Overall I thought the learning targets were helpful to my students. They gave the class a sense of purpose from the beginning. They were age appropriate and student friendly as they were written for sixth graders to understand. They were written as “I can” statements that they should be able to do by the end of the hour or for sure by the end of the chapter. Even if they did not understand the learning target initially, they were aware of the clear expectation on each of them to accomplish. The learning targets seemed to better prepare students for the challenges ahead and provided a clear focus. Students were not left wondering what we were going to do each day. Students did not waste time trying to guess or figure out the topic as the targets were introduced at the beginning of each lesson and revisited at the end of the lesson and throughout the unit of work. We reread them aloud before quizzes or the test. Students’ pronunciation of vocabulary words such as proportion seemed to improve. Key concepts were intentionally repeated from their mouths, not just mine. For example, many students read the target, “I know the word of means multiply in math.” They heard that from me as well as their classmates and sometimes from themselves. I think the targets enhanced my instruction as they provided a clear purpose of what was expected each day. Students did turn back and read them for extra help in their learning process. They were proud to see the chain that made it quite some distance around my classroom. I believe utilizing the learning targets had a positive impact on my students’ understanding and mathematics achievement.
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