Pedagogy
The importance of Success Criteria for improving student learning outcomes
Explicit instruction is critical for the success of all students in a classroom. It involves informing students about the concepts that they are learning about and why (learning intentions) as well as clearly articulating what they will be learning through scaffolded, student-friendly success criteria.
Success criteria act as a guide to how they can achieve the learning intentions presented in the classroom and inform them of what they will be doing. They enable students to be assessment capable learners which means students know exactly what they will be assessed on related to the learning intention.
Across all subject areas at St Paul’s College, we aim to provide the students with the best possible opportunities for success in their learning through the provision of success criteria. For example, in Maths, students will be learning to apply Pythagoras’ theorem so that they can find the distance between two points in real-life situations, such as determining the shortest path in a park or measuring the height of a ladder needed to reach a certain height. This is the Learning Intention. To achieve this learning intention, they will need to be able to complete the following success criteria:
- Identify right-angled triangles in real-life scenarios, such as parks or building structures.
- Describe the relationship between the sides of a right-angled triangle and Pythagoras’ theorem.
- Calculate the length of the hypotenuse or a missing side using Pythagoras’ theorem.
- Apply Pythagoras’ theorem to determine the shortest distance between two points in practical situations.
- Explain how Pythagoras’ theorem can be used to solve problems involving heights and distances, such as the height of a ladder or the shortest path in a park.
When studying for assessments, it is important that students refer to the learning intention and study the success criteria. If they do this, they will increase their chance of success.
Perhaps you could have a conversation with your child about the success criteria they achieved in their lessons today or remind them, when topic tests, examinations or other assessments are approaching, to study the relevant success criteria.
Ms Maria Littlejohn - Leader of Pedagogy