Standard Four: Planning Instruction and Designing Learning Experience for All Students

4.2 Establishing and articulating goals for student learning.

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Description of Practice

Strong Practice that Exemplifies the Standard

Short-term and long-term instructional goals are set by teacher and students, and integrate students' language, experience, and home and school expectations. Goals are appropriate challenging for all students and represent valuable learning. Expectations for students are consistently high.

Maturing Practice

Short-term and long-term instructional goals are based on students' language, experiences, or home and school expectations. Goals are appropriately challenging for most students and represent valuable learning. Expectations for students are generally high.

Developing Practice

Some instructional goals address students' language, experience, and/or home and school expectations. Expectations for students are inconsistent.

Practice Not Consistent with Standard Expectations

Instructional goals are not established or do not address students' language, experience, or home and school expectations. Expectations for students are low.

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What the classroom looks like

• Learning goals are the desired learning outcomes or objectives for a lesson
• Translates important content into learning goals
• Goals are clearly distinguished from activities
• Goals may include values, thinking skills, performance skills, and/or behavioral goals
• Articulates how the students' actions, attitudes, knowledge and/or skills will be enhanced through participation in the learning activities
• Goals represent valuable learning
• Expectation for students are consistently high
• Goals chosen challenge most students, yet are within their grasps
• Goals address both short-term and long-term learning
• Short-term goals logically contribute to the accomplishment of long-term goals
• Specific goals reflect students' language, prior knowledge, home and school experiences
• Teacher is able to explain the appropriateness of the goals for particular students or groups
• Modifies or adjust expected outcomes to meet the needs of particular students

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As teachers develop, they may ask, "How do I . . ." or "Why do I . . ."

• establish short-term and long-term goals for student learning?
• ensure that each instructional activity is related to learning goals?
• build on the strengths, interests, and needs of all students to establish high expectations for learning?
• establish learning goals that address all students' language, experience, and home and school expectations?
• design instructional activities so that all students participate in setting and achieving learning goals?
• ensure that goals for student learning promote critical thinking and problem solving?