Hello there,
I wonder if someone could help me....
My school has just recently voted to use the terminology WALT over Learning Objective. I am absolutely seething because (as I teach Year 6) I feel that this is far more appropriate to be using rather than WALT. I have also read that WALT has gone out of fashion.
I would like to go to my staff with ammunition and reasons and evidence to make them change their minds.
Can anyone help me out with some evidence??
Many thanks in advance.
L:)

Hi Lorraine, sorry not to have been more prompt in replying. WALT and WILF (What I am looking for) were considered a trendy way of sharing objectives in the late 1990s and early 2000s. They were considered more 'child friendly' than learning objectives. Prior to that many planning formats had columns for objectives AND columns for success criteria (WALT /WILF).

As an assessment person I have never liked the use of both terms. I have always maintained that what I am looking for is what I should be teaching. Thus, the success criteria IS the objective, or one of the objectives.

For example, If I want to know if children can write instructional text, then the success criteria is accurate use of the features of instructional text and the success crietria is 'Has used the features of instructional text accurately.' Similarly, if I want to find out whether the children can write creatively, then the objective is 'To write creatively' and the success criteria would be 'The writing is creative'. As a former Ofsted inspector and LA Assessment Adviser I considered it bad practice to aim to teach one thing and assess something different. Thus, the second is always superfluous. If my objective is 'To multiply accurately by a two digit number' then success is shown by 'Can multiply accurately by a two digit number'.

My preference, therefore, is only to have one - the objective - which I always start with either 'Can...' (WILF) or 'To...' (WALT), the words 'I can...' if I want to be child friendly.
Thus, if you are required to use WALT, just think of it as 'To...' and you will achieve the same outcome. Some people think they are more 'child friendly'. There might be an argument for Year 6 having the more grown-up practice of using the correct terminolgy. I am sure the SLT are only trying to sharpen up some colleagues' practice in identifying clear objectives for pupils. If colleagues understand what objectives are and how they worjk (what is the point of the lesson / how are pupils to be differtent by the end) then ther terminology used becomes less important.

This is a very long and complex answer to an important question. Thanks for letting me have the opportunity to voice an opinion. Ros