Instructional Technique #3 Using Student-Friendly Scales

Using this approach ensures that the targets and scales remain aligned with the rigor or cognitive complexity of the standard. Learning targets and scales are only powerful if students truly comprehend what they are expected to know and do.  For many students, the wording of the targets and expectations for each performance level of the scale might need to be explained and then translated into student friendly language to make the learning experience meaningful.  For younger learners, the teacher can rephrase, shorten, or visually demonstrate the learning targets and scale using student-friendly language to make the content and learning more accessible. 

Consider the following guidelines when creating student-friendly scales:

Preserve the Intent of the Standard

Take care when adapting the scale to select words that students can understand without changing the intent of the standard.  For example if the standard requires the students to demonstrate, choose simpler replacement words such as show or use.  You want to ensure that the action verbs you choose to replace in student friendly targets and scales require the same level of cognitively complex thinking and operation from students as those originally stated in the standard. 

Include Words Essential to Demonstrating the Standard

Words essential to demonstrating the standard’s intent, such as the action verbs identify, compare, and count, and crucial vocabulary, such as circle, line, and key details, should be retained to avoid watering down the standard.  Use this opportunity to introduce terms and define new terms to deepen students’ academic vocabularies.  Always retain the intent of the learning target or scale.  It is up to the teacher to make sure that students ultimately understand the intention and meaning behind the words used in the standard. 

Use the I CAN Sentence Starter

Use the I CAN phrase as a simple sentence starter to preface learning targets.  I CAN statements help students concentrate on the immediate goal at hand as well as encourage them to take ownership of a learning target.  This also helps students understand and measure their own learning and progress.  Both students and teacher can use I CAN statements to formatively assess master of the content. 

Add Visual Support

Student friendly pictures add to the sense of community and foster engagement.  Visual aids emphasize without speaking or reading and are often used as a pre-reading strategy to activate prior knowledge.  Visual supports can increase the understanding of language, while providing the structure needed to clarify expectations and targets.  When selecting and preparing images or graphics to add visual support in a scale, determine what will be written and what will be visual.  Make sure the images reinforce, illustrate, or provide examples related to the target. 

Once Created, Explain the Teacher-Created, Student-Friendly Scale

Part of what makes a scale student friendly for younger learners is the support the teacher provides to ensure understanding of the expectations required at each level of the scale.  The combination of written, visual, and verbal support should help ensure that students understand what the targets and scale mean. 

Common Mistakes

The most common mistakes to avoid when creating student-friendly scales include the following:

• ·         The teacher does not ensure that student-generated examples accurately illustrate the expectations for each level of the learning progression in the student-friendly scale and are incorporated into the revised version of the student-friendly scale.
• ·         The teacher does not correctly translate or help the students translate the intent of the standard to student-friendly language.
• ·         The teacher uses a generic scale that does not describe the specific content targets.
• ·         The teacher creates an effective student-friendly scale but does not use it to provide direction and structure for classroom learning. 

Using Teacher-Created Targets and Scales- Instructional Technique 2

The essences of targets and scales: the identification of what students need to know and be able to do to attain the standard organized into a clear progression of learning targets. It is very important to remain focused on the learning goal target with consistency and intensity.

You will be unable to effectively implement this technique if the scales are not rigorous enough-key part! The four key teacher behaviors for target and scales: introduce and explain the scale and target to your students, help students become familiar with it, refer to it seamlessly throughout the lesson, and relate activities to the targets and scales throughout as well. 

Introduce and explain the scale and it's targets to students-

Think...How will you introduce and explain the scale and it's target to all of your students?

Explain the purpose of the scale/ target. 

Review the various routines in Technique 1. 

Do not lose your weight by shifting your emphasis to the content, you goal is to introduce and example the scale/target in a way that they will understand.

You can teach content once students grasp these two things, Targets are what they need to learn or do by the end of the lesson, scales show progression that they learning will follow.  

Should move quickly. 

Reveal and briefly explain it so they know what to expect within the learning targets.

Direct and explicit!

Ease students gradually into the challenge of using targets and scales-

Do not overwhelm your students. Make sure it is student friendly. 

They may be unfamiliar with it, so be cautious of that. 

Do not expect them to know the content until the actual content has occurred. 

It is becomes unobtainable or overpowering students may shut down. It's our responsibility to make it easier for them to understand. 

Refer continually, effortlessly, and seamlessly to targets and scales during instruction-

Should become part of your daily routine. 

During every lesson refer to it. 

Use an instructional strategy so it is effortless. 

Students will become quite accustomed to it and begin to think about it more when you are referring to it. 

Quality and depth of students understanding is dependent on all of this. 

Relate activities to the targets and scale throughout the lesson-

The activity/task needs to be purposeful and aligned to the specific target. 

Help students understand the purpose and alignment of the targets based on the scale. 

They will enjoy seeing how everything is connected and builds on one another for the ending goal. 

Common mistakes-

Posts or distributes copies of the target/scales but does not explain it. 

Confused the target/scales with content=two separate things. 

Too much time teaching scale- introduce/reference it at the beginning of lesson. 

Teacher introduces it and students are anxious because it was not presented as a progression. 

Does not explain the learning target and how it relates to the progression in a way the students understand it. 

Teacher does not refer to it during the lesson. 

Teacher does not relate activities to the target/scale. 

Teacher fails to involved and expect students to demonstrate their understanding. 

To determine if students understand the scale and target requires effort from the students and teacher. Here are some examples of monitoring the implementation:

Students draw pictures of diagrams to explain the goal/target. 

Teacher walks around and scans the artifacts, asks questions if needed. 

Students work in small groups on learning scenarios. They have time to identify the critical content related to the target in the learning. 

Teacher listens to students discussion. 

Teacher provides students the opportunity to write a brief description of how a previous activity during the lesson related to the learning goal. 

Teacher gives students a chance to sort the target to the activity they did (the alignment of it)

We will continue this post next week with instructional technique 3. 

Routines for Using Targets and Scales

There are many ways to help your students understand and use learning targets and performance scales to become more self-managed and independent in their learning.  Marzano has identified 4 instructional techniques that teachers can use to implement learning targets and performance scales.  

The first strategy we will look at is routines for using targets and scales. 

The effective implementation of a performance scale and the set of learning targets on which it is based requires that you know precisely how to communicate the purpose and value of these tools to your students in clear and understandable ways.  One way this can be accomplished is through using routines and procedures during instruction to precisely communicate the what, why, and how of a specific aspect of understanding and using a scale and its targets.  Helping students understand what the routine is, why it is being implemented, and how it will be used is imperative to using targets and scales in your classroom. 

According to Marzano, there are five different routines that can help you and your students realize the power of a scale and its learning targets to ensure student master of critical content. 

1. Explain the What, Why, and How of a Scale and Its Targets

What: Tools that communicate learning expectations and detail the progression of learning

Why: Scales and its targets provide focused direction and structure that makes learning more visible to everyone.  Using these tools helps students self-regulate their learning and motivate a growth mindset that will eventually empower them to take control of their own learning.

How: Spend time developing the explanation you will give your students during your initial implementation. Choose your terms carefully and be consistent in the way you use them.  Select a simile if appropriate: A scale is like a road map, or our “to do list” or a yardstick on which we measure our learning. Keep your introduction simple. Not every student will understand every part of a scale and its targets on the first day. 

2.  Make the Scale and its Learning Targets Accessible to Students

What: Accessibility means doing two things.  Having physical copies and artifacts that explain and relate to the goal within easy reach of you and your students and making the language and structure of the scale and targets as accessible as you can to students through creating student-friendly scales that use simpler terms or pictures to convey the intent of a standard.  Both you and your students should be able to view the tools as often as needed.  The targets on the scale should be clearly and concisely written to avoid confusion or misdirection when referenced.

Why: Accessibility to the performance scale is imperative if using it is to become a natural practice.  This will lead to familiarity, and familiarity will lead to regular usage.  Students will learn to rely on the structure the tool provides and refer to the targets and scale whenever they need direction or clarification.

How: Post a copy of scale and targets for easy reference. Create a copy on whiteboard so you can readily point to it during instruction. Student friendly language. Add the learning target to classroom activity and assignment sheets to make it more accessible.  Ask students to keep a copy in their academic notebooks.

3. Begin and Close Each Lesson With a Focus on the Target

What: Begin each lesson with a brief explanation connecting that day’s lesson to a target on the scale.  Then, when you are winding up the lesson, remind students of the target and together refer back to the scale.

Why: Making a connection between the content to be covered that day and the learning targets embedded in the scale provides both direction and background for students.  Students will not have to wonder “why they need to know this or when they would ever use this if the teacher makes a connection between the learning goal and the lesson.

How: Provide an overview of the day’s lesson, and then ask students to tell their partners what the target of the lesson will be.  Build a reference to the previous day’s learning target and then segue to the day’s target.  Communicate the target and give students a preview of your expectations for them during the lesson.  Close each lesson by going back to the performance scale and fitting the lesson’s target into the context of the learning progression of the scale. 

4.  Relate Instruction to the Target

What: Purposeful reminders to the learning targets are needed to integrate this routine into the culture of your classroom.  Simply announcing the target at the start of the lesson is not enough.  Correlation to the target should be made whenever the opportunity arises.

Why: This helps students understand the connection between the classroom activities and the learning targets.  Knowing the purpose often motivates students to indentify with and personalize their learning. 

How: Intentionally plan to include purposeful reminders to relate instruction to the target.  Use small group discussions to refocus learning on the target and forge a relationship between the activity and the target. Challenge students at the beginning of the class period to write down any connections between the lesson and the learning target. 

5.  Refer to the Learning Progression of the Scale

What: Consistently build students’ awareness of how their learning is building toward an ultimate goal or destination.  Reference should be made to the progression of learning embedded in the scale that provides the steps students need to follow to advance their understanding of the content the standard requires.

Why: Do not teach learning targets in isolation.  Students should be made aware of the connection between the learning targets and classroom activities as well as how the connections between targets advance their knowledge of the content.  Consistently remind students of the big picture.

How: Ask students how the activity they are doing relates to what they learned previously or to the learning targets yet to come. Encourage and expect students to take ownership of their learning by relating the knowledge they have gained to the learning progression of the scale to determine areas of weakness or possible misconceptions that might interfere wit their successful mastery of the learning goal target.  Plan a specific activity related to the learning progression in the scale such as using the performance scale to review for a test.  Progect a template of a performance scale on a magnetic whiteboard on which the scale is always present during instruction.  Create magnetic targets that can be affixed to the board.  Physically remove the target being taught and put on display for students to see throughout the lesson.  At the close of the lesson, pick up the target and place it on the scale at its appropriate level.

Common Mistakes to avoid include the following:

·         When first introducing the learning targets and scale to students, the teacher does not explain the purpose or the what, why, and how of a routine.

·         The teacher fails to purposely model how to use the learning targets and performance scale as an instructional resource tool to provide structure to the learning environment.

·         The teacher spends an excessive amount of time or overwhelms students with too much information instead of providing a brief overview or reference to the tool.

·         The teacher does not make a conscious effort to relate instruction to the focus targets or learning goal targets or make reference to the learning progression in the scale.

·         The teacher does not make the learning goals or performance scale assessable for all students.

We will be sharing the other instructional techniques in the upcoming weeks. 

Similarities and Differences

This element helps students deepen their understanding of content knowledge and enhance their long-term retention and problem solving abilities related to critical content. A wide range of strategies foster students knowledge by examining S and D, they are: 

Sentence stem comparison-The teacher has the students complete sentences to compare and contrast people, places, events, concepts, or processes. 

Summaries- The teacher has students summarize S and D using three columns- 1st- lists features that are only found in first item, 2- the far right lists features that are only found in second item, 3- the middle lists features that are similar between both. 

Constructed-response comparisons- The teacher has the students describe how items are S or D. How is ______ S to and D from ______?

Venn diagram- The teacher asks students to compare and contrast using circles.

T-Charts- Teacher has students uses this to compare two objects, ideas, events, or people. Two topics across the topic and details that describe on each side of the dividing line. 

Double bubble diagrams- The teacher has students write two items in large circles and has smaller circles coming off of them. Middle is S and outside ones are D. 

Comparison matrices- The teacher has students write elements they wish to compare at top of column. In the rows, students write the characteristics on which they will compare. In each cell, students record information related to each attribute. Finally, students summarize what they have learned. 

Classification charts- The teacher creates a chart with several categories listed across the top and asks students to fill in examples that fit. 

Sorting, matching, and categorizing- The teacher asks the students to sort, match, and categorize content. 

Similes- The teacher asks students to state comparisons using like or ask. 

Metaphors- The teacher asks students to state comparisons, where one this is another. 

Sentence stem analogies-The teacher has students use sentence stems to create comparisons that describes the relationships between two items. Item one is to item two as item three is to item four. 

Visual analogies- The teacher asks students to use visual organizers to help make analogies. Two parallel lines, one above the other, each with bisecting line in the middle. 

There are 6 steps that will lead you to effective implementation of this element: 

1. Develop and consistently use student friendly definitions of the four cognitive processes: comparing, classifying, creating metaphors, and creating analogies. 

2. Directly teach and intentionally model these 4 process for students. 

3. Gain proficiency in teaching and modeling mental tools students need- identifying critical attributes, summarizing and generalizing. 

4. Gain proficiency in teaching and modeling the recording and representing tools students need-sentence stems, graphic organizers. 

5. Continually remain focused on students mastery of critical content to the goal of meeting this element. 

6. Gradually release responsibility to students for managing their own thinking and learning about S and D. 

To successfully implement examining S and D you will need to develop student friendly definitions for them, below are a few key words and definition you could use. 

- Comparing is a way to identify S and C between things. 

- Classifying is a way to put things that are alike into categories based on their characteristics (properties, traits)

-Metaphor is a characteristic shared by two objects (topics)  that seem to be different. 

-Analogy is a comparison of two objects (things, ideas, people) that are similar.

Notice the first two terms are cognitive processes and the last two terms are patterns that communicate relationships between things.

Effective implementation of this strategy is more than just having students participate in an activity, it must including a monitoring piece-you could ask: Did my students deepen their understanding of the content by completing this work? How did I find out? Was the desired result of the strategy achieved? 

The desired result for S and D is for students to be able to describe how various aspects of the content are S and D and then be able to state any new information or generalizations they have learned as a result of the activity. This element requires deep and rigorous thinking, so monitoring will require that you ask probing questions, assess the quality of group discussions and student work, and observe students closely during the lesson.

As you self reflect, ask yourself these questions: How can you begin to incorporate some aspects of this strategy in your instruction? What are some ways you can encourage your students to become more independent with S and D? What are some ways you can check to see if most students are accurately identifying S and D? What are some ways you can adapt and create new techniques for identifying S and D that address unique students needs and situations? What are you learning about your students as you incorporate new techniques? 

If you would like further information about this element we do have a book you may check out.