Next+steps+in+learning

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Shared clarity about the next

steps in learning

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‘Next steps’ is about the direction or the plan that the teacher and students need to have about where the learning is headed.

It is about what the teacher needs to do in order to effectively communicate the direction to the students. It addresses the question, ‘After we have learnt this, what do we learn next?’.

‘Next steps’ is what the students need to be able to do to play their part in ensuring that the teaching and learning has direction for them.

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You can use this presentation to:

• update, review and/or reflect on how ‘Next steps’ is developed in your classroom or school

• use as a resource for exploring professional development in Next Steps in Learning

• clarify the purpose and value of sharing ‘big picture’ relevance

• identify strategies and resources for developing next steps with students

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“But it is important to remember that it is the pupils who will take the next steps and the more they are involved in the process, the greater will be their understanding of how to extend their learning.”

Assessment Reform Group (1999) p.8

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Where ‘next steps’ fits in

• When sharing the ‘big picture’ relevance of the learning

• ‘Feed forward’ when promoting further learning (oral/written)

• Self or peer assessment against success criteria

• Reflection time • Learning conversations about assessment

results

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The indicators of ‘next step’ capability

• Starting with the end in mind

• Excellent knowledge of subject and its learning progressions

• Identity with and enthusiasm for the subject

• ‘Where to next’ resources which show student learning progressions

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Starting with the end in mind

• For students to understand where they are headed with their learning, teachers should constantly share with them the ‘big picture’ of learning, at the beginning of each unit of work and throughout the progression of the learning.

• This enables students to monitor their progress against defined benchmarks or progressions.

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Excellent curriculum knowledge

• The role of the teacher is to be the expert in the subject. This requires excellent curriculum knowledge, and keeping current through new research, new technologies and new ideas.

• The more the teacher is excited and enthusiastic about the subject, the greater the possibility that students will be too.

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Identity with the subject

• The more the teacher is excited and enthusiastic about the subject, the greater the possibility that students will be too.

• A challenge for teachers is to build student

identity with the subject so the students see themselves as ‘writers, mathematicians, and scientists.’

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Progressions of learning

• Progressions of learning can be displayed in the classroom. An example is pieces of writing at successive curriculum levels, against which students can monitor their achievement.

• Students and teacher can construct ‘where to next’ through the use of exemplars, matrices or progressions.

• The more students are involved in the process of identifying next steps, the greater their understanding will be of how to extend their learning.

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What students need…

• A clear idea of what they are learning – the big picture

• A clear idea of where they are currently at in their learning

• A sense of progression for the next steps

• The above should be explicit and exemplified

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A Challenge

Create a resource to use with your students to show them

where they are with their learning, and what their next

steps are.You could create this resource for any curriculum area.

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Some examples:

• Levelled exemplars to display on the wall• Planning enlarged and on the wall• Student-speak indicators• Visual displays• Processes for focused student goal setting• Modelling books• NCEA prescriptions in student speak

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53 – 29 =

“I use tidy numbers: 53 – 30 (29 + 1) = 23 plus 1 = 24.”

“I use place value: e.g. 53 – 20 – 9. 53 – 20 = 33. Minus another 9. Split the 9 into 3 and 6. 33 – 3 = 30 – 6 = 24.”

Subtraction Strategies Children at Stage 6 use two of these strategies

“I use balancing: 53 – 29 = +1 +1 54 – 30 = 24.”

“I use reversibility and count up on a number line.”

+1 +20 +3

________________________ 29 30 50 53

53

+1 +1

29

Pupil self assessment Name: _______________________________

I use the ___________

strategy

I am learning to use the

___________ strategy

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References and readings

• Absolum, M. (2006). Clarity in the classroom. Auckland: Hodder Education. pp. 165-173