{"id":8007,"date":"2019-02-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-02-25T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/blog\/cw_post\/how-data-notebooks-can-support-goal-setting-and-student-agency-in-elementary-school\/"},"modified":"2020-02-05T13:07:26","modified_gmt":"2020-02-05T18:07:26","slug":"how-data-notebooks-can-support-goal-setting-and-student-agency-in-elementary-school","status":"publish","type":"cw_post","link":"https:\/\/aurora-institute.org\/cw_post\/how-data-notebooks-can-support-goal-setting-and-student-agency-in-elementary-school\/","title":{"rendered":"How Data Notebooks Can Support Goal-Setting and Student Agency in Elementary School"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"This is the final article in a nine-part \u201cIn Real Life\u201d series based on the complex, fundamental questions that practitioners in competency-based systems grapple with \u201cin real life.\u201d Links to the other posts can be found at the end of this article.<\/em><\/p>\n

Goal-setting plays a big role in a personalized, competency-based learning environment: cultivating an awareness of why you\u2019re working on what you\u2019re working on, what\u2019s next and instilling a sense of ownership over your learning and in your classroom community.<\/p>\n

Even when you\u2019re six.<\/p>\n

At Batesburg-Leesville Primary School in Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina, students in first and second grade keep data notebooks to help them record their behavior, reading goals and progress. They track their growth each day and reference their data notebooks not only when they\u2019re working, but also as a means of reflecting on their week. The data notebooks make students\u2019 learning tangible to them.<\/p>\n

Cultivating an awareness of learning is critical for all students \u2013 especially those students who struggle. According to Michelle Maroney, a second-grade teacher, \u201cthat visible record changes a student\u2019s thinking. Before when we gave assessments, it was just taking a test. Now when they take an assessment they can see what it looks like from the last time to what it looks like today. They have that\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0visual,\u201d says Maroney. \u201cFor kids way behind grade level, they feel defeated a lot. But when they can see their growth, they move at a much higher rate.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Making Smart Choices at Any Age<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Having greater awareness of their progress can also help students make good choices that lead to character growth.<\/p>\n

Tyrese Holmes, a second grader, explains what it means to earn his \u2018Panther Paws\u2019 each day, which is the school\u2019s behavior initiative built around keeping their \u2018Panther Promises.\u2019 Students strive to earn five Panther Paws each day, and 25 each week.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you get five, you\u2019re good. Four, you\u2019re fine. Three, you have to reflect. Two, your parents will have to know that I had a hard time keeping my Panther Promises today. One, I didn\u2019t make smart choices today and have to go to the office,\u201d says Holmes. \u201cI think about staying on five or four, making smart choices, being nice to people, not playing rough. I feel happy that my mom and dad can know how much I got.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tracking behaviors seemed like a logical place to start with young children, according to Samantha Kennedy, who taught in the district for two years before moving into her current role as instructional coordinator.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Panther Promises are character traits we want to instill in our students. We want to encourage them to be leaders,\u201d says Kennedy. \u201cWe recognize students at a Cub Ceremony every nine weeks. We call them up by name and they get a certificate, a sticker for their notebook and a bracelet they can wear to show they\u2019re keeping their Panther Promises.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reading from the cover of her data notebook \u2013 though the Panther Promises can be found in every classroom, as well \u2013 second grader Kaylee Riendeau recites her Panther Promises:<\/p>\n