Volume 11, Spring 2005

Insights: Q & A

Question: How can teachers effectively engage students in setting, understanding and monitoring progress to goals for accelerating learning?

QLD's Answer:

Shared responsibility is created by ensuring a clear understanding by both teachers and students of: standards to be met, ongoing feedback from benchmark assessments and time-based performance targets to be met.

Below is Goal Setting for Improved Student Achievement — a handy guide for engaging students in goal setting for learning, created by Ellen Perconti and Bob Donaldson, Independent School District #1, Lewiston Idaho.

Goal Setting for Improved Student Achievement

For the student to answer The student must... That requires the teacher to... We support this as a school/department when we...
Where am I going? Understand and articulate learning targets Provide clear and understandable vision of learning targets Know and state clearly what we want students to learn (What do we want students to learn?) (Power standards)
Know what a good performance/response looks like for the learning target Use examples and models of strong and weak work Have a clear and common understanding of acceptable evidence for the learning targets (How will we know they have learned?)
Where am I now? Understand strengths and weaknesses with regards to the learning target Offer regular descriptive feedback that is criterion based, timely and corrective in nature. Facilitate collaborative scoring of student work
Self-assess and set new goals Model and teach reflective process  
Using an established criteria, select a work sample for portfolio that proves a level of proficiency and explain why the piece qualifies Define portfolio components and common assessments Provide criteria and format for student led conferences focused on student learning
How can I close the gap? Understand task(s) they are being asked to engage in and how the component parts add up to the total. Design lessons that focus on one aspect of quality at a time. Teach each component of a task and ensure students understand all the parts and ultimately how they come together Ensure alignment between written, taught and tested curriculum
Analyze student achievement data and use the information to inform instruction
Review and revise work for quality and understanding Provide opportunities to revise following feedback.
Provide exemplars for students to revise and respond to regarding how to improve		 Provide extra time-study table
Develop bank of exemplars and anchor papers.
Develop common rubrics for scoring
Professional learning regarding formative assessment
Track, reflect on and communicate progress Provide instruction on and opportunity to reflect on performances/work. This might include:
Writing a process paper detailing how they solved a problem
Writing about a piece of work, explaining where they are now and what they will do next
Reflecting on growth
Engaging in higher order questioning strategies		 Mentor students
Facilitate professional learning regarding thinking and problem solving strategies.
Engage in higher order questioning practices
Establish instructional calendar and curriculum mapping to ensure equitable instruction.
See connections of learning across disciplines Use research-based instructional strategies that are not subject specific but transfer between content areas. Provide opportunities for learning research based strategies, dialogue about implementation and support for action research