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The Organized Chaos In The PYP Classroom

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SOLO stands for the Structure of Observed Learning Outcomes. SOLO taxonomy provides a framework that helps both educators and students understand their levels of thinking and learning, beginning with simple knowledge and skills acquisition and advancing to the ability to transfer understanding to different contexts.

In this post, we will explore ways educators can use SOLO taxonomy to align teaching, learning and assessment to empower students to become assessment-capable.

Levels of SOLO taxonomy

Why SOLO taxonomy?

Phases of learning (Frey, Hattie and Fisher)

Connecting SOLO levels with the phases of learning

Theory to Practice: how can educators use SOLO taxonomy to plan, teach and assess (teacher assessment, student self-assessment and feedback)

Use this link to download the templates (Rubric and Self-Assessment):

SOLO Taxonomy Levels

SOLO Taxonomy provides a simple way of describing how learning outcomes grow in complexity from surface to deep to conceptual understanding to learning transfer (Biggs and Collis 1982). It describes five levels of understanding for students who are encountering new learning ...

Why SOLO Taxonomy?

Align Teaching, Learning, and Assessment:
The gradual progression from knowledge to understanding to transfer within the SOLO levels allows teachers to align their lesson plans with learning outcomes and assessment effectively, positively impacting student learning.

Depth of Learning:
SOLO taxonomy emphasizes helping students deepen their understanding step-by-step, from acquiring knowledge to making connections and ultimately applying their knowledge in new contexts.

Scaffolding Instruction:
By assessing the depth of student understanding, educators can tailor their instruction to meet diverse learning needs more effectively.

Understanding the SOLO levels and their representations helps students realistically assess their learning and set appropriate goals.

Align Teaching, Learning and Assessment

Phases of Learning

The SOLO taxonomy is a powerful framework because it allows you to align your lesson plans with both assessments and the learning outcomes/standards. It's important for educators to remember that we design learning experiences that help students develop their knowledge, skills, and understanding. When working with a prescribed curriculum, we need to check how flexible it is and possibly rethink the learning outcomes to make sure our students can smoothly advance through the different SOLO levels and learning phases.

Frey, Fisher, and Hattie describe three phases of learning: surface, deep, and transfer. Let's explore each phase and see how they align with the SOLO levels to create effective learning outcomes.
What?

Is NOT superficial learning.

Exposing students to important and relevant skills, knowledge, concepts and strategies.

Why?
Builds a foundation that allows students to think deeper in the next learning phase.
What?

Involves understanding the meaning and significance of information.

Can only be accomplished when students acquire pre-requisite knowledge, skills and strategies.

It takes more instructional time.

Why?

Apply and extend their surface learning to support deeper conceptual understanding.

Develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

What?

Apply knowledge, skills and understanding in a new context, could be a familiar context (near transfer) or less familiar, across subjects (far transfer)

See the connections between their learning and real life context.

Reflect on their learning.

Examples of Progression From Surface to Transfer Learning

Language Arts: Story Elements

Surface: Students learn about story elements like setting, characters, and plot through straightforward definitions.

Deep: Students analyze a given story to identify and discuss its various elements and how they interplay.

Transfer: Students are given a setting and a character to create their own story plot incorporating those elements.
Science: Water Cycle
Surface: Students learn about the states of water and how changes to the states occur through experiments and readings.

Deep: Students examine the states of water as they investigate the water cycle.

Transfer: Students assess the impact of climate change on the availability of water.

Connecting SOLO Levels with Learning Phases

When developing learning outcomes, start by supporting students as they identify their prior knowled ge. It's essential to help students understand what they know before they begin new learning.

Unistructural and Multistructural Levels:
At these levels, focus on building surface knowledge. Help students acquire knowledge, skills, and an understanding of main concepts, preparing them for deep conceptual understanding. Design learning experiences that develop their knowledge using these verbs:

Unistructural: List, Identify, Find, Label, Match.
Multistructural: Describe, Classify, Illustrate, Define.

Relational Level:

At this level, students use thinking skills to organize their learning and make connections between concepts, creating deep conceptual understandings. Similar to the deep learning phase, students need to use the knowledge and skills acquired to build deeper connections. The development of critical thinking skills at this phase is critical for students in order for them to be able to make those deeper connections. Design learning experiences that encourage students to:

Relational: Analyze, Compare, Contrast, Make connections.

Extended Abstract Level:

Here, students test their understanding in familiar and unfamiliar contexts, similar to the transfer learning phase. Design learning experiences that encourage students to:

Extended Abstract: Hypothesize, Predict, Reflect, Create, Invent, Solve.

Theory to Practice: How Can Educators Use SOLO Taxonomy to Plan, Teach, and Assess Learning?
Create Learning Outcomes Aligned with SOLO Levels
Design learning outcomes that correspond with the different SOLO levels to guide students clearly from surface to transfer learning.
Develop a Rubric to Set Expectations
Construct a rubric that clearly outlines your expectations for students at each SOLO level for each learning outcome. This will clarify what success looks like at every stage.
Assess Students' Prior Knowledge
Evaluate your students' existing knowledge and understanding to determine their starting level within the SOLO framework. Use this assessment to adjust your lesson plans and instructional strategies, ensuring they are appropriately challenging.
Align Your Lessons with SOLO Levels
Ensure that your lesson plans are aligned with SOLO levels, facilitating a smooth transition for students from one level to the next. This alignment helps maintain a coherent and progressive learning experience.
Use HOT SOLO Maps
In their book "SOLO Taxonomy: Guide for Schools," Pam Hook and Julie Mills share a few maps to use for

Bringing in ideas - Uni and Multi-structural levels

Connecting ideas - Relational learning level

Looking at connecting ideas in new ways - Extended Abstract level

Introduce SOLO Levels to Students
It is important for the students to understand the different SOLO levels and to use them for self-assessment. Using the SOLO level symbols and age-appropriate language can be very helpful. For example:

It's important for us, educators, to recognize that students' understanding of the SOLO levels should continually develop. This understanding evolves not only as they mature but also as they encounter different subjects. Pam Hook's book, A Children's Guide to SOLO Taxonomy, illustrates the SOLO levels through a story about a child learning to bake scones, offering an easy introduction to these concepts. However, I've found it equally important to demonstrate how the SOLO levels apply across various subjects. Exposing students to the application of SOLO levels in different subject areas helps them see the relevance and adapt these strategies to different contexts.
Co-construct Success Criteria with Students
Engage students in developing success criteria by examining exemplars. This collaborative process helps students understand quality work and sets clear expectations.
Encourage Self-Assessment with a Simplified SOLO Rubric
Provide students with an age-appropriate version of the SOLO rubric to encourage regular self-assessment. This practice empowers them to take ownership of their learning and understand their development through the SOLO levels.
Ensure Ongoing Assessment and Targeted Feedback:
Continuously assess students to monitor their understanding and progress through the SOLO levels. Provide feedback that is specific, actionable, and directly linked to the success criteria and the rubrics you've shared. This approach helps students clearly identify their next steps and understand how their work aligns with the expected learning outcomes. Feedback should be timely and expressed in a way that resonates with students, making it easier for them to understand and apply it effectively.

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Assessment Capable SOLO Taxonomy to Align Teaching, Learning and Assessment

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Discover how to use SOLO Taxonomy for effective teaching, learning, and assessment, and enhance student outcomes.

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The Organized Chaos In The PYP Classroom

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"Getting students to think, and to notice their own thinking, is vital if students are going to gain a sense of where they're going."
Frey, Hattie, and Fischer Developing Assessment-Capable Visible Learners
We often talk about differentiation and scaffolding as ways to tailor instruction to individual needs. But what if the goal was for both educators and students to become assessment-capable?

It's not just about teachers knowing where a student starts from; it's also about helping students make that realization. In this blog post, we'll explore how assessing prior knowledge can go beyond informing instructional decisions to empowering students to take charge of their own learning journey.

The Traditional Role of Assessing Prior Knowledge

You probably start your unit with some form of assessment to gauge what your students already know. This is a cornerstone in teaching; it helps you plan lessons that are appropriate for your students' level. That's what we call differentiated instruction. You match the learning experiences to the students' readiness level, ensuring everyone can access the curriculum.
Examples:

Pre-tests or quizzes to find out what students already know about the topic.

KWL charts where students list what they 'Know,' 'Want to know,' and eventually, what they 'Learned.'

Quick polls or show of hands to understand the familiarity of the class with the topic at hand.

The Shift from Teacher-Led to Student-Centered Assessment

While the first approach is foundational, there's a whole other level we can reach. What if we turned students into active players in this assessment game? When they actively engage in assessing their own prior knowledge, two important things happen.

First, they develop what we call " metacognition," or thinking about thinking. This skill is not just academic; it's a life skill. It helps students become assessment-capable by making them aware of their learning processes, thereby turning them into more independent and confident learners.

Second, it opens the door for them to make connections to their own experiences and previous learning. This isn't just about what's in the textbook; this is about applying their own real-world understanding to new concepts, and transfer learning. When a student says, "Oh, this is like when I learned about X in another subject or at the museum," that's a win.

Strategies for Involving Students in Assessing Prior Knowledge

What it is: Provocations are designed to stimulate thought, ignite curiosity, and start conversations. They can be questions, statements, or scenarios that challenge existing perspectives.

How it's used for prior knowledge assessment: A well-crafted provocation can bring out what students already know or think about a topic, providing teachers with insights to tailor the plans.

Examples:

Early Years: https://www.mlfmonde.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/ProvocationsStart-UpGuide-1.pdf
Lower Elementary: Show students a plant and an artificial flower. Ask, "Which one needs water?"
Upper Elementary: Share a picture of a pyramid and ask, "Why do you think people built these?"
Middle School: Start with a statement like, "The most important part of a story is the villain."

Visible Thinking Routines:

What it is: A set of practices to help students articulate and visualize their thinking processes and become more metacognitive. https://pz.harvard.edu/thinking-routines

How it's used for prior knowledge assessment: By asking students to make their thinking visible, teachers can get a snapshot of what students already know or wonder about a subject.

Examples:

Early Years: Use "See-Think-Wonder" with a story cover.

Lower Elementary: "Chalk Talk" about what they know about landforms.

Upper Elementary: "Think-Pair-Share" to discuss prior knowledge about fractions.

Middle School: "Claim-Support-Question" about the water cycle.

Simulation:
What it is: A practical, often hands-on, activity that mimics real-world scenarios.

How it's used for prior knowledge assessment: A simulation can quickly show how much students understand about a topic as they will draw on their prior knowledge to navigate the simulation.

Example: To assess students' knowledge about ecosystems, hand each child a card of different biotic and abiotic components like polar bears, ocean, lake, cactus, snakes, etc. Ask Students to form groups without any set criteria, however, they must give logical reasoning for their grouping. Encourage the students to reflect by discussing the most crucial factor in their ecosystem and why it's important.

Discussion :

What it is: An open conversation about a topic, often facilitated by the teacher. Discussions can be facilitated by asking a question, using a provocation, or starting a debate.

How it's used for prior knowledge assessment: Initiating a class discussion can quickly give you a sense of the vocabulary, concepts, or misconceptions that students have.
Concept Mapping:
What it is: Concept mapping is a visual tool that allows students to organize and represent their understanding of a particular topic or concept. It helps to uncover the relationships between ideas and can reveal gaps in knowledge.

How it's used for prior knowledge assessment: By asking students to create a concept map, you get to see their existing understanding of a topic, how they organize their thoughts, and what connections they're making. It can also help them if you provide a partially completed concept map and ask them to complete it. These maps can be referred to at the end of a unit for students to edit their initial thoughts or add to them.

As educators, our role is not just to convey knowledge but to cultivate thinkers who can navigate and connect the dots in their own learning. The strategies laid out here aren't just tools for you to assess your students' prior knowledge. They also empower your students to assess themselves, to think critically, and to own their learning. Make the shift from merely teaching to creating a classroom of assessment-capable learners.

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Prior knowledge assessment Assessment capable students Agency PYP

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The Organized Choas in the PYP Classroom

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If you're in the PYP world like me, you're probably familiar with the idea of encouraging our students to self-assess their learning. The Enhanced PYP, updated in 2018, nudged us to take it a step further by adding self-adjustment into the mix. In 'From Principles to Practice,' the IB outlines what makes an educator assessment-capable. By teaching our students how to self-adjust, we're helping them become assessment-capable learners themselves.

So what exactly is self-adjustment? And, more importantly, how can we set our students up to do it successfully?

What Is Self-Adjustment?

Let's start by breaking it down. is when students look back on what they've learned and measure their understanding. It's reflection, pure and simple.

goes a step beyond. It's not just looking back; it's also looking . Students not only identify their strengths and weaknesses but also make changes in real time to improve.

Why Is It Important?

Self-adjustment fosters independence and builds problem-solving skills. Instead of waiting for feedback, students are empowered to recognize their own mistakes and correct course as they go along. It empowers student agency as it gives them of their learning.

The Role of Success Criteria in Self-Adjustment

What is Success Criteria?

Before diving into the how-to, let's first understand what success criteria actually are. In simple terms, success criteria are specific, measurable, and clear goals that lay out what success looks like for a task or project. They're like the GPS for your students, showing them the way from "I'm not sure what to do" to "I totally nailed this!"

Here are some examples of success criteria:
Math - Early Years
Success Criteria:

I can count objects in a set, up to 10.

I can match the number of objects to the correct numeral.

I can use counting to solve simple problems, like '2 apples + 1 apple'.

Writing - Lower Elementary Success Criteria:

My sentence has a subject and a verb.

My sentence expresses a clear idea or action.

I can use descriptive words to add details.

Science - Upper Elementary Success Criteria:

I can identify the three states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas.

I can explain how temperature affects states of matter.

I can demonstrate the transition between at least two states of matter.

Why are success criteria so valuable in the classroom?
So, why bother with success criteria?

Well, for starters, they remove ambiguity. When we spell out what success looks like, students aren't left wondering what's expected of them. This saves time and energy that can be better spent on learning.

Secondly, success criteria provide a self-check tool that students can use independently. Knowing the criteria lets students be their own judges, spotting mistakes and fixing them. This promotes self-adjustment and takes some of the burden off the teacher for constant monitoring.

In a nutshell, success criteria make the learning goals crystal clear for students, which in turn, makes it easier for them to self-assess and self-adjust effectively.
This is how it looks in practice ... Math - Early Years
Task: Count objects in three different sets and then match those numbers to the corresponding numerals.

Self-Assessment: Place a card with the numeral next to each set. Step back and see if the numbers and sets align.

Self-Adjustment: If there are any mismatches, correct them by recounting the objects.

Learning Goal: Count up to 10 objects by myself and match them with the right number.
Writing
Task: Write a sentence describing what you did over the weekend.

Self-Assessment: Read your sentence out loud and use colored markers to underline the subject in blue, the verb in red, and the adjectives in green. Ask yourself, "Does it sound like a complete thought? Is it detailed?"

Self-Adjustment: Use descriptive words to add details to your sentence.

Learning Goal: I want to be able to use adjectives to add details to my sentence.
Science
Task: Conduct an experiment to demonstrate the transition between at least two states of matter.

Self-Assessment: Film the experiment and review the footage to see if you accurately demonstrated and explained the transitions between the states of matter.

Self-Adjustment: Use your notes to edit or add to the sections of your presentation that were not clear or missed a point.

Learning Goal: I want to accurately explain how temperature changes cause matter to transition between states.

Your Roadmap to Promote Self-Adjustment in the Classroom

So, you've read about the 'why' and the 'what' of self-adjustment and success criteria. Now, let's get down to the 'how.' Here's your roadmap for implementing these key components in your classroom.

Follow these steps to guide your students towards becoming more self-adjusting, empowered learners.

1. Identify the Learning Objectives: Before anything else, you need to be clear about what you want the students to learn. What's the bigger picture?

2. Develop Success Criteria: Translate these objectives into student-friendly language. Remember, they're supposed to be the GPS guiding the kids, so make them clear and specific.

3. Share and Discuss: Don't just hand out a list. Discuss the success criteria with your class. Make sure everyone understands what they mean and why they're important.

4. Create Tasks that Align: Design your classroom tasks and assessments so they directly relate to the success criteria. This ensures a smooth road for the kids to follow.

5. Embed Self-Assessment: After tasks are completed, allow time for students to self-assess. Use a variety of methods - written reflections, peer discussions, or simple checklists.

6. Prompt Self-Adjustment: Encourage students to review their self-assessment and set new learning goals based on their observations. This can be done as a class, in small groups, or individually.

7. Monitor and Guide: Initially, you'll need to closely monitor how students are managing self-assessment and self-adjustment. Provide support, mini-lessons, or additional resources as needed.

8. Reflect and Adjust: Finally, take some time to reflect on how it's going. What's working? What's not? Adjust your approach and keep refining.

By following these steps, you're not just teaching your students the curriculum. You're teaching them how to learn, how to adapt, and how to pave their own way towards success.

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Navigating Self-Assessment and Self-Adjustment: A Teacher's Roadmap to Student Success

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If you're in the PYP world like me, you're probably familiar with the idea of encouraging our students to self-assess their learning. The Enhanced PYP, updated in 2018, nudged us to take it a step further by adding self-adjustment into the mix. In 'From Principles to Practice,' the IB outlines what makes an educator assessment-capable....

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The Organized Choas in the PYP Classroom

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Observations play a crucial role in the early years, offering insights into each child's unique development. Dive into this infographic to explore the 'why', 'what', and 'how' of observational assessments, and discover practical tools that can enhance your observation process.

Categories Tags Posted on Visuals assessment, Early Years, feedback, feedforward, IB, Play, PYP

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The Power Of Observations In The Early Years

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Observations play a crucial role in the early years, offering insights into each child's unique development. Dive into this infographic to explore the 'why', 'what', and 'how' of observational assessments, and discover practical tools that can enhance your observation process.

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How to make connections using SOLO Taxonomy HEXAGONS - HookED

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Reflections from the Toddle Recess Duty Takeover with Levi Allison

For the last two years, I have been working on developing assessment capability in my classroom. As a specialist teacher, I work with over 300 students and have spent this year trying to answer the guiding question, 'How can I assess 300 students across multiple grades effectively while supporting agency?'. I had a chance to sit down with Cindy Blackburn on my podcast, Recess Duty, and reflect on my progress towards this goal.

In this blog, I will share with you three ingredients that have helped me grow assessment capability:

identifying clear success criteria

encouraging self-regulation

modeling vulnerability

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Cindy, head over to my podcast, Recess Duty.

Identifying Clear Success Criteria

The first major change I made in my classroom was to become much clearer with success criteria. As guided inquiry educators, we should have a clear picture of what students should know, understand, and be able to do as a result of the learning. While we hold the primary responsibility of defining the scope of an inquiry and addressing our curriculum standards, there is immense value in sharing and unpacking what success looks like with students. I have made a few small but significant shifts that have had a profound impact on the learning in my classroom:

Lead with why:

The primary function of success criteria is to connect the class on why we are learning about music. In the early stages of our unit, we discuss the learning outcomes and share as a class why this learning is relevant in our lives.

Along with my students, I explored what it means to be a musician and why musicians are important in our lives. We dived into what it means to be artful and how we might use these skills in our everyday lives, as John Feiriband says, "to be artful, tuneful, and beat-ful". These three goals helped us ground the why behind studying music and we unpacked this together to develop personal whys. We then looked at how our standards, concepts, and engagements help support our whys.

From Linear to Circular:

Another major shift when designing success criteria was to change how we visualised it in the classroom- from a linear model to a circular model. With a linear approach, I often found students feeling ashamed of being "beginners." Therefore, a lot of our work this year has focused on building the confidence to recognise our own areas of growth. By shifting to a circular model, we have identified that all learners will eventually be beginners at something. I often share this learning cycle with my students and provide the central success criteria. As a class we discuss being a beginner or an expert in that skill looks like. Then, students place themselves on the circle and identify next steps.

Want to use this template with your students? Download it here.

Encouraging Self-regulation

Once we have clearly defined success criteria (the why) and brainstormed potential goals and milestones (how), the what is up to students! In the past, I felt the need to assign students work and manage their use of time. Now, I give increasing ownership to students of how they spend their time in pursuit of their goals. Students create their own learning plan for the day as they steadily work towards their goals, and my role shifts towards being both a facilitator and mentor. This shift has given me a significant amount of time to confer 1-on-1 with students and provide specific and timely feedback. This wouldn't have been possible in a specialist setting without the use of co-created stations. But I knew co-creating stations was just the beginning.

When I asked students what they enjoyed in music, most students said singing, a few said performing and some simply said they enjoyed listening to music as a way to relax, unwind, and study. After discussing what students enjoyed we started to draft activities that were available for students.

We then moved on to creating stations within music based on different songs. We had several songs based on difficulty and through discussion, we worked on identifying each student's 'just right' zone- a song that was neither too simple nor too hard but challenging enough to help them grow.

They took this challenge and flew! I am now constantly identifying new songs for them as they are eager to continue growing and challenging themselves musically. They may sing, perform, or simply analyse the musical patterns by listening, and they take ownership of how they share the various musical concepts.

Modelling Vulnerability

Admitting that we are growing can be scary! Asking for help from a peer requires an incredible amount of vulnerability and courage. Early on in the process of building assessment capability, I realised that I would need to develop a strong classroom culture to support this type of learning.

Modelling being a beginner:

To get students to become vulnerable, I had to show my own vulnerability and put my personal sticky note on the beginning side of our learning cycle and demonstrate that a beginner does not mean 'bad'. It just means you are starting your journey and that is ok. I knew I had to remove the stigma of being a beginner. I intentionally modelled using new technology platforms or trying new skills to show that everyone, including teachers, are learners.

Maslow before Bloom:

Although I see my students less frequently than their homeroom teachers, I wanted them to feel seen and cared for. One practice I have adopted is a daily digital check in. I use a google form and look for trends to identify how students are feeling and what times of year are full of excitement or challenges. I find ways to integrate SEL and emotional check-ins consistently so students know that not only do I care about their academic well-being but also about them as individuals.

A room full of teachers:

As a class, we practice the skill of asking for help and giving help. Whenever possible, I try to model this mindset. I try new tech tools or take risks in lessons to show that everyone in our classroom has something to learn and share. This gives my students the confidence to not only ask for help, but also gives them an opportunity to teach me and their peers.

It is important to create clear structures where we know what us acceptable as a learning community. I started my year with creating essential agreements around collaboration. We agreed as a community on what is helpful and not helpful. For example, "We agree to share our process and thinking but not the answer." I also explicitly share and model a few strategies to teach students how to teach. One way to do this is to get students practice explaining their thinking using drawings as a support tool.

My conclusions

When we empower our students to become assessment capable, we change our roles and relationships. Our classroom culture becomes one of trust, respect, and curiosity, and we create a space for connection and vulnerability. To me, this is what true success with assessment capability looks like.

I am not ashamed to say, that I am still a beginner! I have so much more to learn from and for my students. I plan to continue my journey by looking for even more ways to empower my student's ability to identify their areas of growth and to help support them with the next steps.

Thank you so much for joining me on my journey. I leave you with a few glimpses from my classroom so you can see my goal in action!

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Levi Allison is the PYP Music teacher at Chadwick International School in Korea. Having previously taught in Kuwait and China, he is originally from the United States calling Kansas his home. Levi holds a BSc in Music education and MSc's in both Administrative Leadership and Curriculum and Instruction. He is a visiting team member for WASC accreditation and a Google certified educator. He moderates the popular #PYPChat on Twitter, and hosts a podcast 'Recess Duty' that highlights educator stories from around the world.

Disclaimer - This resource has been produced independently of and not endorsed by the IB. Toddle's resources seek to encourage sharing of perspectives and innovative ideas for classroom teaching & learning. They are not intended to be replacements for official IB guides and publications. Views and opinions expressed by the authors of these resources are personal and should not be construed as official guidance by the IB. Please seek assistance from your school's IB coordinator and/or refer to official IB documents before implementing ideas and strategies shared within these resources in your classroom.

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3 Ingredients for Growing Assessment Capability

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Work on developing assessment capability in your classroom by using three key ingredients - identifying clear success criteria, encouraging self-regulation, and modeling vulnerability.

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Updated: Jul 8, 2021

The What, Why, and How of Sharing Clarity With Learners

Success criteria in a learning environment has to be clear both to educators and their students - but what is the definition of success criteria, why does it matter, and how do you implement it? We explore how best to co-construct success criteria.

Success criteria definition

"The worst learning scenario is to be unaware of expectations or how your work will be judged and to have no guidelines about how to achieve the objective in the first place." Shirley Clarke (2008, p. 81).

Have you ever been in those shoes? The shoes where you have no idea what is expected of you or how to be successful?

It's a pretty uncomfortable and even nerve-wracking position to be in as a learner. An eighth- grade student that was interviewed on this issue said, "I feel frustrated and confused. I don't want to do the work because I have no idea what I am supposed to do or what to even ask my teachers." When asked when he feels the most motivated in school he replied, "It's when I am going deeper and deeper in the learning, and I can show that I am actually learning."

This lack of clarity and desire to go deep in learning is where Co-Constructing Success Criteria comes into play as a powerful practice for moving learning forward. Simply defined it is the practice of working with students to develop a shared understanding of what success looks like (Almarode & Vandas, 2018, p. 75).

Why does co-construction matter so much?

It matters because it makes learning go faster. How many of us have been looking for a strategy or practice that accelerates learning?

Let's explore a few reasons why that is, along with some success criteria examples.

1. Co-constructing kick-starts a metacognitive process

Co-constructing success criteria allows for analysis of learning expectations, which sets off the metacognitive process for students.

Metacognition is essential, as it is the active monitoring of one's own learning. Co-constructing success criteria in education ignites this process because kids must think through learning expectations, review and analyze examples (high quality work that meets learning expectations), and plan for their next steps in learning. In doing so, it allows for self-appraisal of how close or far one is from the expectation.

2. The Metacognitive process enables better feedback

The metacognitive process then kicks off the feedback loop between learners, teachers, self, and peers. Wisniewski, Zierer, & Hattie (2020) define feedback in three capacities:

Feed-Up: Comparison of actual status with target status (determining expectations)

Feedback: Comparison of the actual status with previous status (determining progress toward the expectation)

Feed-Forward: Explanation of the target status based on the actual status (providing information to students about "Where to next" in their learning).

3. Feedback enables learners to meet their success criteria

When co-construction takes place, learners engage in "feed-up" in order to determine where they are currently in their learning compared to the expectation.

Once they have clarity about where they stand, they can then engage more deeply in "feedback" and "feed-forward."

4. Students engage more deeply in their learning

When co-construction takes place, learners engage in "feed-up" in order to determine where they are currently in their learning compared to the expectation.

Therefore, students are more engaged, more willing to do what it takes in the classroom, and even more willing to reinvest in future learning.

5. Students control their own learning

Finally, co-constructing success criteria in education allows students to have power over their learning, choose strategies that work best for them, ask for feedback and feed-forward when they're ready, and exert agency over their own learning.

Agency is the power to act ( Martin, 2018). How many times have we hoped our students would act, that they would take the opportunities given and run with it?

All of these reasons are compelling, and yet, we need to know how to Co-Construct Success Criteria with students. It's one thing to say it works and another to make it work.

How to co-construct success criteria (and when to do it)

As previously mentioned, Co-Constructing Success Criteria is about developing a shared understanding of what success looks like. To do so, students need models, examples, exemplars, and works-in-progress to think through and evaluate what makes quality work and how work can be improved.

By engaging in such conversations with students, it becomes clear to them what the Success Criteria are, what each criterion means, and what their work will need to include. It is, therefore, critical to ensure students are the ones doing the thinking as they engage in this practice.

Our job, as teachers, is to gather the necessary materials, be prepared to ask probing questions, and think through ways to continue to co-construct what success looks like over time.

Success criteria template

This is a simple success criteria template to think through when and how the practice can be used in the classroom.

Co-Constructing Success Criteria is a linchpin practice, as it encourages and allows for so many other high-impact strategies to grow in the classroom.

However, the question often raised is, "When is there time for this in my instruction?" When we think about the need for learners to do the thinking and doing in the classroom, rather than teachers, it becomes necessary that students have clarity about the learning expectations.

In addition, we often take the time to reteach, intervene, and remediate. What if, instead of using the time to reteach, we spent time Co-Constructing Success Criteria and found that we had much less need to reteach? It might sound too simple, but Co-Constructing Success Criteria presents itself as a powerful catalyst for learning and has been proven to speed up the learning process.

To be immersed in deep learning is an empowering experience, and Co-Construction of Success Criteria allows learners to move from being knee-deep in trying to determine expectations to being knee-deep in growing their brains.

Roll your pant legs up, dip your toe in, heck, jump in head first! The water is warm and the experience meaningful.
References:
Almarode, J. & Vandas, K. (2018). Clarity for learning: Five essential practices that empower students and teachers. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Bloomberg, P., Pitchford, B., & Vandas, K. (2019). Peer power: Unite, learn, prosper, activate an assessment revolution. San Diego, CA: Mimi & Todd Press.

Clarke, S. (2008). Active Learning through Formative Assessment. London, UK: Hodder Education.

Hattie, J. A. & Donoghue, G. M. (2016, August 10). Learning strategies: A synthesis and conceptual model. Nature/NPJ: Science of Learning. doi:10.1038/npjscilearn.2016.13

Katie Martin, 6 Questions that Promote Learner Agency. Posted on November 10, 2018 by Katie Martin

Spencer, J. What is Metacognition? August 10, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZrUWvfU6VU.

Wisniewski, B., Zierer, K., & Hattie, J. (2020, January). The power of feedback revisited: A meta-analysis of educational feedback research. Frontiers in Psychology. Volume 10, Article 3087. www.frontierin.org.

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How to Co-Construct Success Criteria in Education - The Core Collaborative

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Updated: Jul 8, 2021 The What, Why, and How of Sharing Clarity With Learners Success criteria in a learning environment has to be clear both to educators and their students - but what is the definition of success criteria, why does it matter, and how do you implement it?

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As Early Years Educators, we juggle many roles - spinning plates as we dart around the room, eyes everywhere while we keep one step ahead of the children in our spaces.

What if...we purposefully took the time to slow down, to wait, and to wonder?

Observation is a powerful tool at our disposal - one that shifts our role from teacher to that of a responder, a facilitator, an inquirer and a researcher. How can we wear these shoes as we walk the learning journey with the children in our care?

How to use this toolkit:

Read and reflect on what observation means to you, redefining the value you place on it

Discuss with your team and create shared vision and understanding of the power that observation holds for learning

Try new strategies and methods that enhance your observation superpowers!

Take action as you use your observations meaningfully to enhance learning and development for children in your learning space

Related resource:
Active Observation as an Early Years Tool
The all-in-one collaboration platform for educators.

Toddle streamlines planning, assessments, reports, projects, portfolios, and family communication - all from one place!

Book a free demo

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Active Observation in the Early Years - A Toolkit -

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Use active observation in the Early Years as a powerful tool to meaningfully enhance learning and development of children in your learning space.

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The Organized Chaos In The PYP Classroom

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From Feedback to Feed Forward in Education: Empowering Students for Ongoing Improvement

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Learn how shifting from traditional feedback to Feed Forward empowers students to take control of their learning. Discover strategies for clarifying success, conferring, and integrating feedback for continuous improvement in education.

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The Organized Chaos In The PYP Classroom

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Albert Einstein once said, "Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think." This notion resonates deeply in the IB PYP framework, where the focus shifts from simply delivering knowledge to fostering students' active participation in their learning. Assessment-capable learners, a concept emphasized by John Hattie and the IB, is at the core of empowering student agency and supporting students in developing their self-regulation skills.

Assessment-Capable Learners

According to Hattie, these learners are characterized by their ability to:

know their current level of understanding,

understand where they're going and have the confidence to take on the challenge,

select tools to guide their learning,

seek feedback and recognize that errors are opportunities to learn,

monitor progress and adjust their learning, and

recognize their learning and teach others.

(Frey, Hattie, & Fisher, 2018)

The IB extends this understanding by emphasizing that assessment-capable learners are able to reflect on their learning to make adjustments, identify their learning goals and take actions to move their learning forward. They demonstrate autonomy, resilience, and a growth mindset-characteristics of student agency and self-regulation​.

(IBO, 2019)

Why We Want Students to Become Self-Regulated Assessment-Capable Learners

For assessment to truly support learning, students must develop the ability to assess their own progress. They need to identify what success looks like, recognize when they've achieved it, and know when and where to seek help if they're struggling.

This goes beyond simply improving students' assessment skills; it's about fostering reflection and self-regulation. Students who can self-regulate know when and how to take action, rather than constantly relying on support from others. As John Hattie puts it, the goal is for students to "become their own teachers," confidently navigating their learning with independence and purpose.

Strategies to Develop Self-Regulated Assessment-Capable Learners

As educators, our role is guiding students toward becoming independent, reflective, and self-regulated learners. Here are key strategies teachers can use to support this process:

Work with students to co-create success criteria. Look at exemplars together and help them identify what makes them successful. This clarity gives students a roadmap to follow. More information about success criteria can be found here.

Provide actionable feedback during the learning process rather than waiting until the end. This allows students to act on the feedback, refine their work, and set meaningful learning goals for the future. Strategies to move from feedback to feed forward can be found here.

Self-Adjustment
Ensure self-assessment goes beyond evaluation. Support students in identifying their next steps so they can make progress without always waiting for someone to guide them.

Peer Feedback
Create opportunities for students to give and receive feedback from their peers. This helps them see different perspectives and deepens their own understanding. Here are some visible thinking routine to guide students as they offer feedback to each other.

When we help students develop self-regulation, we're equipping them with the skills they need to take ownership of their learning and their progress. It's not about doing the work for them but guiding them to reflect, adjust, and move forward with confidence.

To explore more strategies and resources for supporting assessment-capable learners, check out this Padlet.

https://padlet.com/sohaoak86/assessment-becoming-assessment-capable-bxjqo0lpib5w2f4f

Interested in taking your teaching practices to the next level? If you'd like to explore these ideas further or get personalized support, feel free to reach out and book a coaching call with me! Contact me on LinkedIn or use this link ( https://theorganizedchaosinthepypclassroom.wordpress.com/contact/)

References

Frey, N., Hattie, J., & Fisher, D. (2018). Developing assessment-capable visible learners, grades K-12: Maximizing skill, will, and thrill. Corwin Literacy.

International Baccalaureate Organization (IB, 2018). PYP: From Principles into Practice.

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Empowering Student Agency Through Assessment

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Albert Einstein's view on education emphasizes critical thinking over mere fact-learning, aligning with the IB PYP's focus on active student participation. Assessment-capable learners, as defined by John Hattie, demonstrate self-regulation, autonomy, and resilience. Educators play a crucial role in promoting strategies that foster these skills, empowering students to become independent, reflective learners.