mastered this
target.
• Design your formative assessment.
• Pair up with someone else at your table and
share your strategy and reasons for selecting it.
Test Blueprints
“When we make a plan for
an assessment, whether
we intend to create the
assessment or just copy it,
we are making the
advance decisions about
validity—what the test will
cover and how much
weight each learning
target will get.” (CASL)
Test Blueprint (and Instructional)
Design Considerations
• Are the targets aligned to the standard?
• Are the targets clear with respect to what evidence
would constitute mastery?
• Do the learning targets represent what has been
or will be taught?
• Does the relative importance of each learning
target match its relative importance during
instruction?
• Is the sample size large enough to inform
judgments about mastery of a target?
• Have appropriate assessment methods been
selected based on the target types?
Develop a Test Blue Print & Plan
• What targets will this assessment
cover?
• What percentage will each target have
on the assessment? Look back at
considerations to help with this.
• Once your blueprint has been determined,
use the bank of test items & select
appropriate items for the assessment.
1. Find the area of right triangles, other triangles, special quadrilaterals, and polygons by composing into
rectangles or decomposing into triangles and other shapes; apply these techniques in the context of solving
real-world and mathematical problems.
2. Find the volume of a right rectangular prism with fractional edge lengths by packing it with unit cubes of
the appropriate unit fraction edge lengths, and show that the volume is the same as would be found by
multiplying the edge lengths of the prism. Apply the formulas V = l w h and V = b h to find volumes of right
rectangular prisms with fractional edge lengths in the context of solving real-world and mathematical
problems.
3. Draw polygons in the coordinate plane given coordinates for the vertices; use coordinates to find the
length of a side joining points with the same first coordinate or the same second coordinate. Apply these
techniques in the context of solving real-world and mathematical problems.
4. Represent three-dimensional figures using nets made up of rectangles and triangles, and use the nets to
find the surface area of these figures. Apply these techniques in the context of solving real-world and
mathematical problems.
Knowledge
Reasoning
Skills
Products
•Identify triangles, rectangles,
quadrilaterals, polygons, and
right rectangular prisms
•Explain composing and
decomposing of figures using
rectangles, triangles, and
other shapes
•Define coordinate plane,
volume, vertex, coordinate,
and net
•Compare volume of right
rectangular prisms found
using unit cubes to
volume found by
multiplying edge lengths
•Apply volume formulas
V = l x w x h and V = b x
h to find volume of right
rectangular prisms
•Calculate the area of
polygons by composition
or decomposition
•Use coordinates to find
polygon side lengths of
points with same first
coordinate or second
coordinate
•Use nets to find surface
areas of 3-D figures.
•Draw polygons in
coordinate plane
given coordinates
for vertices.
•Represent 3-D
figures using nets
made of triangles
and rectangles.
Mathematics » Grade 6 » Geometry
Learning Targets
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
I can identify triangles, rectangles, quadrilaterals, polygons, and right rectangular
prisms.
I can explain composing figures using rectangles, triangles, and other
shapes. This means I can combine figures to create a rectangle, triangle, or
other shape.
I can explain decomposing figures into rectangles, triangles, and other
shapes. This means I can break a figure down into triangles, rectangles, or
other shapes.
I can define coordinate, coordinate plane, vertex, volume, and net.
I can compare a right rectangular prism’s volume found by using unit cubes, to its
volume found by multiplying edge lengths.
I can apply formulas for finding volume (V = l x w x h and V = b x h) to right
rectangular prisms.
I can calculate the area of a polygon using composition or decomposition.
This means I can find the area by either combining polygons to make a
simpler shape, or breaking the polygon down into simpler shapes.
I can find the side length of a polygon on a coordinate grid that has either the
same first coordinate or same second coordinate.
I can use nets to find the surface area of 3-D figures.
I can draw polygons on a coordinate plane when given the vertices coordinates.
I can represent 3-D figures using nets made of triangles and rectangles.
Developing a Test Blueprint
• Use the highlighted targets from the previous
slide as the basis for your blueprint.
• Determine what percentage each target will
count for on your assessment.
• How many questions will you need to ask to
know if students have mastered the target?
• What type(s) of questions do you plan to ask for
each target?
A Good Target-Method Match:
ACCURATE
and
EFFICIENT
Target-Method Match
• What’s the best
way to assess the
learning targets?
Target X Method Match
KNOW
REASON
SKILLS
PRODUCT
SR
EWR
PA
PC
+
+
+
+
?
+
+
+
+
+
+
CASL page 100
Possible Assessment Methods
Selected Response/Short Answer
Multiple-choice
True/False
Matching
Fill in the blank (one to a few words)
Label a diagram
Extended Written Response
Writing in response to a question or
request, e.g., “How are these two ___
similar?” or “Explain the effects of the
Stamp Act on the colonists.”
Performance Assessments
Demonstrating skills
Developing products
Personal Communication
Questions & answers
Conferences
Interviews
Oral examinations
Develop a Test Blue Print & Plan
• What targets will this assessment cover?
• What percentage will each target have on
the assessment? Look back at
considerations to help with this.
• Once your blueprint has been determined,
use the bank of test items & select
appropriate items for the assessment.
Sound Assessment
Design Summary
• Teachers must be able to evaluate the assessments they
use.
• Generally, off the shelf assessments are designed to
cover as much content as possible.
• A lack of good evaluative skills results in mismatched
assessments with questionable validity.
• Focusing on Sound Design allows teachers to be better
consumers of assessment items.
• Only when our assessments truly match our targets do
we get useful information to help move our students
along to mastery.
Summative as Formative
• Summative assessment is administered, scored
and returned.
• Results identify targets mastered and targets
needing further study and work.
• After further practice, review, and re-teaching,
students retest over identified targets.
• Those results serve to further close the gap.
Summative Assessment with
Formative Implications
Showing Mastery
Mastery takes many forms. The bottom
line is whether or not the student knows
the material and to what depth. This can
be measured by means other than a
paper/pencil test.
Using Targets for Activity Selection
• Identify your learning targets.
• Design summative
assessments.
• Plan formative assessment
strategies.
• Determine the activities that will
move your students toward
mastery of the targets.
Deconstruction of Standards
Learning Targets
Assessment
Instructional
Plan
Learning Target #3
• I can identify
important
considerations for
CASL
implementation.
“I thought I knew what students
needed to learn and what a good
school looks like—because I was a
student once and I went to school,
and it worked for me. But times
have changed. And maybe
students today do need something
different.
I WONDER WHAT IT IS?”
Tony Wagner, The Global Achievement Gap, pg. 269
SBDM/District Policies
• What requirements do you have within
your system that deal with grading?
• How do these requirements help or hinder
the use of balanced assessment
practices?
• How much leeway do teachers have when
assigning work or assessing students?
• Are there specific programs/resources that
are required for teachers to use?
Infinite Campus
• Are teachers allowed to grade in “pencil”?
• What considerations must you include for
use of the student and parent portal?
• How many points are enough?
• What teacher competencies are necessary
for using targets with Infinite Campus?
Communication
• Who are the stakeholders in the school
system?
• How should they be informed about
balanced assessment and CASL?
• What steps can be taken to ensure that
stakeholders are aware of assessment
and instructional shifts that occur?
• Who will be responsible for planning this?
Grading Issues
• Does the school or district have a specific
homework/test policy? Would it interfere
with adoption of balanced assessment?
• What expectations do students bring to
your classrooms about grading?
• What expectations do parents and your
community have for grading?
• What should a grade really encompass?
Classroom Culture
• How does your ranking of the
learning climate considerations
connect to your vision of how
classroom culture needs to
change?
• What ways will the school culture
need to change to successfully
incorporate CASL and balanced
assessment?
• “But my students won’t do it if it’s
not a grade” – What do we do
here?
Through the Eyes of Others
A Student’s Viewpoint on Learning Targets
An Administrator’s Viewpoint on Learning
Targets and Changes in Assessment
Learning Target #4
• I can develop a
professional
development plan
around learning
targets for a school or
district.
Professional Development and CASL
• Classroom Assessment for Student Learning is not the
next “thing”
• It is a model that provides for teacher professional
growth within the school setting.
• It is a real bargain for your PD dollar in today’s
economy.
• There needs to be a realistic plan for implementation of
the process
• Recommended that you start with a core group of
teachers first and then branch out to whole school
• A case must be built with the stakeholders in order for
this (or any initiative) to succeed
Implementation Considerations
• Time, amount of professional development
needed (research says 30-90 contact
hours are needed to change teacher
practice)
• Length of commitment, evidence of
success, follow-up
• Building a case for buy-in
Changes that support
organizational learning
• Time for teachers to work and reflect on
practice together
• Teachers working in small groups
• Leaders who cultivate and maintain a
shared vision
- ERIC Digest, 2003
Wrap Up
• Learning targets talking points and follow
up questions.
• Self-assessment of today’s learning
targets.
• Learning targets, assessments, and
instructional planning – in that order!
• Where are you going from here?
• Final reflection!