Today, I facilitated a Visible Learning workshop with Choice Charter School new staff alongside Thom Markham, PhD.
I wrote about how I would do it here:
How to Make Student Learning Visible: A Practical Guide for Teachers
I thought I would share a workshop I am creating for Choice Charter School.
We started with one wicked question:
How can we see enough student thinking to trust that learning has happened?
We used See-Think-Wonder from Harvard Project Zero:
What do you see?
What do you think?
What do you wonder?
One teacher asked, “Are we actually doing visible learning right now?”
I was hoping they would see. ‘Yes’, I answered proudly.
The staff shared observations, first ideas, questions, and connections to their own classrooms.
Milestone 1: Define visible learning
Staff completed:
Visible learning is…
Michelle wrote:
“Visible learning is a visual representation of a scholar’s shift in understanding.”
Robin wrote:
“Visible learning is when students define the problem before beginning to solve it.”
Thom added:
“Defining the problem is the beginning of project-based learning. Making the problem front and centre, having students define the problem, is key to good projects.”
Ben wrote:
“Observable evidence that scholars actually understand.”
The group defined visible learning through student questions, choices, tests, feedback, revisions, and explanations.
Milestone 2: Redesign an ordinary task
Staff used this question:
What would we need to see, hear, or read from a student to trust that they have learned?
I suggested four stages:
Start
Think
Improve
Explain
The task:
Design a sock that represents Choice Charter School.
Laura added:
“Think about their learning style. It might look different to each learner.”
Robin suggested student-generated inquiry:
“What do you know about your school? Maybe have them generate the questions, maybe the history of the school, maybe I could generate them to help them get the answers.”
Michelle clarified the brief:
“Ask students to design a sock that represents Choice Charter School.”
Ben described an individual-and-group structure:
“If everyone has their own thoughts and as a group we merge the ideas together, then everyone has their own ideas of what the school represents to them and we see their own work.”
A possible sequence:
Students write their own questions and early ideas.
Students research one part of the school’s history, identity, or community.
Students share ideas with a group.
Students create a first sock design.
Students collect feedback.
Students revise the design.
Students explain their final choices.
Milestone 3: Draft visible-learning commitments
Staff suggested that Choice students should be able to:
Follow a learning process that includes tasks and exit tickets.
Consider peer feedback and explain whether they used it.
Defend a response and repeat the reasoning behind it.
Show ideas through words, drawings, or discussion.
Track how an idea changes.
Choose what to research and how to show an answer.
Divide group work clearly.
Show their own contribution to a group task.
Students can explain orally, draw, use symbols, write, create, or contribute to discussion. The evidence does not need to look the same for every student.
A note from Thom
Thom reminded the group that teachers cannot see inside another person’s mind.
Teachers can collect evidence from:
Questions
Representations
Decisions
Revision
Explanations
Collaboration
AI makes this work more urgent. A polished final product cannot show the whole learning process.
In a group task, each learner needs a chance to show what they understand, what they contributed, and what changed in their thinking.
Some sentence starters that helped steer this workshop.
Visible learning is when students…
We know learning has happened when we can see, hear, or read…
A finished product alone does not always show…
Students make their thinking visible by…
Teachers need evidence of…
In a group task, each student should be able to show…
AI can help create work, so we also need to see…
Phil