Principals’ Student Achievement Meeting
Leadership Actions to Promote Teachers’ Growth
in Clarifying and Sharing
Learning Targets and Criteria for Success
February 23, 2011
To access all documents from today’s Principals’ Student Achievement Meeting, go to rcas.org →
Administration → Staff Development → Principals’ Student Achievement Meetings → 2-23-11.
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Reconnecting…

What are the four components for
developing clear learning targets?

Next, how is the criteria for success
constructed?
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Reconnecting…

Clarifying and sharing learning targets and
criteria for success involves the inclusion of
three foundational elements. What are
these?
Communicate
Learning Target (LT)
Communicate
Criteria for Success (CFS)
Use Strategies to Assess
Students’ Understanding
of these Elements
Clarifying & Sharing Learning Targets and Criteria for Success: 3 Foundational Elements
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Today’s Key Question…

In January, we all wrote learning targets for our
teachers/learners regarding the three foundational
elements. Now that we have our 3 LTs, we can
establish the CFS for the LTs.

Key Question – Page 35: How will I recognize effective
clarifying and sharing of learning targets and criteria
for success when I see it? (In other words, what does
it look like when teachers hit the target?)

Read the Moss and Brookhart text (pages 35—36), and
have a conversation about the two key ways to
recognize these elements.
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Two Main Ways…

Two main ways to recognize effective clarifying and
sharing of LTs and CFS are:
1. Observing
Teachers
2. Talking
with
Students
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What Are We Looking For?

When observing teachers and talking to students, what
might you look for to determine the effective clarifying
and sharing of learning targets and criteria for success?
1.
Observing
Teachers
2.
Talking to
Students

Read pages 36—39. Do a Think - Pair - Share to respond
to this question.

“Teachers should have the same clarity about your goals
for them as you expect them to have about their goals for
students” (Moss & Brookhart, 2009, p. 36).
1. When Observing Teachers….
Observations
of Teachers
The teacher communicated a
clear LT and CFS.
The LT indicated what students
will understand or be able to do,
was specific, and can be
observed or measured.
The teacher used a strategy to
help students understand the
LT and CFS.
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2. When Talking with Students…
Conversations
with Students
Students expressed a clear,
accurate, and specific
description of the learning
Students expressed specific
strategies for assessing the
quality of their work
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Now What? Leadership Actions
Conclusions
and Next
Steps
The Principal/Leader:
Draws conclusions,
Determines the teacher’s next
steps,
Determines strategies to assist
the teacher,
And plans a short, focused,
collaborative conversation to
promote the teacher’s growth.
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Instructional Leadership Actions

Two Walk-Through Tool Options



A synthesis of the text
Tools for collecting data and promoting teachers’
growth
Pulling It All Together: A KISS Summary……………
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Using Walk-Throughs and Collaborative Conversations to Promote
Teachers’ Growth in Clarifying and Sharing Learning Targets and Criteria for Success
Observations of
Teachers
Conversations
with Students
The teacher communicated a
clear LT and CFS.
The LT indicated what
students will understand or
be able to do, was specific,
and can be observed or
measured.
Conclusions and
Next Steps
The Principal/Leader:
Students expressed a clear,
accurate, specific description
of what they are learning.
Draws conclusions,
Determines the teacher’s next
steps,
Determines strategies to
assist the teacher,
The teacher used a strategy to
help students understand the
LT and CFS.
Communicate
Learning Target (LT)
Students expressed specific
strategies for assessing the
quality of their work.
Communicate
Criteria for Success (CFS)
And plans a short, focused,
collaborative conversation to
promote the teacher’s
growth.
Use Strategies to Assess
Students’ Understanding
of these Elements
Clarifying & Sharing Learning Targets and Criteria for Success: 3 Foundational Elements
Learning Target #1
Learning Target
Criteria for Success
1. I will understand how to
1A. When observing teachers, I can articulate what
recognize effective sharing
to look for regarding evidence of clear LTs and CFS
of LTs and CFS when I see it. that includes:
•The teacher’s communication of a clear LT & CFS,
•The clarity of the LT (what students will
understand or be able to do, was specific, and can
be observed or measured), and
•The teacher’s use of a strategy to help students
understand the LT and CFS.
1B. When talking with students, I can articulate
what to look for regarding evidence of clear LTs
and CFS that includes:
• Students’ explanation of their intended learning,
• Students’ explanation of their criteria for success/
elements of quality.
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Learning Target #2
Learning Target
Criteria for Success
2. I will be able to take
leadership actions that
promote my
teachers’/learners’ growth in
clarifying and sharing LTs
and CFS.
2. I have designed and am implementing a plan
that specifies leadership actions I will take to
promote teachers’/ learners’ growth in sharing clear
LTs and CFS (using a rubric).
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Leadership Actions

Leadership is second only to classroom instruction among all
school-related factors that contribute student learning. The
core practices of successful leadership are:

Setting directions: Developing shared understanding
about goals, activities, vision, and performance
expectations.

Developing people: Building members’ capacities needed
in order to move productively in the set direction.

Redesigning the organization: Ensuring that conditions
fully support rather than inhibit teaching and learning.
Examples of these leadership actions include
strengthening the school and district cultures, building
collaborative processes, and providing time for
implementation.
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Leithwood, Louis, Anderson, and Wahlstrom, 2004
Leadership Actions

What leadership actions will you take to promote your
teachers’/learners’ growth in clarifying and sharing LTs and CFS?

Plan for Leadership Action:

Guiding Questions

Example

Rubric

Submit completed plan with attached highlighted self-assessment
using the rubric by March 2.

Summary/Debrief

Collaborative work time -- Option to attend breakout session

Feedback from colleagues

Make adjustments to close the gap
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