Today’s Topic: A Burning Question
More posts with Margaret Simon here
Who is learning and how do we know?
Are the students learning?
How do we know?
What can they tell / show us about what they can do NOW that they could not do before instruction?
Is the learning important enough that the student will use “this” the rest of his/her life (beyond school)?
Am I learning?
How do you know?
You can search my blog for the following topics and see my learning:
TCRWP
NCTE
ILA
Shouldn’t our learning be public?
Shouldn’t we have multiple pieces of evidence about our learning?
(Hint: It does not have to be a number.)
How are you sharing your learning?
What is your “Burning Question”?
Learning a new device has kept this post brief, but I conquered “Where do downloads go on a chromebook?”, inserted a picture, and posted it all with this new chromebook!
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Deb, Kathleen, Lanny, Lisa, Melanie, and Stacey for this weekly forum and the #SOLSC that runs from March 1 to the 31st. Check out the writers, readers and teachers here.
Resource - Full 
Like the questions you pose, Fran. Hopefully we are all still learning, lifelong learners. And what good is learning if not shared with someone? What purpose does it serve? Is learning for a test learning? Not in my opinion. Questions lead to more questions and learning takes place in finding answers.
I am so opposed to “learning for a test learning” but some days I feel like I am in the minority!
And I LOVE that “learning takes place in finding answers.” You are so WISE! Thanks!
Love this burning question that led you into a series of related critical questions. How do we know kids are learning? How do we know we are learning? Should learning be made public and, if so, how? You have me thinking now!
Elisa,
Once I started down the “question path” I couldn’t stop. So much to consider!
Thanks for reading and commenting!
Such an important and hard question. We should ask ourselves every day what learning is and how do we know. This question drives instruction and assessment. When we blog, we reflect on our learning and make it public. Something about that transforms the learning into something new.
Margaret,
And it’s such a different question than “achievement” with all it’s numbers, percentiles, and / or stanines. Feels so much “closer” and “more responsive” to the students (IMO)!
I’ve enjoyed everyone’s who’s answering Margaret’s question. If you put them all together, they are connected, aren’t they? They eschew numbers, ask what’s next, how do we know, will it continue without me? It would be great if you all would collaborate to share in a journal article or presentation.
Oh, Linda! Our work does probably fit together because we do think alike in spite of our different roles and locations. Thanks for that “push” to collaborate together!
Yes, I know you think alike, in the best way! It would be a wonderful article.