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USING LEARNING PROGRESSIONS TO PROVIDE MULTIPLE ENTRY POINTS
USING LEARNING PROGRESSIONS TO PROVIDE MULTIPLE ENTRY POINTS
When learning activities are designed with only the provincial standard in mind, accommodating the need for alternate entry points can be challenging. Most often, the result is that the teacher, SERT, EA, or other support staff have to try to remove elements of the activity to provide access for students. In this video, Dr. Shelley Moore explains how we can think differently about curricular goals to meet the needs of all learners within the classroom environment.
Rubrics are often designed with the provincial standard as the starting point, describing achievement at levels 1 and 2 in terms of the extent to which they fall short of the standard, often with descriptors like "limited" and "some." Additionally, the description of the standard often focuses on the knowledge dimension of the expectation, with little consideration for the cognitive process. Achievement of his deficit-based approach often leaves students, caregivers, and educators unclear about what students specifically need to do to demonstrate achievement that does not yet meet the standard.
With a learning progression, educators pay close attention to the verb found in the curriculum expectation to recognize the cognitive process students are required to activate to engage with the skill/knowledge in the expectation. Building toward and extending beyond provincial standard is differentiated by variations in cognitive complexity.
A great starting point is to consider the verbs identified in the curriculum document.
Are students expected to describe, interpret, assess, explain, represent, etc?
Do I recognize how to notice the cognitive process identified by the verb in a learning space?
If the curriculum describes the provincial standard, what might the most essential building block(s) in working toward that expectation be?
How might you extend that expectation for students who are ready for a greater challenge?
CONSIDERATIONS FOR BUILDING A COMPLEXITY CONTINUUM
CONSIDERATIONS FOR BUILDING A COMPLEXITY CONTINUUM
Learning progression
Additive rather than reductive
Build on complexity, not quantity
Task neutral to focus on skill/knowledge rather than format
Strength-based
Everyone is still taught everything
Students choose their level of challenge
AN EXAMPLE OF A LEARNING PROGRESSION
AN EXAMPLE OF A LEARNING PROGRESSION
The above example identifies a learning progression that can connect to many curriculum areas. For example:
AVI1/2O:
C3.1 identify legal and ethical issues associated with visual arts, and demonstrate legal and ethical practices when creating, presenting, and/or promoting art works
BTT1/2O:
demonstrate an understanding of legal, social, and ethical issues relating to information and communication technology
analyse privacy and security issues relating to information and communication technology
CGC1D:
D1.Population Issues: analyse selected national and global population issues and their implications for Canada
CHV2O:
C2. Engaged Citizenship and Creating Change through Action: analyse a civic issue of personal interest, and propose and assess methods of creating positive change in their community
CHC2D:
C2. Communities, Conflict, and Cooperation: analyse some key interactions within and between different communities in Canada, including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities, and between Canada and the international community, from 1929 to 1945, with a focus on key issues that affected these interactions and changes that resulted from them
PPL1O:
analyse the influence of social and environmental factors on food and beverage choices
SNC1W:
A2.3 analyse how the development and application of science is economically, culturally, and socially contextualized, by investigating real-world issues
C1. Relating Science to Our Changing World: assess social, environmental, and economic impacts of the use of elements, compounds, and associated technologies
Multiple Social Science and Humanities Courses
Multiple Technological Education Courses
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