Teaching Boys Well

TARGET-FOCUSED TEACHING ENSURES DEEP LEARNING

By Danielle Passno Assistant Head of School / Director of Teaching and Learning

At Browning, we have embarked on a multiyear process to determine what habits of teaching allow boys to learn better.

During professional development, our teachers have studied the merits and pitfalls of various models of learning. Through all of our time reading and considering the research on boys, as well as experiencing the process of learning with them in the classroom, we have tailored our approach to learning into a model that we believe works particularly well—a model rooted in clear targets and intrinsic and extrinsic motivators for learning.

Target-Focused Teaching (TFT) is Browning’s unique way of ensuring deep learning in all boys. Composed of four research-supported elements for deep learning, TFT ensures that our boys experience a rich curriculum that builds lifelong knowledge and skills. The four elements are:

• Using the full range of rigor as defined by Webb’s Depth of Knowledge scale—a vocabulary and frame of reference for levels of engagement with content

• Articulating learning targets

• Using formative and summative assessments

• Designing cycles of feedback and reflection

In order for students to learn deeply and lastingly, we believe they need both foundational knowledge and the ability to apply that knowledge beyond school, and that in order for them to do so, boys must experience learning that travels through all four levels of Webb’s Depth of Knowledge. In many ways, this twofold belief is what separates us from schools that use competency-based approaches, because we see that content and foundational knowledge are the essential soil in which inquiry and skill development must take root. For example, we do care about teaching the dates and facts that are learned in a traditional history classroom—even if they can be found online— because we believe having a command of that content allows a boy to both feel proud of his knowledge and to form new lines of inquiry.

Learning targets are the guidebook of our curriculum because they articulate where a student is trying to go in his learning. The benefit of having an articulated set of learning targets that the boys see is that they have a road map for their education. These are categories in three tiers:

• K–12 Subject Targets: what we are trying to teach across our K–12 curriculum

• Grade-Level-Specific Targets: the skills and content we teach in a specific grade or course

• Lesson Targets: the immediate content necessary for a specific lesson

At Browning, we use a variety of assessments to determine whether a student has reached proficiency in terms of a learning target. Tests, papers, discussions, presentations, and portfolios are all forms of assessment. We employ two types of assessments:

• Formative assessments: used to give feedback about learning so that a student and teacher both know what to do next

• Summative assessments: used to determine the level of proficiency a student has attained in one or more learning targets and often include a grade

Lastly, cycles of feedback are the hallmark of the Browning program. We give students learning targets and learning experiences, and then we give them feedback on how well their work has met each target. The feedback is the catalyst for the student knowing what to do next in his learning. Often, feedback is given in the form of a rubric and comments that show where a student should focus his learning.

The true benefit of using the four elements of Target-Focused Teaching is increased motivation for boys. When a boy is motivated to learn because of the clear structure of his academic program, the relationships he has developed, and the nature of his assignments, there is no stopping what he can do in the world. That is what we see at Browning every day.

Composed of four research-supported elements for deep learning, TargetFocused Teaching ensures that our boys experience a rich curriculum that builds lifelong knowledge and skills.

Lesson Targets

Course / Grade-LevelSpecific Targets

K–12 Subject Targets

Browning has always been committed to providing boys with a well-rounded and culturally enriched educational experience, and the arts play a pivotal role in this endeavor. These two pages showcase an impressive portfolio of artworks crafted by our talented students, from Kindergarten through Grade 12, this year.