In her Colorful Learning post, Learning: Do our students know we care about that?, Kato shared the following learning progression for showing your work.

What if we guide our learners to

I can describe or illustrate ow I arrived at a solution so that the reader understands without talking to me?

Isn’t this really about making thinking visible and clear communication?  Anyone who has taught learners who take an AP exam can attest to the importance of organized, clear pathways of thinking. It is not about watching the teacher show work, it is about practicing, getting feedback, and revising.

Compare the following:

What if a learner submits the following work?

Can the reader understand how the writer arrived at this solution without asking any questions?

What if the learner shared more thinking? Would it be clearer to the reader? What do you think?

How often do we tell learners that they need to show their work? What if they need to show more work? What if they don’t know how?

How might we communicate and collaborate creatively to show and tell how to level up in showing work and making thinking visible?

How might we grow in the areas of comprehension, accuracy, flexibility, and deeper understanding if we learn to communicate clearly using words, pictures, and numbers?