Learning Intentions & Success Criteria...and 6 weeks to go

Perhaps, it's a little too late for this but Learning Intentions & Success Criteria are the new buzz words in my school. Not that it wasn't there before. Teachers have different approaches to when it comes to conveying Learning Intentions to students.

I remember my first year teaching in Australia, I was introduced to the WALT, WILF and TIB. It was the first time I had heard of it and I had been teaching for about 9 years! I loved the WALT, WILF and TIB and when I found these signs by the delightful Mrs Pancake, I made sure I used it in the classroom.

Aren't they cute? Last year, I came across this post on Jen's blog, Runde's Room. (Runde's Room was one of the first blogs that I chanced upon whilst surfing and I have to say she is such an inspiration. I'm just in awe of her...but I digress) Anyway, I really liked the idea of displaying Learning Goals and I really LOVED how she had created posters for all of the learning goals based on the curriculum. So before the 2014 school year began in Australia, I set about creating a set of posters based on the Australian Curriculum.

I got as far as doing the Numeracy, Science and History posters for Year 3 and 4. The intention was to create more as the curriculum year progressed. I was also meant to set up a display board...and I tried...and then I got side-tracked and I never got to creating the board...until about 2 weeks ago with about 8 weeks of school left. (Yes, I know but better late than never, right?)

In a Thursday afternoon PD, my principal was talking about Learning Intentions and Success Criteria and set us a task to try it out in our own classrooms. We had been using I CAN statements in the classroom, but I probably didn't really talk a lot about success criteria with my students. With the help of my Canadian sub-teacher/friend, I finally set up a Learning Intentions board. I used half of my whiteboard and this is what it looks like.

The board is titled OUR LEARNING GOALS & SUCCESS CRITERIA

This is still a 'prototype'. I only have space for Numeracy, Reading & Writing.
I would have to think about smaller signage I think.

The students and I developed the success criteria and I quite liked the idea of how I didn't
have to come up with the success criteria. By asking the students, what they think they would need to show to achieve success, it got them thinking as well and that way they are taking responsibility for their learning.

I'm quite happy with my first attempt at this board. I'm not sure if I would create more posters to display the learning goals, it just seems a lot easier at the moment to write up the goals and criteria but I might change my mind for next year.

What do you think? Do you have any suggestions as to how I can make this better? I would like feedback, especially if you have something similar in your classroom.

5 weeks to go, I'm in the process of testing and doing reports at the moment. Not long to go now.

November Currently...

This really wasn't how I envisioned myself as a blogger. I began this blog for all the right reasons and at this point in time I have stopped blogging for all the wrong reasons. It's been a rough couple of weeks for me. A family member is seriously ill and I've had to struggle with some inner demons. I'm trying to overcome it and perhaps this November Currently link up with Farley at Oh' Boy 4th Grade will help me feel better.

 

 

Listening - English soccer, Australian soccer, Indian soccer...You name it. SJ, my husband, probably watches it. He coaches the Under 10s team at a local club and if I do say anything...which I usually don't because I'm working when he watches soccer, he says he's learning. Fair enough. He doesn't hog the TV or anything like that. The moment, I'm off the computer we do watch something together so that's alright.

Loving - No school yesterday. A Curriculum Day, which meant it was a student-free day and that's always good. I don't mind Curriculum Days...especially if I've learnt something that I can bring back to the classroom.

Thinking - Six weeks...that's all I've got. 36 days and I'm done with the school year. I am going to miss this group of students. They are good kids. Probably the best cohort of kids I've had in the years that I've been in my present school. I'm a bit anxious about next year. Who I'll be teaching with? What grade level? I like...let me correct that...love my teaching partner and we would love to work together again next year but I've never had the same teaching partner twice thus far...so it's to be seen.

Wanting - Since I've been on the iHerb website, I've been really wanting a bag of Djorn Mustard chips and I CAN'T find any in the supermarkets here. I've had a chip craving for the longest of times and I have yet to indulge myself...very, soon.

Needing - Alright, this is the bit that's gotten me down. I received a summons on TPT for a product that I thought covered all the copyright. It was a series of posters that I had made for the 7 Habits of Happy Kids and when I got the warning and my strike, I felt I should have just been sent to prison. It wasn't intentional, in fact I had no idea I was violating copyright. There were so many other resources bearing the same name. It was bad enough that I had begun to doubt myself as a teacher. I mean, I think I'm a really good classroom teacher but then reading all these blogs, I just began to feel I wasn't as good as I thought I was. I didn't know what to blog about, I wasn't creating any resources and then I received the strike and that's when I had some serious doubts. I take great pride in what I do. This just threw me off. I decided then I didn't want to be reading any blogs because I didn't want to be influenced by what was out there. But then there was no inspiration and all the updates of all the wonderful resources that were being created only made me feel like a LOSER! Then I found out a close family member had cancer, it was all I could take.

Reading - I'm in the midst of reading Whole Brain Teaching and also doing an Indigenous module. I'm learning more about the Aboriginal and Maori culture to help me teach Inquiry this term, seeing that I'm not Australian...well not at the moment anyway. But I am hoping to use Whole Brain Teaching in my classroom next year so when I'm done with my module, I will be hopping back to the book.

Please do leave a comment. It would really help me to know, someone's actually reading this.