Teaching and Learning

All classes at Norwood will have a clearly defined Learning Goal, Success Criteria and list of key Vocabulary terms recorded on the board at the start of the lesson. As the College is focusing on explicit instruction and literacy across the curriculum, these items will assist in student outcomes in these areas.

Learning Goals:

The Learning Goal for a lesson states what the teacher wants the student to know, understand or be able to do as a result of the teaching and learning activities. It does NOT refer to completion of the task itself. Learning Goals ensure that students see the learning as purposeful and can more easily focus their learning in that lesson. As stated by Hattie (2012), unless teachers are clear about what they want students to learn (and what the outcome of this learning looks like), they are hardly likely to develop a good assessment of that learning.

Why using Learning Goals are important:

• They help students focus on the lesson and their effort
• Students develop a greater sense of intrinsic motivation
• Students are more likely to stay on task
• Students take more responsibility for their learning

Success Criteria:

Teachers also need to identify the Success Criteria for the lesson to accompany the Learning Intention, allowing students to know when they have achieved the intention.

In differentiating between Learning Intentions and Success Criteria, it may be useful to frame Learning Intentions using words such as “To understand”, “To analyse”, “To reflect upon”, “To consolidate” and the Success Criteria to begin with “Students will be able to…”, followed by a specific verb.

Some ideas:

“Students will be able to…”

Things to consider:

• Spend time working out what you want students to learn
• When planning, replace the question “What are we going to do?” with “What are we going to learn?”
• Record your Learning Goal, Success Criteria and Vocabulary in your unit planners
• Think about the language you are using to write the intention students must understand it
• Ensure the intention is achievable and appropriately specific

Vocabulary:

Whole school literacy is a focus at Norwood, and thus, in addition to visible Learning Goals and Success Criteria, teachers are expected to place a list of three to five key terms on the board every lesson. The research on explicit vocabulary instruction demonstrates key links to positive student outcomes. 

What the research says:

• “One of the most enduring findings in reading research is the extent to which students’ vocabulary knowledge relates to their reading comprehension.”

(Anderson & Freebody, 1981; Baumann, Kame’enui, & Ash, 2003; Becker, 1977; Davis, 1942; Whipple, 1925)

• “Vocabulary is a predictor of content area performance.” (Espin & Foegen, 1996)

Example #1:

Learning Goal

To understand that the three rock types contain minerals and are formed by processes that occur with Earth over time

Success Criteria

Students will be able to:

• List and describe the layers of the Earth
• List the different types of rocks
• Compare the ways in which intrusive and extrusive rocks form
• Describe the difference between chemical and physical weathering

Vocabulary

Igneous, Sedimentary, Metamorphic, Inner and outer core, Mantle and crust

Example #2:

Learning Goal

To understand how a writer uses persuasive language to make us share his/her point of view

Success Criteria

Students will be able to:

• Identify the issue, contention and target audience
• Describe specific language choices used to persuade the audience
• Make connections between specific language choices and intended effect

Vocabulary

Contention, Techniques, Positioning the reader, Images, Context