“Ambiguity in expectations of what success looks like in any process, task or product diminishes learning” (Fisher and Frey 2021)
When learners have clarity, they understand where they are going in their learning and are in a position to select the tools and strategies that will be most useful on their learning journey. They have the knowledge and skills required to think critically and make decisions about what is important, to take notes, engage with evidence, and seek specific feedback as they monitor and adjust their own learning.
In short students are empowered to answer these three critical questions:
Teachers have multiple strategies to engage students with learning objectives and success criteria, ranging from writing them on the whiteboard at the start of the lesson to co-constructing success criteria with students. However research indicates that the majority of students still struggle to answer these guiding questions for any given lesson as they are more focused on the task rather than the learning.
Which strategies are you or your colleagues using to connect students more closely with the what, why and how,; whether online, remote or in more traditional classroom settings?
Whichever strategies teachers use, it is important that they evaluate the extent to which they are making a difference. The way they are planned and executed is not always in alignment with how they are received by students.
Try running a Verso Check-in with your students and gain insight into the extent to which each of your students are equipped to monitor and advance their own learning.
When asking students to complete the sentence “we are learning to..”, many students struggle to select an appropriate verb to articulate their learning goals. The verb in the learning objective, describes the action associated with the desired learning outcome. The supporting verbs used in success criteria to deliver that action may vary in different contexts and as teachers, it is important that we make this visible to students.
For example, “we are learning to analyse…” will demand a different set of behavioural or task driven criteria when analysing text as a writer than analysing data in a science class.
"We are learning to analyse the events of the early C20th to determine the causes of WW1”
In this example, a significant focus of the lesson should be on analysis. Learning “about” the causes of WW1 could be delivered via a worksheet or video and would only require lower order thinking. Success would be determined by each student’s capacity to “know” or “remember” rather than their capacity to develop a claim supported by evidence and reasoning.
Why is it then that so many students are neglecting the verb? Why do such a large percentage of learners replace a powerful verb with the more ambiguous “We are learning about…..”?
Could it be that as teachers, we are placing more emphasis on knowing, at the expense of doing and understanding? Are we focusing too heavily on the “what” at the expense of the “how” and the “why?” Or are the strategies we use to discuss learning goals in terms of verb, noun and context failing to have the desired impact?
Find time to take a moment and test this for yourself
Ask your students to complete a Verso Check-in and put this to the test. Try a different strategy or two and check-in again to measure the impact on learning.
This video describes how teachers can set up a Verso activity to enable students to use media to connect with and respond to their classmates whilst working remotely or in a blended learning environment.
One common issue raised with using Google Documents or Google Classrooms for remote or blended learning, is how to get students to engage with each other and share ideas. Google Classrooms is great for sharing files but doesn't allow students to work together in a truly collaborative way, share ideas or engage with the lesson materials. However by combining your Google account with your Verso account you can.
This example demonstrates how teachers can combine Verso with a collaborative Google Doc or Google Classrooms to allow a richer and more engaging Google experience. It shows how to link your Verso account to your Google account and then how to use Verso and Google together to allow students to respond to engage with each other's ideas and provide visibility of individual thinking to the teacher.
The Victorian Student Representative Council (VicSRC) and Verso Learning are proud to announce the launch of a free student check-in tool for teachers ready for Term 4 of 2020. The tool has been co-designed by VicSRC students across Victoria to give all students a greater voice by making it easier for teachers to check-in on student learning progress and understand student emotional wellbeing, either in class or whilst learning at home.
The check-in tool is free for individual teachers to use with their students and accessible from any mobile device or computer. From today it is available at https://checkin.versoapp.com. To reduce the workload for teachers the customisable tool has been aligned to over 5,000 Victorian F-10 curriculum questions covering most subject areas. In under 30 seconds teachers can send students a Verso check-in to gather feedback on their learning progress, where they need help, what they would like to do more of next lesson and how they are feeling about their learning. Teachers can access the feedback via a simple and colourful dashboard that enables them to quickly gauge individual students' learning and emotional needs and identify those who need extra support and attention.
CEO of Verso Learning Colin Wood said working with the Victorian Student Representative Council (VIC SRC) to co-design and build the Verso student check-in tool had been a fantastic experience and demonstrated the importance of listening and responding to student voice. “The students were so excited to see their ideas built into a check-in tool that is used by teachers around the world, and positively impact the wellbeing of students not just in Victoria but across the globe”. During the co-design process, students highlighted the difference between classes in which they were given opportunities to provide feedback and felt their ideas and opinions were listened to where they felt ‘motivated, inspired and engaged’. In classes where they were not they reported feeling “frustrated, bored and disheartened.” One feature specifically requested by students was a help button to confidentially ask for one-on-one support from their teacher if they feel they are not coping or need help. As one student commented “having an easy and private way to request help from a trusted teacher when you really need to is vital to feeling supported and listened to.”
VicSRC’s survey and report about remote and online learning showed that students wanted more regular check ins from teachers to support their wellbeing, and the opportunity to give regular feedback to teachers about their learning. In addition, students wanted a greater say in their learning journey and more opportunity to give input on the direction of future classes. These themes of supporting positive mental health and wellbeing at school and increasing student engagement also featured prominently at the 2020 VicSRC Congress.
VicSRC teamed up with Melbourne based Verso Learning to build a check-in tool to support teachers to regularly check-in with students either in class or when working remotely. Executive Officer of VicSRC Nina Laitala said “Working with Verso, VicSRC was able to design an innovative check-in solution that will reduce teacher workload, whilst helping support Victorian students emotional wellbeing, giving them greater voice over their education and help teachers better adapt lessons to the needs of the students.”
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