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.
