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I talk about 21st century skills and information literacy with public librarians a lot, and try to emphasize how important they are to education and that libraries should play more of a role supporting them. Now I have a specific standard to refer to. It's always nice to have something official to refer to.

This is where I struggle with designing online learning. I don't know enough about tools to create good interaction between the students and content. An additional hurdle for me is that I'm working with adult learners, many of whom are not comfortable with technology. So in addition to providing as much interactivity as possible, I need tools that are relatively easy to understand and use.

It makes such perfect sense to be doing this, and I'm not sure how much it is actually done. Just like in our class here, we want to know what we are expected to pick up from this and appreciate having the opportunity to self-assess our learning in a format where we can get instant feedback to see if we understand.

Clair, To be honest, in my experience out in the schools as an AEA Literacy Consultant, it is being done very little. No matter how many times I include this in professional development trainings over things like effective instruction, iowa core, etc., there are truly only a handful of teachers that share their learning goals with the students. Many of them write the goals out in their lesson plans, but never get around to telling the people who really need the information.

I have done something pretty unique I think in my classroom. I (and several student volunteers) have spent a lot of time over the last couple years writing out each unit's learning objectives on posters that I laminate and hang on the wall in my classroom for every unit in every class. I made little, cute colored checkmarks that I also laminated and cut out. As we progress through the unit, I checkmark the learning objectives we have covered in class, so students can see very easily what we have done and what is left to cover. And above my posters, is another poster that says exactly what is written here: "Where amd I going? Where am I now? How can I close the gap?" I remember reading this quote during PD on FA, but now I know where it came from! :) It has taken a lot of time to make the posters and takes time to change them, put checkmarks on/off, etc, but I really like that it is a focal point in my room and is very unique. Students should know exactly what they are learning and use the questions above to self-assess as we go through our units.

That is a great idea! I am curious, have you found that your students are using the posters? Are they self-assessing? Are they taking ownership in their learning?

Being able to give good constructive feedback is a skill that goes way beyond the classroom. It will serve students well later in life as they interact with co-workers, friends and eventually, their own children.

This is where teachers get to use their covert,'sneaky' skills. They have to figure out how to get the information necessary to assess where the students are while appearing to go about their usual daily business. You have to be able to track that info too, which can be hard if you are collecting data on the sly.

I think sometimes that misinformation takes the form of not understanding how the student is thinking, or misunderstanding the skill.

You have to be sure you are testing what you think you are testing.  So identifying the learning target for each question is key.

Agreed- while it may be easy to say having clear learning targets is just "more on my plate", my answer is that it is "stacking the plates" so they are easier to carry!

I like that analogy - "stacking the plates."

This is a pet peeve of mine. We need to be clear and direct in defining our learning goals. We need to ask questions using vocabulary that is appropriate to the age and skill of the students.

If we don't put the target in student friendly language it is meaningless.  

This key no matter what the age of the student.  If it's not a safe environment, no one will take the risk to put themselves out there.  It is important that honesty, kindness and respect are the standard.

This has to be done with care. It can a great way to clarify expectations, and establish goals, but you must be careful that a student doesn't use it to limit their effort.  In other words, in order to do just enough to get the grade, but not to grow.

The advantage of a portfolio is that creates a bigger picture of how the student is doing, since it is work collected over time.  It's a great way to prompt dialogue and feedback between the student, teacher, and fellow students it may be shared with.

Not only does it need to be modeled, but students need multiple opportunities to practice the self and peer assessment beginning early and throughout the class. 

To be honest, I'm a little hesitant when it comes to peer grading.  It must be carefully implemented so as to avoid any type of bullying situations, and to avoid anyone feeling that they are the outsider.  It must be a safe environment.

Practice makes perfect.

In fact, it works better if it is not about self-grading.  Then perhaps they will not feel as conflicted and concerned about the teacher expectations.