Checklists, Checksheets, and Differentiated Learning

The book, The Checklist Manifesto, by Atul Gawande, arrived on bookshelves in 2009. The main premise of the book is how the use of checklists can greatly assist us in solving complex problems and in managing large projects. Since the publishing of The Checklist Manifesto, there has been an increase in the amount of discussion on the use of checklists by educators. Thomas R. Hoer, head of school at the New City School in St. Louis, wrote on May 10 in Educational Leadership, " The Checklist Manifesto makes the case that we all need checklists when we engage in solving complex problems, regardless of our skills." The idea of using checklists in the education of students is beginning to be discussed.

Education writer Dennis Sparks wrote last year in reference to Gawande's book this quote, "[Checklists] do not try to spell out everything-a checklist cannot fly a plane. Instead, they provide reminders of only the most critical and important steps- the ones that even the highly skilled professionals using them could miss. Good checklists are, above all, practical."

Heather Wolpert-Gawron, a California middle school teacher, wrote on Edutopia in February 2014, these comments about checklists. "I find it very important not only to let students in on what our main goal needs to be, but to let them in on the process and steps to meet that goal. My checklists, therefore, become almost a sequential narrative through an academic unit." She continues with "... the more information you grant to students, the better." [If we're to] create a classroom where students own their learning then we have to let them in on the sequence of lessons and assessment ahead of time. There is no reason why students should be in the dark as to what I will expect and why. The mystery defeats achievement."

Here are some comments from her students on what they thought of the checklists.
-"... whereas in a checklist, we can immediately see what we need to do and get straight to work."
-"I am a procrastinator, and having the kind of motivation to check something off is great for me to stay on track."

What others are naming checklists, we call checksheets. Checksheets form the backbone of our instructional system supporting excellent instructors and a worldview based on the God of the Bible. Checksheets are developed for all classes, all grades, and almost all subjects. Bible, phonics, chemistry, English composition, algebra, Spanish, and much more. And for each subject, the checksheets look quite different from each other.

A Checksheet is the lesson plan for the teacher and the student each day. It communicates to our parents what each and everyday the student has learned. Never can a Bios student go home and say to their parents, "I did nothing today."Everyday in every class, student progress is shown. It allows for the school to set high expectations for academic achievement. New and inexperienced teachers are not expected or allowed to learn to set learning goals and objectives through experimenting on your child until they figure out how to. Checksheets are written by me, with over 30 years in education or by my experienced staff, of which over half have been with me for 12-21 years.

In our educational approach, the Bios instructors work with multi-grade groups of students in the same subject, instructing, encouraging, correcting, and setting the next goals. Our checksheets build a framework of expectations for the teacher and student to work with. Daily progress or the lack of is provided in every subject, every day. And this record of progress is there for not only the instructor and student, but also for myself and the parents to have a very accurate picture of the daily progress.


As I have said before, the checksheets for each subject are very unique to that subject. The high school science checksheets include not only specific terms to be orally explained to a student's teacher, but also detailed instructions for the individual labs with lab safety procedures to be followed. In math, the passing of lessons, the date, and the number incorrect are recorded. The layout of the student text in math allows for the daily student goals to be based from it instead of from the checksheet. The order of the memorization of the Bible facts such as the Ten Commandments for primary and elementary are placed on the checksheet to provide consistency across the grades. These are a few examples of how the checksheets are each designed to provide the critical and important steps to learning for the students at Bios Christian Academy.

The mystery of what to learn and when you are expected to learn is gone for all students and all subjects at Bios. The students own their learning with support from knowledgeable and caring teachers. Each subject has a sequential narrative for their subject unit. Taking our students out of the dark and into the ownership of their learning and guided by strong teachers has allowed our students to stand out academically for our six years of existence.