Four Foundations Top Ten Habits: #2

Next on the Four Foundations Top Ten list is:

"I make it a habit to write clear, student-learning-focused learning targets."

While all of the 'top ten' are important habits for us as teachers to cultivate, this one--writing clear learning targets that are focused on student learning--may be the most crucial. The foundation laid by having learning targets that are clear in your mind, that focus on what students learn and not on the topic or (worse) what the teacher does, allows us to build interesting and successful lessons. 

If we're unclear on what the student learning is, or if we focus on the wrong things (topic, teacher action), we won't know--and students won't know--when the desired learning has actually happened. One sign that we might be veering from clear targets is if we're having difficulty coming up with formative assessments to check for understanding. If we're confused about what we're checking for, the first place to look is at the target.

For more on writing clear, student-learning-focused learning targets see:

The Four Foundations of Great Teaching (pp 6-8)

Four Foundations Top Ten Habits #1

The first of the Four Foundations Top Ten  is, "I make it a habit to plan unit and daily lesson learning targets before planning activities."

Planning the targets first helps to focus our attention and time on what is truly important for our students to learn in that unit and that lesson. It also encourages us to keep the lessons tuned into the learning rather than the activity itself--learning activities are simply means by which students gain the target. With the target in mind we're in a better position to select the best activity.

Great teachers make it a habit to think through carefully the learning targets for each lesson prior to planning activities. 

For more on this, see pages 5-7 of Four Foundations of Great Teaching