Can we talk about this whole "changing the learning objective on the board every day" thing?

We know this is a sham that just makes evaluators happy but doesn't help learning, right?

Kids can't keep track of what they are learning if they feel like it changes every day.

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I'm not saying that it isn't important to help students clearly understand what they are learning. It is absolutely crucial. Kids need to be clear on that.

But this is why the whole daily lesson objective changing thing irks me. We don't teach students isolated snapshots.

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If we really want students to be clear on the learning objective and actually make that an active process involving metacognition, formative assessment, etc., we have to keep a consistent focus on the essential learning, not constantly change it.

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Here's my alternative: each student gets their own mini portfolio. There are areas for the essential learning, and underneath, each student reflects on how well they understand that concept. They revisit it, they track growth on it, they record what they're learning.

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Need an idea for what this could look like? Here's what my portfolios look like for my students.

Whatever you do, stop with the lesson objective whiplash.

Clarity and telling are two different things.

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