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Minutes with Charlie 9
By Charlie | March 4, 2008
Three questions confront students in the learning process. In order to succeed in the mission of learning, the students must be able to answer all three. A quality classroom assessment program provides the student with the answer to all three on a regular basis.
The first of the three questions is “Where am I going on this learning journey?” This we addressed in Minutes with Charlie 7.
The second of the three questions is “Where am I on this learning journey?” This we addressed in Minutes 8.
The third question a student asks is “How do I close the gap between where I am and where I’m going?” We will address this question in this Minutes.
If a student does not know what steps to take to draw closer to the target he is handicapped in his efforts to get there and we as educators are greatly impeded in our efforts to get him there.
As we saw in Minutes 8, the importance of descriptive feedback that focuses upon a student’s accomplishments (strengths) as well as on what needs to be done to improve is non-negotiable if we are to impact student learning. In addition we spoke of the importance of investing time in training the students to self-assess against a clearly defined, articulated, and understood learning target or standard. There are several important steps teachers can and should make to bring the student to a clear understanding of his next steps in closing this gap.
First, if a student is to manage his learning and determine the next steps of learning from his self-assessment, there must be a manageable number of learning targets to address. It is important to narrow the number of learning targets for which we expect students to self-assess and address at a given time. This is particularly beneficial for struggling learners. Students are no more able to incorporate new learning in large bundles than are adults.
Second, we educators must train our students to, after they self-asses to do focused revision of their work. We must show and train students to revise an answer, product, or performance. This is a process that involves clear standards of quality performance, self-assessment, and analyzing work to determine how to improve.
Finally we should engage students in self-reflection and the tracking of their learning. With clearly defined learning targets, examples of quality work, descriptive feedback, self-assessment, and focused revision, students are in a position to become possessors of an understanding of their learning and able to track it over time. This becomes the factor that glues the other elements together and propels the student to true ownership of learning.
It is important to notice that the components involved in answer these questions form a progression of skills Teachers cannot give descriptive feedback in the absence of clear targets. A student cannot self-assess in the absence of quality examples of the targets. Educators must develop these components in progression, not in a “pick what you like most” fashion.
We must make concerted efforts to insure that students can answer the three questions of, Where am I going?, Where am I now?, and How can I close the gap? For too many years students have been left to solitary efforts to advance in learning without having the answer to these questions.
Personal Reflection: Do I invest time and effort to enable my students to take possession of their learning? Can my students answer these questions in a consistent, regular manner?
Topics: Minutes with Charlie, Student Involvement |