Sharing success criteria is an explicit teaching strategy. Success criteria are aligned to the syllabus. They break the learning intention into smaller and more manageable actions. They show students what they must do, say, make, create or perform to demonstrate their learning (Griffin 2018).

They are communicated to students in ways they understand. Teachers use their expertise to guide student thinking, and often model and use exemplars to show students what success 'looks like'.

Success criteria give students a framework to communicate with the teacher and their peers about their learning. They form the basis for feedback, and should be used to evaluate students' progress towards achieving learning intentions.

Strategy learning module

Due to the connectedness of learning intentions and success criteria, the learning module combines both explicit teaching strategies. The Strategy learning module – Learning intentions and success criteria (PPTX 14.9 MB):

• breaks down the strategies
• shows how the strategies can be applied using different techniques
• offers professional learning support for a whole-school approach to these explicit teaching strategies.

More information about how to implement this professional learning can be found in Leading explicit teaching.

Technique guides

Explicit teaching strategies are implemented in the classroom through a range of techniques that are intentionally selected by the teacher. These techniques are not an exhaustive list of every approach a teacher may use to implement this strategy. The technique guides provided support teachers to understand and apply the technique as part of their explicit teaching practice:

• Technique guide – Planning syllabus aligned learning intentions and success criteria (PDF 674.6 KB)
• Technique guide – Sharing learning intentions and success criteria (PDF 660 KB)
• Technique guide – Developmental rubrics (PDF 681.5 KB).

What it isn’t

• Statements about how students should approach a task/activity. For example, staying focused for the whole lesson
• Unconnected to the learning intentions.

Further resources

• AERO (Australian Education Research Organisation) (2022) Explain learning objectives.
• Clarke S (2021) Unlocking Learning intensions and success criteria: Shifting from product to process across the disciplines, SAGE Publications Inc, USA.
• NSW Department of Education (2022) Designing the Assessment.
• NSW Department of Education (n.d) Digital Learning Selector – LISC and WAGOLL.
• Wiliam D (2011) Embedded Formative Assessment, Solution Tree Press, Bloomington.