1. Nexus International School
Putrajaya
Clarity about the Learning
Dr Rosemary Martin
Monday 19th September

2. Learning Intention
Principles and practices of establishing
clarity about learning in the classroom

3. Clarity about the Learning: the
Keystone of AfL
● Learning intentions
● Relevance
● Examples and modelling
● Success criteria
● Checking for understanding
Both teacher and learners need to be
clear about what is being learnt.

4. Learning intentions can come from:
● The curriculum goals
● IGCSE prescriptions
● Diagnostic assessment information
● Other assessment that has been identified
as a learning need (EG learner
profiles/skills)
● Reflective discussions between teachers
and learners that indicate the next learning
step.

5. Levels of Learning
● Learning intentions can be:
● Global – e.g. to write a report
● Or specific – e.g. to structure a report
● Or more specific - e.g. to write the
introduction to a report in order to
summarise what the report is about.

6. Levels of learning
Levels of learning covered within each
classroom are very much dependent on
learners’ needs. The learning should be
in manageable “chunks” that the
learners can handle.

7. A maths example
● Global - e.g. statistics
● Specific – e.g. to draw a line graph
● More specific – e.g. to mark axes on a line
graph

8. A science example
● Global – e.g. light and sound waves
● Specific – e.g. how to measure light and
sound waves
● More specific – e.g. to use a cathode
oscilloscope

9. A history example
● Golbal – e.g. the revolutionary process
● Specific – e.g. The Russian Revolution
● More Specific – e.g. The causes of the
Russian Revolution

10. A Skills Example
Global – e.g. to learn collaboratively
Specific – e.g. to work in groups of four
More specific – e.g. to listen to each other
and make sure that everyone has a chance
to be heard.

11. Transparency of Learning Intentions
In order for a learning intention to be shared
effectively it needs to be clear and
unambiguous, explained by the teacher in a
way that makes sense to the learners – in
learner-friendly language.

12. Don’t confuse the learning with the
task!
● The learning intention is what you want the
learners to recognise, understand or be
able to do.
● The instructions for the activities and tasks
outline the activities that the learners will
carry out in order to learn.

13. Judging the quality of learning
intentions …
● To make a list of words which could
replace “said”
Write a learning intention that captures that
learning behind this activity.

14. Judging the quality of Learning
Intentions
● To estimate the length of a horse
Reword this as a learning intention that is
“context free”.

15. Judging the quality of learning
intentions
● Learning to make a kaleidoscope
Rewrite this so that it captures the deeper
ideas inherent in the learning.

16. Establish Relevance
● Discuss with the learners why they are
learning this at all.
● How is the learning relevant in their lives?
When might they use or need this
learning?
● Share with them how it fits into the bigger
picture of their learning.

17. Model the process or look at an
exemplar
● This provides learners with an opportunity
to see what the learning might look like
● Learners have an opportunity to discern
what ‘quality’ is or is not
● It can be used to co-construct success
criteria
● Learners appreciate the guidance that
exemplars or modelling provide.

18. Marshall and Drummond
It is simply about making the learning explicit
by focusing learners’ attention on
understanding quality.
Learning is improved when notions of quality
are combined with modelling.

19. Success Criteria – why bother?
● They show the learners what they are
aiming for and how to get there
● Learners can self and peer assess
independently from the teacher
● Learners are clear about what it is they are
going to be evaluated or assessed on
● Learners have something to refer to when
they want to check if they are on track or
not.

20. Process and Product Criteria
● Process – How will learners go about
achieving the learning intention?
● Product - How will they know that they
have achieved it?
● Whether learners require process or
product criteria or both depends on the
learning being covered.

21. Learners should help to define the
Success Criteria whenever
possible.
● It involves them in the definition of process
and quality
● They are being asked to link the learning
intention with the criteria – they are
making connections
● Thinking about what the learning might
entail is a much more challenging learning
experience than being told.

22. Learning Intentions, Success
Criteria and Task need to be
separated but aligned.
● The learning intention is what you want the
learners to recognise, understand or be able to do
● The Success criteria answer the question ”how will
we know that we have achieved this?” or “How will
we go about this learning?”
● The instructions for the tasks or activities describe
the activities that the learners will carry out in
order to learn. These will change according to the
context of the learning.

23. Alignment
● L.I. We are learning how to describe a particular
event in detail
● S.C.
● Focus on a particular event
● Give details of setting and atmosphere
● Cover only relevant aspects of the event
● Pace your writing to suit the event
● Use precise verbs and adjectives
Task: Choose an important event in your story about the
swimming sports and rewrite in detail

24. Lack of Alignment
● L.I. We are learning how to describe a
particular event in detail
● S.C.
● Give details of setting and atmosphere
● Use language appropriate to audience
● Make sure spelling and punctuation are
correct
● Write at least one page.
Task: Re-write your story about yesterday’s
swimming sports

25. Check that learners understand
● Give frequent opportunities for learners to
check their understanding (or correct their
misunderstandings!) with you or one
another
● Give learners time to think before
responding to a question
● Model the use of thinking tine and shared
understanding if necessary.

26. Display Learning Intentions and
Success Criteria
These need to be visually displayed for
every lesson so that you and the
learners can refer to them during the
lesson.

27. Recap.
● Clarify L.I. at planning stage
● Create a climate where learners expect a learning
intention
● Explain LI in learner speak and display it
● Discuss the relevance of the learning
● Model the process or look at an exemplar
● Invite learners to share in writing the success
criteria
● Keep checking that the learners understand
● Ensure that learners refer to the LI and SC when
working on the task.

28. Suggestions for group
discussions
● How might planning and classroom practice s
change to incorporate principles of clarity?
● How can we plan for units of work to include global
and specific learning intentions?
● Are we teaching according to learners’ needs?
● How can we plan so that teaching is flexible to
learners’ needs?
● Have we broken the learning down into
manageable “chunks” for learners – each one of
them as a separate learning intention?
● Are our plan books “live” documents?