John Does Professional Learning
Journey - 2016-2017
Clear Learning Targets
I began this journey wanting to extend my knowledge
and improve my presentation of learning targets in my
fourth grade classroom.
I began in January by having an instructional coach come
in to gather data on how many times I referred to my
learning target. On that day I referred to my learning
target 12 times in a 40 minute period. I was surprised
because I didnt think I mentioned it as much as I actually
did. My students referred to the learning target only 2
times within the lesson.
With this data, I decided that I wanted to move my focus
to improve my students use of the learning target.
I began by having the students repeat the learning target
at the onset of the lesson and at various points
throughout the duration of the lesson.
Through my own observations, I noticed that students
were using the learning targets and referring to them
more often. I also found that my students performance
on their exit slips improved through the intense focus on
the learning target. A main reason for this, I believe is that
I began writing my exit slips to directly correspond with
the learning target.
When the instructional coach came back in March to
collect data, she found that I referred to the learning
target only 9 times in a 40 minute period. However, my
students referred to it a total of 10 times in the lesson.
As I reflect upon this journey, I can say that I have grown in
my abilities and awareness of the importance of
identifying the intentions of the lessons for and with
students. It has added a sense of purpose and
engagement in my classroom.
Most Influential Resources in my Journey
Learning in the Fast Lane by Suzy Pepper Rollins Chapter
2 "Standards Walls: Transforming Standards into Clear
Learning Targets
Writing Clear Learning Targets document (*found on
Warhawk Professional Learning Headquarters)
Student Self-Assessment & Learning Targets YouTube
video (*linked on Warhawk Professional Learning