Page Comparison

• Minnesota Academic Standards and grade level benchmarks
• Content standards from professional organizations in your discipline (such as NCTM, ILA, or NCTE)
• District guidelines
• Grade level expectations
• Classroom curriculum maps
• Curriculum scope and sequence charts or pacing charts

Learning Goal

What is the learning goal you have identified for your learners?

 The learning goal is an overarching statement that:

• describes the overall purpose of the lesson,
• describes in broad terms what the learner will gain from the instruction or learning experience,
• is usually articulated in more general terms than the objective,
• indicates the relationship of the lesson to the curriculum, program, and/or standards, and
• when relevant, may also identify which developmental domain (physical, social, emotional, cognitive, language, moral/spiritual) is the primary focus of the lesson.

A learning goal for the lesson should be identified first because it will help you think comprehensively about your teaching and the connection of the lesson plan to a larger all-encompassing goal or a state or national standard about alignment with the central focus of the lesson (Standards, Curriculum Frameworks). Identifying learning goals will increase your ability to clearly identify the intent of your teaching (and of course the students’ learning.) as well as guide you in composing a plan that supports curriculum and program goals.

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As you begin to plan your lesson, you will begin by determining the central focus of your lesson.  In addition to considering the academic and developmental needs of your students, you will develop lessons based on the curriculum priorities of your school and district.  The following is a list of sources and resources that you may use when you develop the central focus of your lesson. 

• Minnesota Academic Standards and grade level benchmarks
• Content standards from professional organizations in your discipline (such as NCTM, ILA, or NCTE)
• District guidelines
• Grade level expectations
• Classroom curriculum maps
• Curriculum scope and sequence charts or pacing charts

Learning Goal

What is the learning goal you have identified for your learners?

 The learning goal is an overarching statement that:

• describes the overall purpose of the lesson,
• describes in broad terms what the learner will gain from the instruction or learning experience,
• is usually articulated in more general terms than the objective,
• indicates the relationship of the lesson to the curriculum, program, and/or standards, and
• when relevant, may also identify which developmental domain (physical, social, emotional, cognitive, language, moral/spiritual) is the primary focus of the lesson.

A learning goal for the lesson should be identified first because it will help you think comprehensively about your teaching and the connection of the lesson plan to a larger all-encompassing goal or a state or national standard about alignment with the central focus of the lesson (Standards, Curriculum Frameworks). Identifying learning goals will increase your ability to clearly identify the intent of your teaching (and of course the students’ learning.) as well as guide you in composing a plan that supports curriculum and program goals.

You may hear the terms goals and objectives used interchangeably. However, this is wrong; they are different. The difference between learning goals and objectives is practical and somewhat sequential.  In lesson planning, goals refer to the broad “ambition” for what students will learn.  The objectives are the “specific, measurable competencies” that are used to determine if the goal has been met. 

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A statement of the learning objective includes audience (who), behavior/action (what), conditions (how), and criteria (how well).

Who: The student

• State the learning objective in terms of what the student will be able to do as a result of the lesson. The “what” is an observable action.
• It is common to embed the phrase “students will be able to…” into the objective.

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https://teachonline.asu.edu/objectives-builder/

(Should these examples be updated?)

Continuity of Lessons

Describe how your current                                                                 I CAN Statement:  I can show and explain how different looking triangles have the same area.

Continuity of Lessons

Describe how your current lesson fits in to the sequence of surrounding lessons. How do the prior and subsequent lessons affect what you will be teaching and what you will be expecting students to do? How will you build on what students have learned in previous lessons and use what they know to support them in meeting expectations of the next lesson? How have you made use of student assessment from previous lessons to make and or adjust these plans?

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• how students’ learning from previous lessons will be applied in this current lesson,
• the specific prerequisite knowledge and/or skill that is necessary for students to successfully engage in this lesson; i.e. the student learning you will be building on in the current lesson,
• where or when students previously learned or engaged in the necessary prerequisite knowledge and/or skills and how you have (or can) determine whether or not students actually have the prerequisite knowledge and skill,
• when or where in the next or later lessons and learning activities students will be applying the learning from this lesson, and
• what specific knowledge and/or skill will students be accountable for applying to those future lessons or activities and how they be expected to use it. (is the formatting of this list weird?)

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If you are in a field placement, these should be discussed with your cooperating teacher so you understand the context within which your lesson fits. As part of your discussion with your cooperating teacher, find out what type of student assessment data may have been collected. Use the results of the assessment data to inform your lesson planning.

If your lesson is an introductory lesson to a new unit, it is still necessary to describe what preceded this lesson and how students performed as this information will guide the decisions you make about content, activities, grouping, and further assessment. 

Sources Used: (These probably need to go with the full list of resources and not here.)

Dean, C.; Hubbell, R.; Pitler, H.; & Stone, B. (2012). Classroom instruction that works: Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. 2^nd ed. ASCD.

Marzano, R. (2013). Art and science of teaching- Targets, objectives, standards: How do they fit? Educational Leadership, 70(8).  Retrieved fromTransform the objective into a learner-friendly/"I Can" statement:

"I Can" statements help learners know what they are aiming for.  "Learning Goal" or Learning Target" are terms also used along with "I Can" Statements.  When learners are aware of what they learning and how to achieve it they can be more successful and record their tasks as completed.   Statements need to be written in learner-friendly, developmentally appropriate language, spoken, written so learners can see them and referred to during the enacted teaching and at the closure of a lesson.

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/may13mar11/vol70vol68/num08/Targets,-Objectives,-Standards@-How-Do-They-Fit%C2%A2.aspxTransform the objective into a learner-friendly/"I Can" statement: (I am not sure what is supposed to go here?)num06/abstract.aspx#Knowing_Your_Learning_Target

Material for Appendix:-- Needs to be moved to Appendix with Bloom's Material

Writing effective learning objectives

Learning to construct clear, concise, and well-articulated learning objectives takes time and practice. It is a skill that is developed through persistence.

The following four-step process, adapted from materials by Dr. Bob Kizlik (2004, 2013) provides a guideline for developing efficiency and effectiveness in the skill of constructing learning objectives.

• Step 1 - Write a basic statement about what the students are to learn (i.e. the learning outcome).
• Don’t worry about having all the components or the exact wording for an objective; simply try to be clear about the intended learning outcome. Base the statement on the goal and standards.
• Step 2 – Formulate the statement using a behavioral action verb.
• Based on step 1, select a behavioral verb and write a statement that describes the observable performance, behavior, or action you expect to see as evidence demonstrating that the student has learned what was intended. In some cases you may use more than one verb. You may formulate several trial statements using different verbs. If the learning outcome is complex or has multiple components, you may need to write several statements to communicate it clearly. Take care in choosing verbs that represent things that are observable through some means.
• Step 3 – Add specific conditions.  Using your previous statements, add a description of the specific conditions under which the action is to take place.  These conditions should relate to the initiation of the intended behavior or action.
• Step 4 – Add the criteria for the performance .In some cases your criteria might be for the student to accomplish the task “perfectly.” In other cases, your criteria might involve the student making progress over a previous level of accomplishment.  Work on revising the wording to communicate the intent in a clear and precise manner. Seek feedback from a peer or an instructor.  Establish the criteria indicating how well the student must do to demonstrate successful learning. Think about how you can describe the level of performance that indicates when the objective has been met. In some cases your criteria might be for the student to accomplish the task "perfectly."  In other cases, your criteria might involve the student making progress over a previous level of accomplishment.

Work on revising the wording to communicate the intent in a clear and precise manner. Seek feedback from a peer or instructor.

Examples of the Objective Writing Process

 The following examples illustrate the process discussed above for writing clear objectives.

Example 1: Language Arts, Grades 4-7

        Step         Step 1 – initial statement:

        I want the students to summarize the plot of the short story.

        Step 2 – use a behavioral verb:

        The student will read the story. The student will demonstrate comprehension of the storyline by

        drawing a series of scenes that depict the major events of the story. The student will compose a

        bulleted list highlighting the main events of the story in chronological order.

        Step 3 – state the conditions:

        After reading the story independently, the student will demonstrate comprehension of the storyline b drawing a series of scenes that depict the major events of the story. After hearing the story read aloud, the student will compose a bulleted list highlighting the main events of the story in chronological order.

        Step 4 – include the criteria for performance:

  After reading the story independently, the student will demonstrate comprehension of the storyline by drawing a series of scenes that depict the four main events of the story in chronological order. After hearing the story read aloud, the student will compose a bulleted list highlighting at least six key event events from the plot in chronological order.

"I  Can" Statement Sample:   I can depict the plot line of a story by drawing scenes in chronological order.

Example 2: Mathematics, Algebra, Grades 7-8

 Step 1 – initial statement:

        I want the students to graph a line. They should do this by plotting points on the graph. In this lesson, they will graph the line by knowing the equation of the line.

 Step  Step 2 – use a behavioral verb:

        The student will be able to sketch the graph of a line by plotting points from the equation.

 Step 3 – state the conditions:

  Given the equation of a line, the student will be able to sketch the graph of the line by plotting points.

  Step   Step 4 – include the criteria for performance:

        Given the equation of a line, the student will be able to determine at least three ordered pairs representing points on the line, correctly plot these points, and accurately sketch the graph of the line including labeling the scale on the graph.