Add Some Inquiry To Your Learning Targets

For years I have approached learning targets with my students in the same way.  We look at the target and the attached Marzano scale and I help them decide where their starting point is, then we start learning.  It works fine, but I thought I could do a bit more with it.  Then I tried adding a touch of inquiry...

SET UP

The set up is very simple.  All you need to do is project your learning target (or have it written on the board).

STEPS

• Once everyone is in class, direct your students to read the learning target.
• Re-phrase the target as a question (EX: "I can identify what caused the Fall of Rome" becomes "What do you guys think caused the Fall of Rome?").
• Clarify any definitions (EX: "What does the Fall of Rome mean?").
• Give your groups of students 30-40 seconds to discuss the question and come up with possible hypotheses.
• Once the allotted time has elapsed, ask for volunteers to share some of their hypotheses.  
• Ask some probing or clarifying questions to understand what they might be thinking or to clear up any misconceptions.
• Record their hypotheses on the board and leave it until the end of class.

Commence your lesson as normal.

• At the end of your lesson, revisit their hypotheses and determine which if any were correct, incorrect or partially correct and briefly discuss why.

This is an example of what my students came up with the other day when we were discussing the Fall of Rome.  They did a great job!

TAKE AWAYS

I've been doing this for about a week now, and I love it.  I think my students do too - they like seeing when their hypotheses wind up being correct and do a little, "Yes!" and point it out to their neighbors, and I think that's really the point - students getting interested and invested in their learning.

So, if you try this in your classroom (or do something similar), please let me know about it in the comments.  And if you are looking for lessons with pre-made learning targets and Marzano aligned scales, check out my Interactive Notetaking or Complete Unit resources in my TpT store - each of them comes with several Marzano aligned scales along with the actual resources.

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