About Learning Targets

Author: Roberto Mayan, January 2023

Source Leaders of Their Learning: Chapter 1: Learning Targets

Learning targets provide tangible goals. Learning targets transfer ownership for meeting objectives to the student.

"The seemingly simple work of reframing objectives written for teachers to learning targets, written for - and owned by - students, turns assessment on its head. The student becomes the main actor an in assessing and improving their learning." - Elena, Former Odyssey Student, On Her First Days In A New School.

1. I can define learning targets.
2. I can explain how to derive learning targets from standards.
3. I can describe how to unpack a learning target with a student.

Leaders of Their Learning: Transforming Schools through Student-Engaged Assessment. Copyright 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

What is a learning target?

Concrete goals are written in student-friendly language.

Describes what students will:

• Learn
• Be able to do it after the end of class, unit, project, or course.
• Being with an "I can" statement.
• Used intentionally -> conveys to students specific aim.

Learning targets are:

• Measurable and concrete, assessable verbs (e.g., identify, compare, analyze). The verb suggests how the learning target will be assessed.

• Specific -> referring to a particular context of a lesson, project, or case study.

• Focused on the intended learning, not the intended doing.

  • Phrased as statements about skills or knowledge students will develop (as opposed to what they will complete).

• Matched to the cognitive process demanded of students (e.g., knowledge, reasoning, skill).

How are learning targets derived?

• Nesting support, or daily learning targets, within long-term learning targets.
  • Long-term learning targets are derived from standards (e.g., Common Core), which can be bundled together to focus on instruction and assessment (bundling standards into long-term learning targets makes the language plain and helps students understand where they are headed).
• Supporting targets, often broken down into daily learning targets
  • Derived from long-term targets
  • Daily anchor for instruction
  • Supporting targets nest within long-term targets
  • Created by breaking long-term targets into manageable chunks to guide students daily.

Prioritizing and Contextualizing Standards into Long-Term Learning Targets

Long-term Learning Target and Supporting Learning Targets

Unpacking learning targets

For students to become leaders of their learning

• They must be aware of what the target is.
• Understand and be able to articulate where their performance is in relation to mastering the target.

Reaching, or not reaching, a learning target represents critical information for students about

• What they can or can't do.
• What they still need to learn.

It is essential to unpack and track learning targets with students so that the purpose of the day's work is evident.

To unpack a target:

• Review domain-specific and academic vocabulary in learning target
• Ask students to focus on the verb in the target (e.g., describe, sort, analyze) and ensure they know what it means to do cognitive work.
• Explain to students how they will show that they have mastered the target (e.g., classwork, assessments).

Synthesis

For teachers

1. Review lesson plans for upcoming work

   • Do they include solid and clear targets in student-friendly language that describe the intended student learning?

2. Do you regularly ensure that your students are clear on what they need to know or can do by the end of the lesson?

3. Review lesson plans for target-assessment match.

   • Do your assessments - formative and summative - give students ample opportunity to demonstrate their progress toward meeting learning targets?