Co-Creating Learning Targets with Your Students

In VEX CTE Courses, students are instructed to co-create learning targets with their teachers in the Introduction to each Unit. This is an essential first step in successful implementation of the Unit. The learning targets you create with your students will not only provide focus for both teachers and students throughout the Unit, but also an accurate and shared understanding of student progress as well, including in the Debrief Conversation.

This article will outline a process for creating learning targets with your students, and provide suggestions for making this easy in your classroom. Throughout the article, Unit 1 of the Introduction to the 6-Axis Arm CTE Course will be used to illustrate this process.

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Steps for Co-Creating Learning Targets with your Students

• Establish a shared goal based on the video and text on the Introduction page of the Unit: Each Unit in a CTE course begins with a video that foregrounds the skills and understandings that will be addressed in the Unit. In order for students to engage in the successful creation of learning targets, they should watch the video, and read the text in the "Co-Create Learning Targets" section of the page. This section describes what they will do throughout the Unit, including in the Putting it All Together Activity at the end of the Unit.

  • Students should use this information to consider what they will need to know and learn in order to complete the Putting it All Together Activity.
• Determine the essential knowledge students need in order to be successful in the Putting It All Together Activity: Have a discussion with students about the knowledge and skills they will need to complete the Putting it All Together Activity at the end of the Unit.
  
  • Frame the conversation with a question, for example, “What will you need to learn and do during the Putting it All Together Activity in order to complete it?
  • As you facilitate this discussion, keep the various skills and understandings students will need for the Unit in mind, and guide students towards them when necessary. It is important to co-create learning targets that address not only industrial robotics and computer science skills, but also those essential to successful group collaboration.  Beginning in the Capstone Challenge of the Introduction to the 6-Axis Arm course, understandings related to using the engineering design process, such as iteration, collaboration, and learning from failure should also be included.
  • Keep a list of the skills and understandings you generate with the students on the board or elsewhere for students to see during this process. For example, at the end of the discussion for Unit 1, you may end up with a list that looks something like this:
    
    • • Identify the 6 axes on the 6-Axis Arm.
      • Connect the 6-Axis Arm to a device.
      • Describe the movement of the 6-Axis Arm along the x, y, and z-axes.
      • Gather x, y, and z-coordinates using the Teach Pendant.
      • Use my engineering notebook to record the x, y, and z-coordinates of a specific position.
      • Organize our group's work so we complete the activity collaboratively.
• Co-create learning targets based on the fundamental unit understandings: For each fundamental unit understanding, one or more learning targets can be created.
  
  • It may help to establish a form for learning targets, such as: "I can /learning verb/ object." For example, “I can use the Teach Pendant to gather x, y, and z-coordinates.” Help students to create learning targets based on the list of understandings you generated together for each of the four following domains:
    
    • • Knowledge - What do I need to know and understand in order to be successful in the Unit?
        • Example: "I can identify the 6-Axes on the 6-Axis Arm."
      • Reasoning - What can I do with what I know and understand in order to be successful in the Unit? 
        • Example: "I can describe how the 6-Axis Arm moves along the x-axis." 
      • Skills -What can I demonstrate to show I understand the concepts and skills needed to be successful in the Unit?
        • Example: "I can connect the 6-Axis Arm to my computer." 
      • Products - What can I record in my engineering notebook to demonstrate and expand my knowledge about the concepts and skills needed to be successful in the Unit?
        
        • Example: "I can record the x, y, and z-coordinates of a location in my engineering notebook." 
  • This example template, can be used as a starting point for co-creating learning targets with your students. It can be adapted to meet the specific needs of your students.
    
• Be sure students record the process of creating the learning targets and the agreed upon learning targets in their engineering notebooks to refer to throughout the Unit.

Helpful Suggestions: 

• When preparing to teach the Unit, brainstorm some example learning targets students may need in order to accomplish the goals of the Unit. Share these with students if they are having trouble getting started.
• Share and discuss learning verbs with your students, so that you all are on the same page with the depth of understanding that is signified by a learning target.
• Allow students to create and add their own personalized learning targets to those created with the class.

For additional information on the value of incorporating student self-assessment, see this article. For additional information on using co-created learning targets effectively during the Debrief Conversations, see this article.