New Buzzwords: Visible Learning, Learning Intentions and Success Criteria

I don't know about you… but when I returned back from ONE YEAR OFF on Maternity Leave, it felt like the whole "teaching game" changed. All of a sudden I was hearing new acronyms, seeing new faces and learning whole new approaches to teaching. May I remind you all that I only had one year off!

So today I thought I'd share some of the things I've learned and how I apply them to my always-evolving teaching style.

Image taken from cognitioneducation.com

It all starts with this guy… John Hattie.

Hattie has challenged the way in which we teach. He has also challenged our ideas around what actually impacts learning and surprise, surprise… it's not class sizes!

He wrote a book about Visible Learning which explains fifteen years worth of research around what actually works in schools to improve learning.

He also coined the phrase "Know Thy Impact"… amongst many other things.

I recommend you watching his TEDx talk [below] which looks at: why are so many of our teachers and schools so successful. 

Ok so now that we all know a little more about him… What next?

So my school has started to really push Learning Intentions and Success Criteria. The idea is that you explain to students at the beginning WHAT they will be learning and HOW they'll know they're successful. It's actually a great way to think about the purpose of the lesson. I know in the past I've just taught things and never really thought about WHY. And I know I'm guilty of explaining to students what I want them to do without really giving it purpose. It's like that classic situation where a student asks 'how does this apply to the real world' and the teacher explains that the student needs to learn it "because it's in the syllabus". I don't think that's a good enough reason. Also... If that were true... Everything a child can learn is at their finger tips on the Internet... So lessons need purpose otherwise our role as a teacher is made redundant.

I thought I'd now share how I've been incorporating Learning Intentions and Success Criteria into my teaching. Now I cannot take credit for any of these ideas, as they are an initiative of my school and/or my supervisor.

1. Notebook files (or PowerPoint slides):

We show these at the beginning and conclusion of a lesson.

2. Programming:

We have Learning Intentions and Success Criteria built into our programs.

3. Around the room:

We often display our goals around the room or in easy-to-find locations for students to access.

4. Displayed during rotational activities:

These stands are placed in the area where that specific activity will be run.

We bought this template off teacherspayteachers.com

Now other ways to ensure that learning is visible, is by giving students an opportunity to show what they've been learning and get feedback. We (the teacher I job share with and I) try to meet with students twice in a Teacher-Student-Conference. Once during independent reading and the second during our daily writing time slot. Conferences only go for a couple of minutes but it's long enough for the student to show what they've been working on, for the teacher to give some constructive feedback and for the two to plan the students individual goal (short term) for the week.

We also try and keep a communication line open with parents, to share what we've been doing/learning during class time. This term we've chosen to use ClassDojo and utilise the Class Story tool as well as the direct Messages to parents. You can check out what ClassDojo has to offer HERE.

Where to next?

My aim is to establish a Bump It Up Wall for my class. I'm deliberating on how to best make one as I want it to be flexible and general. That way it can be used it all subjects and topics. However I'll go into this further in future posts.

I also want to create a way for me to assess my IMPACT on the class. Maybe a way for students to offer feedback to me about how I'm going so that I can further improve? I still need to put a bit more thought into this... And I'm definitely open to suggestions! So feel free to share any of your ideas below or email me at rach.sellen@gmail.com