Okay, shoot me. I couldn't resist an opportunity for a little NKOTB. And now that you have your ear worm for the day, let's talk about student mastery. Step-by Step! 🎶🎵

I recently had a great conversation with a respected colleague and unofficial mentor on how mandated learning objectives should be replaced with performance objectives. He asserted that the key concepts are supported by the performance outcomes which encompasses learning, resources, and guidelines. He is on a Nick Shackleton-Jones kick. But shouldn't our mandated learning objectives reflect the very same? After some reflection on our conversations, it dawned on me that this is where curriculum mapping and lesson plans come into play. That the performance objectives are the highways that lead to the learning objectives.

Consider the learning objectives a destination. Humor me. The highways the performance objectives the highways and the vehicle itself is formed by the very components of learning. Allowing students to discover, practice, review, and apply. The stop lights on the road are the resources needed that our student drivers pick-up on their journey. Resources can range from texts, websites, checklists, discussions and debates, so on and so forth. Each resource is directly related to the course overall-not just the task at hand. The gas stations serve as a pit stop. Every vehicle and driver needs them. At the gas station students get time to stretch and fuel their minds, review key concepts and materials even plan for their next stop (sequence). The very speed limit allows for reflection.

The concept in my discipline that is most like driving a car would be writing an essay/paper. There are several components that students should master in order to convey their thoughts in a coherent and cohesive manner. For example, capitals (an issue with Arabic writers), spelling, vocabulary, punctuation, linking words/phrases, verb tenses as well as quotations and citations for higher-level courses. Having a solid foundation of these components allow students to focus on the creative element of the writing process and avoid cognitive overload trying to simultaneously focus on conveying their thoughts in a coherent and cohesive manner.

• Strong grammar, punctuation, spelling (albeit to a lesser extent thanks to tech) and vocabulary are the tires of the vehicle. While driving they are often not thought about-until you hit a pothole-but they are key to the vehicle moving.

• Coherence and cohesion are the frame of the vehicle. Without them everything falls out and no one knows what the writer is explaining/sharing.

• Text response would be the windshield and mirrors. Can you see where the writer is going? Can you look back and see where the writer has been? And without either the writer runs the risk of going crashing (going off topic)