I enjoy “talking” with other teachers. However, I am often amazed at how they describe the final learning destination.
A writing teacher may say, “We are doing contrast essays”, a modern language teacher says, “I want my students to speak the language”, a social studies teacher says “My students will be citizens of the world.” What does each of these mean in a practical sense? How will these teachers know if their students have reached the final destination and how well they have done it? Would another educator be able to identify the same success?
I have been working in developing some foreign language assessments so that I can quantify the various types of speaking and how well students do on each. I do not want to say “My students speak the language” which is a vague concept but to specify what type speaking they do and how well they do each. Once I can identify what the end learning looks like/sounds like, I can work backward to provide scaffolded steps to help the students get there at a high level. In addition, I can build in formative assessment to monitor their upward process.
In order for athletes to win, they visualize exactly what they will do; they visualize their success. Our students need to visualize exactly what they are to do.
How do you identify the end learning for the students so they can become successful at it? How do they climb the ladder of success in that learning goal?
My book, Successful Student Writing Through Formative Assessment, is available through Eye on Education.
My book, Formative Assessment: Responding to Your Students, is available through Eye on Education.
Education with Technology Harry G. Tuttle 
