Andrea Hillbrick 2011

Learning Intentions and Success Criteria – Nutshell Statements

‘If learners are to take more responsibility for their own learning, then they need to know what they

are going to learn, how they will recognise when they have succeeded and why they should learn it

in the first place.’

- (An Intro to AfL, Learning Unlimited, 2004)

Learning Intentions:

o Displayed in your classroom and can be written by the teacher in advance.

o Learning intentions are also recorded in your planning.

o Need to be clear and make sense to your students.

o Use ‘child- speak’ to make your learning intention effective.

o The learning intention relates to the main part of your lesson.

o The task has to match the learning intention.

o Begin with the task instructions and ‘hook in’ your students at the beginning of your

lesson– what you want your students to do.

o Then share the learning intention – what you want your students to learn.

o The students read the intention aloud.

o Revisit the learning intention throughout the lesson.

Success Criteria:

o Success criteria are used as the basis for feedback and peer-/self-assessment.

o The students need to know the criteria you are using to judge their work. What we are

looking for is? How will we know?

o After sharing the task and learning intention create the success criteria with your

students. How will we know we’ve achieved this?

o Write the success criteria with your students and display in your classroom.

o The students read the success criteria aloud.

o If different groups of students have different success criteria display the criteria where

they are working.

o Record the success criteria on your ‘cross check’ and begin to note your teacher

observations.

Aside:

o You tell the students the reason why they learning the skill/understandings.

o This is spoken and not displayed.

o Explain how the task/learning fits into the ‘big picture’.

o Make links to the world beyond the classroom.

We have spent much time writing about making learning intentions and success criteria

explicit, and have seen many classes and schools transform with these simple but powerful

ideas.

(Clarke, Timperley, &Hattie, 2003).

Reference: Unlocking Formative Assessment: Practical Strategies for enhancing Student Learning in the Primary

Classroom By Shirley Clarke