Checkpoints in Learning

Goals

1. Describe checkpoints.

2. Apply checkpoint to improve your results: {knowledge, understanding, performance, motivations, rewards, and so on}.

3. Apply checkpoint to help someone you teach improve their results.

What?

A checkpoint is a piece of evidence used during assessment to indicate the quality of learning—or sometimes a lack of it.

Examples of Checkpoints

1. Golf Swing.
   • One piece takeaway
   • Correct position at top of swing
   • Initiating swing with hip movement
   • Correct arm motion during follow through
2. Critical Thinking. Does the argument include
   • Well defined issue
   • Clear conclusion
   • Reasons for the conclusion (and reponses)
   • Reasons against the conclusions (and responses)
   • Citations to back up premises
   • Quality definitions of terms.
3. Does a learner’s definition of “News” include its essential parts?
   • Current News Items
   • News Idems have General Interest
   • News Items have common categories (sports, events, weather, etc)
4. Chemistry: Does Balancing Chemical Equation include
   • Correct Answer
   • Identifying each element
   • Counting atoms on each side of equation
   • Applying the law of conservation of mass
   • Adjusting coefficients (not subscripts) to balance
   • Validation by checking balance for each element

Analysis (Breakdown of Definition)

Evidence

Something that can be observed or measured. Evidence can be recorded by multiple people, assuming each has the

Assessment

In the context of learning, assessment is the process of indentify what the learner is doing well, and ways for them to improve their results: {knowledge, performance, understanding, motivation, rewards and so on}.

Why

Skill use of checkpoints is worthwhile because

1. Assessment is super simple; checking items on a check list.
2. Tells you the elements to quality.
3. Puts improvement of learning into learners hands.
4. Equally useful for self-assessment or for coaching assessment.

In summary, checkpoints make learning visible, measurable, and improvable. They turn abstract goals into observable outcomes, which is a core principle of deliberate practice, effective learning, and effective teaching.

How

1. Figure out what you want to assess: golf swing, balancing chemical equations, making an argument, fixing a leaky faucet, doing statistics problems, etc.
2. Figure our what the evidence (checkmarks) is for high quality and make this into a checklist.
3. Apply this to assessment.
4. Improve the checklist and its application