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Learning Orientation

Emphasize learning and understanding and de-emphasize grades, competition, and social comparison

Learning Orientation NGSS P6S1

Demonstrate a commitment to the process of sense-making in relation to explanations by:

  • Asking open-ended questions and asking students to support their claims with evidence using the language of science (see talk moves)
  • Providing tools/scaffolds/structures to support sense-making (e.g., consistent tools for helping students construct and evaluate Claim-Evidence-Reasoning statements across units).[1] Scaffolds should give general guidance (e.g., “You should explain why the phenomenon occurred”) as well as guidance specific to the explanation they are currently working on (e.g., “You should explain why the salt and ice mixture was able to freeze pure water.”); be detailed enough to help students but not so detailed that students ignore the help; and should fade over time
  • Modeling sense-making during more teacher-led demonstrations or presentations of information to develop a greater understanding of a phenomenon (e.g., think-alouds while explaining how a variable or variables relate to another variable or a set of variables, describing how to judge the appropriateness of the claim, evidence, and/or reasoning and how to articulate reasoning for making this judgment)
  • Actively communicating the value and scientific authenticity of revising explanations and providing opportunities for students to revise their explanations based on new evidence and more developed understanding of phenomena
  • 1
    McNeill, K., & Krajcik, J. (2011). Supporting Grade 5-8 Students in Constructing Explanations in Science: The Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning Framework for Talk and Writing (1st ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Resource Information

Learning Orientation Principles

The strategy above is aligned to the principles in bold.

Emphasize student reasoning, sensemaking, and developing a deep understanding as the goal of activities, rather than producing the right answer or complying with instructions
  • Use assignments that are meaningful, challenging, and require students to take personal responsibility to engage at a deeper conceptual level with the material; provide students with ample time to do this work
  • Press students for evidence and reasoning to demonstrate the importance of making sense of phenomena and/or solving design problems, rather than simply producing the correct answer
  • Provide multiple ways to complete assignments and/or allow for flexibility in approaches to solving problems
  • De-emphasize the negative consequence of mistakes by framing mistakes as part of the learning process that helps students improve their skills
Use evaluation and feedback practices that focus on deeper content understanding/reasoning and students' effort and strategy use over normative comparisons and ability/intelligence
  • Design assessments to evaluate students’ three-dimensional learning with a focus on reasoning, making sense of phenomena and/or solving design problems, and deep conceptual knowledge rather than superficial knowledge
  • Use rubrics and descriptive criteria for assessments rather than policies such as grading on a curve to focus the assessment on students’ understanding rather than on their relative standing among peers
  • Provide positive and constructive feedback to students that emphasizes that success and failure are related to one’s effort and strategy use, which can be changed
  • Provide opportunities for students to revise work or submit multiple drafts
  • Communicate that all students have valuable contributions by calling on a variety of students in a supportive way during class discussions or activities
  • Encourage students to focus on their own effort, growth, and learning as opposed to comparing themselves to their peers
  • Avoid tasks that encourage competition among students (to solve a problem first, to earn the highest grades, etc.) and practices like posting student grades publicly
  • Design group work that requires multiple perspectives/roles to promote peer collaboration focused on learning rather than performing
Model the commitment to learning and growth that you want your students to exhibit
  • Approach course content, lesson activities, and your own learning with a positive attitude and a willingness to take risks (i.e., doing something outside of your comfort zone)
  • Identify and model the use of effective learning strategies when encountering challenging tasks or making mistakes