Purpose-Driven Learning Target Authoring Guide

Author learning targets for a competency across developmental bands with precise, observable progression language. Use when writing 'I can' statements for competency-based programmes.

What it does

This skill encodes an original practitioner framework developed by Gareth Manning, educator, curriculum designer, and learning systems designer. Unlike skills in other domains, it is not drawn from peer-reviewed research traditions. It is grounded in serious engagement with learning science, original curriculum design work, and active classroom testing. It is included because the methodology is coherent, transferable, and genuinely useful — and because intellectual honesty requires distinguishing practitioner frameworks from research-validated approaches.

This skill guides an educator or curriculum designer through writing a complete, coherent set of learning targets (LTs) for a competency — from the upstream question of whether the competency is right, through knowledge type classification, decomposition into 2-3 LTs, to writing band-level statements (Type 1 and Type 2) or observation indicator sets (Type 3) that are developmental, precise, and assessable. Learning targets are the bridge between a broad competency ("Critical Thinking") and what a teacher can actually observe and assess in a student's work. Without well-written LTs, competency-based education degenerates into either vague impressions or checklist-style task completion. The v4.0 methodology introduces a mandatory classification step — Knowledge Type — that determines the assessment instrument BEFORE any band statements are written. This addresses the single most common failure mode in competency-based wellbeing and project curricula: dispositional goals assessed through rubrics, creating the illusion of measurement without the substance. The output is a complete LT set ready for use in planning and reporting, with quality checks built into the process. The methodology draws on Black & Wiliam (1998) — clear learning intentions are a prerequisite for effective formative assessment — and extends Wiggins & McTighe's (2005) backwards design with Manning's upstream "why" layer: before asking "What should students learn?" the process asks "Why does this competency matter for our mission?"

Critical distinction: LTs describe destinations, not content. A band statement describes what a student can do by the end of a developmental period — it does not prescribe what is taught to get there. Content specificity lives in KUD charts and unit plans. The LT constrains what is assessed; it does not constrain what is taught. An LT that appears to leave content unspecified is working correctly — the KUD chart is the right place to make content explicit.

The evidence behind it

Manning developed the Learning Target Authoring Guide through iterative curriculum design, documented in v4.0 (2026). The methodology addresses a specific problem: most competency-based curricula have poorly written learning targets. Common failure modes include: targets that use unobservable verbs ("Understands the water cycle" — how do you observe understanding?), targets that are topic lists disguised as competencies ("Knows the causes of WWI" — this is content, not capability), targets that lack developmental progression (the same statement at every band level with "simple" and "complex" bolted on), compound targets that assess multiple things simultaneously ("Analyses and evaluates sources to construct an argument" — which part is the student struggling with?), and — the most insidious — dispositional targets assessed through rubrics (a rubric scored on a scenario task does not tell you whether a student has developed the disposition; it tells you whether they can perform it when asked). Black & Wiliam (1998) established that effective formative assessment requires clear, shared learning intentions. If the teacher doesn't know precisely what they're looking for, they cannot provide useful feedback, and students cannot self-assess. LTs are the unit of clarity: specific enough to assess, broad enough to apply across multiple projects and contexts. Wiggins & McTighe (2005) provide the backwards design framework, which Manning extends by adding an upstream "why" layer. Standard UBD starts with given curriculum goals. Purpose-driven backwards design starts with the school's mission and asks: Why does this competency exist in our curriculum? What would we lose if we removed it? This upstream questioning prevents the accumulation of competencies that nobody can justify but nobody dares remove. Bloom's taxonomy (1956, revised 2001) provides the verb hierarchy that constrains LT writing: observable, assessable verbs (identify, describe, compare, explain, justify, analyse, evaluate, create) replace unobservable verbs (understand, know, appreciate, be aware of). Vygotsky's (1978) ZPD informs band-level specification: each band statement describes what students can do WITH APPROPRIATE SUPPORT at that developmental stage — the upper edge of the ZPD.

Sources

• Manning — Learning Target Authoring Guide v4.0 (2026, original methodology)
• Black & Wiliam (1998) — Assessment and classroom learning (clear learning intentions as prerequisite for formative assessment)
• Wiggins & McTighe (2005) — Understanding by Design (backwards design, extended with Manning's upstream 'why' layer)
• Bloom et al. (1956) — Taxonomy of educational objectives (observable verb hierarchy)
• Vygotsky (1978) — Mind in society (ZPD — band statements specify upper edge of capability with support)

How to use it in your lesson

For the best results with EvidenceLesson, give it:

• competency_name — The broad capability being decomposed into learning targets
• competency_definition — One sentence beginning 'The ability to...'
• band_range — Which developmental bands this LT set covers — e.g. Bands A-D or Bands A-F
• programme_purpose — Why this competency matters for this school's mission — the upstream 'why'
• existing_draft (optional) — Any existing LT wording to review and revise
• subject_area (optional) — The curriculum domain
• assessment_context (optional) — How LTs will be used — reporting, project assessment, or both

Known limitations

1. This is a practitioner methodology, not a peer-reviewed framework. The LT authoring rules have been developed and refined through classroom implementation, not through controlled experimental research. They are grounded in established assessment research (Black & Wiliam, Bloom, Wiggins & McTighe) but the specific rules (single-construct, no inline examples, progression levers, knowledge type classification) are Manning's original synthesis.

1. LTs require professional judgment to apply. A well-written LT set provides the structure, but assessing whether a specific piece of student work meets a specific band statement (Type 1/2) or whether an observation pattern constitutes evidence of a disposition (Type 3) still requires teacher professional judgment. The LTs reduce subjectivity — they do not eliminate it.

1. The 2-LT default may not suit all competencies. Some competencies decompose naturally into 2 strands; others resist clean decomposition. Knowledge-type splits may require 3 LTs where 2 seemed sufficient. The methodology provides the tests (coverage, distinctness, assessability, knowledge-type) but the designer must exercise judgment about when to follow the default and when to deviate.

1. Type 3 assessment is harder to implement than Type 1 or Type 2. Multi-informant observation requires infrastructure (retrievable notes, self-reflection protocols, developmental conversation scheduling) that most schools do not yet have in place. This is a real constraint. The answer is not to route Type 3 LTs through rubrics for convenience — that produces the illusion of measurement. The answer is to build the infrastructure incrementally.

Pairs well with