Have You Ever Used a Learner Whiteboard?

In yesterday’s column, I described The Game Plan as a way to organize your learning. But The Game Plan is a long and rather unwieldy document, so we need to streamline the weekly learning process a bit. The Learner Whiteboard and Learner Whiteboard Part 2 are better ways to organize your learning goals over the span of seven days or so.

The Learner Whiteboard asks you to identify and list seven learning goals from your Game Plan. Three are learner character goals, which are referred to as learner context goals in The Game Plan. The other goals are for reading, writing, oral communication, math, science, and social studies. If you think nine goals are too much to work on at first, then pick out a few that interest you and build capacity over the next few weeks.

For each goal identified, make sure you answer the following directions for each step in the learning process:

Define – Try to specify your learning goal by using the SMART acronym. Learning goals should be strategic, measurable, attainable, results-oriented, and time-bound. In other words, learning goals should be important to you or someone else important to you, something you can measure, something you can attain, something that focuses on a result that matters, and something limited by time.

Plan – Try to be as specific as you can be when you write out your plan for meeting your goal. What types of assistance will I need to meet this goal? What types of resources will I need to meet this goal? What type of timeline do I need to establish to meet this goal?

Execute – Make sure you are checking in with yourself (or your coach if you have one) to make sure you are following the plan you put together to meet this goal. Check-ins should happen daily, with a longer conference occurring every week or so.

Assess – When do you know you have met a goal? What does that look like to you? Are others involved in providing feedback to you regarding whether you met or did not meet a goal?

If you end up meeting one of your goals, congratulations! Make a point to celebrate the occasion of meeting learning goals. Once the party is over, make sure to follow the path of defining, planning, executing, and assessing another learning goal, maybe in a different learning area.

Be careful not to avoid certain learning areas like math or science. All of us tend to migrate to learning areas we like most and stray away from those that are most challenging. A great learning plan depends on a Learner Whiteboard that provides balance when it comes to learning assignments. A balanced learner is a happy learner.

You can even use the dial space on the front of The Learner Whiteboard to monitor your learning progress using a visual aid, comparing where the arrow moves on the dial based on the learner confidence gained.

Now is the time for all of you to try a new system of learning. Let’s see if you can begin organizing and owning your learning by using The Scouting Report, The Game Plan, and The Learner Whiteboard. Once you become comfortable with monitoring your own learning, think about sharing the process with a friend. You could even offer to be their coach!

Tomorrow is the Friday News Roundup! I can’t wait.

Til tomorrow. SVB