The Measurement Problem: Are We Watching the Wrong Thing?

The rats in the maze study reveals something that should give every teacher pause. Learning and performance are not the same thing — and crucially, you cannot always tell from the outside which one you are looking at.

This is the wallpaper problem in its truest form. When a student copies a learning intention and completes the task in front of them, what we see is performance. Whether learning has taken place is an entirely different question — and one that a learning intention written on the board does little, on its own, to answer.

Think back to your reflection. If a student in your classroom could not explain what they were learning or why — despite having engaged with every task — would you have known? And if not, what might that mean for how you currently measure success in your lessons?