What Districts are looking for in your Student Learning Plan (Pt. 2)
Preparing Your Student Learning Plan
The Student Learning Plan (SLP) is the most important tool you will have when determining the best way to achieve the goals established for the student through your Assessment Testing. The Learning Plan outlines not only What is to be achieved (e.g. the goals) but also addresses the questions of How, When and Where this achievement will take place.
In our previous post we discussed how to establish the goals of an SLP using the S.M.A.R.T method. Once your Learning Plan goals have been identified, assembling the complete SLP will rough in all the necessary elements that make achieving the goals not only possible but, if implemented correctly, probable.
Getting Organized
The first step in creating your Learning Plans is to organize all the information necessary to create a successful Plan. In a nutshell you will need the following items for each student:
- Assessment Scores
- Name and Description of Tutoring Materials
- Name and addresses of Tutoring Locations
- Estimate of how many Tutoring Sessions you plan to offer
- Tutoring Session schedule (e.g. days, start/end times)
In the event of online tutoring you will not need to be specific about #5 since these typically are not Teacher Directed group sessions. For all other types of tutoring (e.g. small group, large group, one-on-one, in-home) you will need to have each item specifically addressed for all students.
We typically recommend Providers setup a table or spreadsheet with columns representing each piece of information to be collected. This table should be sorted for the most efficient processing. The sorting should be first by the column representing Location, then by Student Grade. On a separate table list the Student Name, ID and goals selected (or a group of goals from which the final goals are to be selected). With these two tables complete, you are ready to begin assembling the Learning Plans in an efficient and organized fashion.
Coding the Goals
In our last post we talked about the different categorization of goals to which a Provider must adhere. Depending on the District, the Provider must choose from state standard, District mandated or Provider/Tutor custom goals. In the event the Provider is required to use a state or District standard it becomes important to be able to choose among many goals quickly and efficiently to establish the Student Learning Plan.
We usually recommend Coding the Goals using this simple process: first divide the lists of goals up by subject (math or reading). Next, sort the goals by grade level. Once this is done you should be able to list the goals alpha numerically on a sheet of paper. From here, simply apply a number (or alpha character) to each goal within each grade level. For example, for grade level 3 reading (3rd Grade) there may be seven goals/sub-goals listed. By listing each goal and it’s sub-component with an alpha character, you can easily identify the goal to be used for the student. In our example, our goal for student Darlene for reading may be 3g-1 (3rd grade goal G sub goal 1). Using this method to “code” all the goals simplifies the process of creating the Learning Plan by making it easy to identify what goals should be included in the Student’s plan.
Summary
The keys to creating successful Student Learning Plans lie in the planning and organization of information necessary to complete the Plan. It does take a fair amount of work to create a great Learning Plan, however, once completed, the SLP is your most effective tool for ensuring the success of your Tutoring efforts. For more information on SLPs or to obtain assistance click here.
Tags: assessment testing, Assessment Tools, cayen systems, Learning Plans, Progress Reports, Student Learning Plan
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