LISC Builder

Picture above is a screenshot of the app at the end of this article - scroll down to access.

Learning intentions and success criteria (LISC) aren’t just a planning tool - they’re a way to open up access to learning for every student, while keeping expectations high.

Whether you're designing a lesson for foundational understanding or extending high potential and gifted learners (HPGE), the secret lies in clear, purposeful learning intentions with a low floor, high ceiling approach - and the ability to adapt based on students’ needs without losing sight of the core learning purpose.

Why clarity matters

Students learn best when they know:

• What they are learning
• Why it matters
• How to succeed

That’s where learning intentions and success criteria come in. They guide focus, enable feedback, and scaffold learning for all - from students needing support to those requiring challenge.

But how do we make them inclusive and high-impact?

✅ Crafting strong Learning Intentions

Here’s a 5 step process to write inclusive and effective learning intentions:

1. Start with the syllabus outcome

Break it down into knowledge, understanding, or skills.

Outcome: "Explains the impact of human activity on environments using geographical information"

→ Focus: Understanding cause-and-effect relationships + interpreting visuals

2. Strip away the task

❌ “We’re colouring a map”
✅ “We are learning to explain how people affect environments”

This keeps the focus on learning - not just what students do.

3. Use strong verbs

Use cognitive verbs that allow students to show depth:
understand, explain, analyse, justify, create

4. Keep it transferable

Decontextualise the learning so it applies beyond one topic.

❌ “We’re learning about the Amazon”
✅ “We are learning how humans impact environments”

5. Plan for all learners

Now ask: How can this be accessed by everyone, and stretched for those who need challenge?

✅ Low floor: Entry points for all - clear vocabulary, worked examples, sentence stems

✅ High ceiling: Open-ended tasks, opportunities for creative or abstract thinking, deeper reasoning

“We are learning to justify a solution using evidence” → a scaffolded access point may be to identify 1 point, while a high potential learner might compare multiple perspectives.

Supporting High potential and gifted learners (HPGE) with Learning Intentions

A well-crafted learning intention doesn’t just serve most students — it should support and stretch all students. That includes those with potential in one or more of the four domains:

Intellectual: reasoning, problem-solving, conceptual depth

Creative: innovation, idea generation, original thought

Physical: motor coordination, expression through movement

Social-emotional: collaboration, empathy, leadership

Prompt for teachers:
🧠 How might being aware of the four domains of potential help you design success criteria that stretch, scaffold and engage students more effectively?

⚖️ Staying true to the Learning Intention

It’s important to stay domain-informed without making the learning intention about the domain.

The learning intention stays focused on the concept or skill being taught.
The domain awareness informs how we scaffold or enrich - not what we teach.

Example:

Learning Intention:

We are learning to justify our interpretation using evidence from the text.

Success Criteria (scaffolded for domains):

• Use sentence stems to justify your view (intellectual)
• Use symbols or diagrams to support your interpretation (creative)
• Discuss your interpretation with a partner (social-emotional)

What makes Success Criteria effective?

They show what success looks like, making learning transparent.

Learning Intention:
We are learning to evaluate the extent to which human action changes environments over time.

Success Criteria:
✅ I can describe a human action that changes an environment
✅ I can explain how this action affects the environment over time
✅ I can use a map or image to support my explanation

✅ I can consider the positive and negative implications of human action on environmental change

✅ I can make a judgement on the degree to which human actions have positevely or negatively impacted environmental change

Final thought

Strong learning intentions give purpose. Clear success criteria give direction. But together - when planned with

inclusivity and high expectations - they open doors for every learner.

🎯 Pitch high, provide a low floor, and remain true to the learning.

📌 Plan with the syllabus. Enact with the learner in mind. Evaluate through the lens of growth.

Reflective q

uestions for teachers:

• Am I clear on what knowledge, understanding, or skill students are learning?
• How have I designed success criteria that are both inclusive and challenging?
• How might a student with strength in a domain of potential engage differently with this learning?
• Am I using the learning intention as my anchor, while adapting the path to it?