Learning Progressions

What are learning progressions?

Learning progressions are the break down of a core competency into achievable pieces that can be sequentially worked on to eventually accomplish the goal.

Attribution: conveyor belt by Ben Davis from the Noun Project
https://thenounproject.com/search/?q=conveyor+belt&i=906266

The first thing that popped into my mind when reading about learning progressions was conveyor belts. I felt that this was a metaphor for learning progressions. In my own mind, a conveyor belt has small boxes moving along the belt, where the boxes represent the compartmentalized pieces of information that the kids must learn. Then as the learning goes on the conveyor belt moves along bringing the new boxes or learning progression. Then I think of the teacher and the educational assistants as the people stationed at the conveyor belt that watch and adapt in order to keep the boxes on track.  In addition, the speed in which the belt is moving is individualized to their pace. I also feel that this linear path and scaffolding of the curriculum represented as conveyor belt is that it is a linear path.

Why are learning progressions important?

They allow teachers to assess a student’s development and give a suggestion for the next steps in their learning. During this assessment, teachers figure out where the child is a zone of proximal development. This zone where we are assessing what a student is capable of, where they are now, and how can I as a teacher get them to their potential. The learning progressions also outline how a teacher can scaffold the learning progressions and start adding layers of complexity. I also think that having a good grasp on the progressions, allows the teacher to quickly adapt to the students present. You may need to go back a few steps with one child, and another skip forward.

What did you learn from today’s learning activity? 

In our class, we had the task of trying to create the learning progressions that contribute to a skill and what ones come after. My group examined what goes into the learning progressions of reading in grades K-9.

Based on our activity I learned that it takes a lot of knowledge about a subject area and familiarity with the curriculum in order to break down the learning progressions. But, on top of just knowing the content, you really must know students and how learning works. I think when making this progression, it may make sense on paper, but when you try and apply it to the classroom it may not work in the same way- or you find that there is too big of a gap between the learning progressions.

Also, what we found when we were listing out our interpretation of the learning progressions. What we noticed is that the progressions looked very traditional way of learning. Furthermore, our group noted that we have to actively plan activities based on these progressions that incorporate innovative teaching techniques and activities.