My initial understanding of learning progressions was that student learning is scaffolded. Students are unable to progress their learning if they do not understand the foundation that they have been taught presented in the previous division, unit or grade. I have learned from our readings that “more and more education authorities are now identifying learning progressions as a potent way to help teachers plan and monitor their instruction” (Popham, 2007, para. 1). This in turn enhances student learning (para. 1). Learning progressions are a tool meant to help teachers and students achieve learning success and ensure learners are adding onto their acquired knowledge. These learning progressions have been defined as a “carefully sequenced set of building blocks that students must master en route to mastering a more distant curricular aim” (para. 1). In simpler terms, you must learn to crawl before you can walk and walk before you can run. Everything happens in a sequence of steps and understanding one thing will allow you to understand another more complex version.

These progressions are important because we would not have an educative system without them. If progressions were not necessary, we would all be able to master skills without taking the time to ‘get better’ at them. Learning progressions are like grade divisions, you cannot proceed from grade two to three without understanding curricular requirements in grade two. Of course, the funny thing with the BC educative system is that you can proceed to the next grade without meeting requirements. This just means more work for the teacher to attempt to level their understanding with the rest of the students in that division. Learning progressions are reflected in the natural world; therefore, it makes sense to approach teaching in the same way, because it works. Learning happens through trial and error, and those mistakes create a basis of knowledge. These learning progressions prevent students from being overwhelmed and overloaded with information. When more difficult questions or criteria are presented to the students, they are ready for it because they have mastered the previous steps or goals. With progressions, it is easier to pinpoint where the student is having difficulty and how to address their confusions quickly and seamlessly.

The most beautiful part of learning progressions is that there is “no one single, universally accepted and absolutely correct learning progression underlying any given high-level curricular aim” (Popham, 2007, para. 6). This goes for both teachers and educators. All teachers have their own ideas when it comes to creating steps to learn within a lesson plan just like all students will and learn and internalize those steps differently. Learning progression still leave the door open for imagination and creativity. Some teachers will need to readjust their progressions because it is not working for their student body. This open-endedness was visible when our cohort completed the learning progressions Jamboard assignment. Despite some groups choosing the same topic of interest like an English lesson or music lesson, the learning progressions were vastly different. It has been stated that “well-intentioned educators can undertake task analyses for an identical curricular outcome yet end up with a strikingly different learning progressions” (para. 6). I look forward to collaborating with future teachers and discussing our different approaches to teaching a similar lesson. We all typically understand things better when they are broken down into clearer steps, and that is exactly what learning progressions are. They are smaller pieces that make up the bigger picture. This is something I will always keep in mind with my future students and acknowledge that those learning progressions are fluid and adaptable.

Reference

Popham, W. J. (2007). All About Accountability: The Lowdown on Learning Progressions. Educational Leadership, 64(7), 83-84. http://www.ascd.org/ publications/educational-leadership/apr07/vol64/num07/The-Lowdown-on-Learning-Progressions.aspx