Share Goals/Objectives
Having clear targets for student learning is one thing; sharing them is another! We know that when students understand the learning target and why it's important, they are more likely to attend to the important information, access appropriate background knowledge, understand how to apply the information, and retain the important concepts/skills. In fact, ensuring that students understand the lesson objectives has resulted in effect size ranges from .50 to .82 in several separate studies.
ASOT Elements: E1
There isn't one perfect way to share learning goals and objectives. Some experts suggest that students should see, hear, and do something with the goal for it to be meaningful. The big idea is that we cause students to be more aware of their learning targets and to understand the relevance of those learning targets. While even displaying goals can have a positive result, the best results seem to be related to teachers causing students to understand the objectives more deeply.
Perhaps these ideas might spark an idea or technique that works well in your classroom.
Display the lesson goal(s) prominently in the room, and explain the relevancy of each at the beginning of each lesson.
Make it a routine for students to write the lesson goals in their assignment notebook or notes each day at the beginning of the lesson.
When appropriate in the lesson, use choral response to remind students of the goal.
At the beginning of a unit, provide the lesson goals. Prompt students to prioritize the objectives by perceived importance or personal interest. You might even ask students to identify a personal learning goal related to the unit topic based on interest or readiness.
When you discuss learning goals with students, ask them to underline the verb of the objective and circle the essential content. Use this as discussion as a means to boost academic vocabulary and clarify expectations with important words (i.e., analyze, identify, describe, explain).
Research & References: Marzano, 2009; Marzano, 2011; APL