Professional Learning Goals

• Determined overarching learning goals by examining the math curriculum
• Developed learning goals and success criteria to create a student-friendly learning map
• Created assessment and evaluation tools that encouraged a growth mindset
• Developed and implemented different methods of assessment to differentiate instruction
• Created rich questions as an assessment tool
• Anticipated student responses
• Used descriptive feedback to identify next steps on report cards

Activities and Resources

• Develop a common understanding of assessment and evaluation with our assessment coordinator
• Develop learning goals and success criteria to create learning maps
• Source  various rich tasks, questions, games and activities from multiple resources (i.e., books, website, Twitter, Pinterest, professional development, other colleagues)
• Implement and assess the tools in our math program
• Survey students about the clarity and usefulness of the learning goals and success criteria at various intervals

Unexpected Challenges

• Staffing changes to grade level team; impeded continuing the use of learning maps across all three classes
• Scheduling – co-ordinating meetings based on different timetables
• Teachers adopting a change in assessment methodology and/or maintaining comfort and confidence
• Create a plan with the board to use release days took a long time – delayed the start of the project

Enhancing Student Learning and Development

• Change students’ perception about assessment and evaluation tools
• Gradually releases responsibility toward self-assessment and self-directed learning
• Promotes growth mindset
• Making thinking visible/showing students how to communicate their mathematical  thinking
• Consistently referencing the learning goal helped students individually prepare for learning
• Provides students many opportunities to demonstrate their learning
• Builds confidence in communicating student needs for improvement or setting goals

Sharing

• Share with colleagues at staff meetings
• Share with colleagues at professional development
• Share with post-secondary education students

Project Evaluation

Forty-one students across two Grade 6 classes were surveyed. Based on their responses, the project was received positively. The survey consisted of four multiple choice questions and one short answer question.

Almost 90 per cent of the students believed that they understood the learning goal either “a great deal” or “quite a bit.” While the remaining 10 per cent  of the students understood the learning goal to some degree, the results were promising. Seventy-nine per cent of the students found the learning goal connected to the activity in the lesson. Although the responses were positive, it still suggests that there is an opportunity to strengthen the connection.

Seventy-six per cent of students responded that they demonstrated the knowledge and skills needed to meet the success criteria. Seventy-four per cent of students reported using the learning goal as a tool to understand expectations. In response to the short answer questions, most students wrote positive comments.

As for next steps, we would like to add an element of the developmental continuum (such as PRIME, Fosnot Landscape of Learning, Fraction Learning Pathways by Dr. Cathy Bruce) to our learning maps and create more opportunities and tasks to move students along the learning continuum.