How Learner Goal Setting Dictates Instruction
One of the most
intimidating factors for teachers transitioning to a personalized approach is
the idea that the planning process is organic. In other words, one isn’t
able to make copies of an assignment four weeks in advance because he or she
doesn’t know if that assignment will be the best fit down the road.
Teachers are planners by nature and there is some comfort in knowing one
can plan a couple weeks out. For us, the most important thing we do to
help in the planning is make time for student self-reflection and goal setting
meetings. If the focus of our instruction becomes building a capacity to
learn where individuals have growing learner independence, allowing time for
reflection easily becomes a priority.
Our learners reflect at
the end of every unit. They carefully recall their recent learning
processes and contemplate how they added to their personal toolbox.
Learners reflect independently, in groups and one on one with teachers.
We started asking learners to reflect on the process and what they
discovered about themselves as a learner at the beginning of the year (Sept.
16’). At that time, we had to offer quite a bit of help pinpointing
skills that were addressed in a particular unit, lesson or activity. We
would ask questions like; What is your reading process?; How did you access the
vocabulary you needed to know for that project?; Did you have any distractions
as you worked on your technology piece?; Is it easier for you to listen to a
lecture or talk with a few peers? Modeling the language of reflection for
individuals was necessary. At one point in our quest to seek more
training around personalization we were told teaching learners to reflect is as
important as teaching them how to read and write. Our hope was for
learners to be able to be more articulate and specific in their reflections
later in the year.
Here we are later in the
year, having just wrapped up another round of goal setting and reflecting and
the growth around the ability to self-reflect is incredible. Here are some
examples of learner goals around writing:
“I want to be more
effective at annotating in order to improve my outlining and organization.”
“I want to include more
strategic transitions so my argument is clear.”
“I want to further
define my voice with more unique word choice and transitions.”
“I want to work on
aligning my claims without so much redundancy.”
“I want to take more
time to process what I can write in order to make for a stronger argument.”
“I want to be able to
transition someone else’s ideas to my own.”
“I want to adapt my
claims to my analysis more consistently. I want my argument to be clear
to myself and in turn my audience.”
“I want to express a
point deeper with less bias, consider multiple perspectives and reach a broader
audience.”
“I want to spend more
time committing to the editing process.”
“I need to practice more
patience when tackling a writing assignment. Writing is hard for me and I
need time to process.”
“I want to find meaning
in the work. I don’t want to write just to write.”
“I am going to make more
time to read outside of school in order to be exposed to various writing
styles.”
During this time of
reflection learners were working through literary terms necessary for our
upcoming unit. We asked learners to consider the dedication it takes to
build their learning capacity by engaging in the work for the day. In the
end we asked learners to choose three literary terms they feel most interested
in understanding at a deeper level. See
a list of the terms here! We told them
to be prepared to share these terms with us during reflections. Every
single learner worked through 95% of the terms even though we only asked them
to choose three. Most learners did all of the terms.
Now let’s go back to
where we started, the organic planning. When we met with each learner to
reflect and set learning goals we also had them share the terms they want to
“specialize” in (see example list of terms here). Our next lesson will include plans that allow
individuals multiple ways to access their chosen terms and study them on a
deeper level. Throughout the unit each learner will be exposed to a
variety of AP Essays (they choose the pieces they want to read). The goal
is for each learner to identify where their understanding of the terms is
evident in the essay as well as the impact that device has on the reader and
the overall message of the piece.
We couldn’t plan this a
month ago. We had no idea the students would be advanced to this point so
early. In fact, we can’t imagine planning more than a day in advance
because when the lessons are planned in “real-time”, meeting learners where
they are at the self efficacy is off the charts.
The two of us have done
much reflection ourselves. When thinking
about our former learners we know the experiences our current learners are
having is much different and more meaningful.
In the past, we have had learners showcase incredible growth through
summative (final) assignments. However, in
truth, we believe they could not have grasped and articulated their learning
process in the way our learners can right now.
Former learner reflections were more scripted and less authentic,
because they didn’t quite understand their
role in their learning. At this point, that difference in one’s
ability to describe his/her learning is what we believe demonstrates the value
of personalized learning. Even with our
roadblocks and obstacles (we all have them), our time with learners just keeps
getting better.
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