Discussion continued to focus on Learning intentions this week. To be clear, the learning intention should focus not on the tasks that students will complete as part of the lesson, but rather, reflect the understandings that students will gain as a result of their engagement in the lesson components. This is to be clearly articulated in teacher's daily work plans.
But there is more to learning than just focusing on the content. In every learning environment, students have the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of the content through their language and their social skills.
The Content aspect of the learning intentions define the essential intended knowledge of the learning area. These are typically characterized by facts, concepts, and/or skills. Content based intentions are generated and derived from the content descriptors of the WA Curriculum.
The Language aspect of learning intentions define the communication skills needed to make the content of the subject comprehensible. Students demonstrate their understanding by reading, writing, speaking, listening, and showing. Understanding the linguistic demands of the content is essential and especially important for English language learners. These demands include the specialised and technical vocabulary used in the subject; language and grammatical structures of written and spoken texts; and the function of the language being used (i.e. state opinion, summarize, persuade, question, entertain, inform, sequence, disagree, debate, evaluate, justify, etc...)
The Social aspect of learning intentions refer to the social expectations of the lesson when working collaboratively or independently during the lesson. These may include taking turns, sharing materials, asking for help, being gentle, etc...
But there is more to learning than just focusing on the content. In every learning environment, students have the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of the content through their language and their social skills.
The Content aspect of the learning intentions define the essential intended knowledge of the learning area. These are typically characterized by facts, concepts, and/or skills. Content based intentions are generated and derived from the content descriptors of the WA Curriculum.
The Language aspect of learning intentions define the communication skills needed to make the content of the subject comprehensible. Students demonstrate their understanding by reading, writing, speaking, listening, and showing. Understanding the linguistic demands of the content is essential and especially important for English language learners. These demands include the specialised and technical vocabulary used in the subject; language and grammatical structures of written and spoken texts; and the function of the language being used (i.e. state opinion, summarize, persuade, question, entertain, inform, sequence, disagree, debate, evaluate, justify, etc...)
The Social aspect of learning intentions refer to the social expectations of the lesson when working collaboratively or independently during the lesson. These may include taking turns, sharing materials, asking for help, being gentle, etc...
CONTENT + LANGUAGE + SOCIAL SKILLS = makes LEARNING explicit
Teachers are now considering with how they can articulate the learning intentions of their lessons to students, being explicit in the content, language and/or social skills desired to learn. They will consider:
Content: What do I want them to learn?
Language: How do I want students to communicate their learning?
Social Skill: How do I want students to interact with each other?