Show them the success part 2 - personal learning checklists

 Success is a great motivating factor, and students who are motivated are usually more engaged in the lesson and their learning. However, it's important (I feel) that students don't just equate success with grades. After all, loads of people (including teachers!) have been successful in life without scoring top marks. 

This is where personal learning checklists can come in. Using these at the beginning, middle and end of a unit (and perhaps other points between) allow students to see the progress that they have made, the successes that they have had. 

Here's an example, if you aren't sure what I'm talking about:


It is literally a list of skills you intend for students to acquire or develop during the unit. Students self-assess themselves, perhaps using a colour code (red, amber, green) or letter code (d - developing, s - secure, e - expert), returning later to review their own progress. Thus they can then see how your teaching input has lead them to acquire new skills and knowledge, much of which will have far broader applications than just the end of unit assessments. They see their success.

(Of course, as you have no doubt realised, there are other benefits teachers can glean from PLCs. First, they are great AFL, especially if you use the data from these alongside your own observations to tailor your teaching and differentiate lessons to target those areas/skills students self-identify as being weaknesses. Secondly, I feel that PLCs help develop independent learners: if the onus is on them to acquire these skills, it centres them as the ones in charge of their own learning. You the teacher are not the gate-keeper: you're the guide. Finally, PLCs promote a growth mindset - students can literally see their progress as well as your implicit message, right at the beginning of the unit, that you believe in their ability to improve and grow. Students with a growth mindset are the most engaged of all.)

 

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