AVReading Newsletter April: Goal Setting

  

Another academic practice that contributes to growing a student's self-efficacy is that of goal setting.  Goal setting has actually received a considerable amount of attention within the field of educational research.  In fact, Locke and Latham (1990) consolidated that research  into some important findings about what goal setting offers students.  Goal setting allows students to  focus their attention and direct it toward a future target.  It prepares them to adjust their effort to account for the demands of a given task and it enables them to develop persistence in long-term projects. Successfully working towards a goal promotes creative thinking in relation to unexpected obstacles, and establishes a reference point from which growth or progress can be measured.  

            Research within the field also suggests that students are more willing to invest in classes and lessons where teachers are transparent with their goals.  Some of this is just good organizational practice which provides a little structure and coherence to your day-to-day lessons.  This works equally well when students develop and monitor their own goals.  The reflective practice of thinking ahead and then of developing steps to actualize that plan is important to helping students become more independent and to help them take on more responsibility for their learning.  

            We have also learned a lot about the different types of goals and the criteria for making good goals.  While it is difficult sometimes for students to think long term, it is generally good practice to have them reflect on what they hope to accomplish in larger time frames: a month, a trimester, a year.  Known as distal goals, having some thoughts about where you hope to be down the road helps to drive the proximal goals, which include the short term goals necessary to achieving those that are further into the future. 

            Goal setting is not necessarily for everyone.  For some, especially those who have experienced trauma, planning for the future is beyond what they may be capable of at that moment.  Your approach for these students will be informed more by what they can handle in the given moment and creating an environment where they feel safe and comfortable until they can find some semblance of stability and begin looking ahead.  

            Here are ways that I have used goal setting within my classes. 

Beginning of Year / Trimester Goals. At the start of a term, I offer students the chance to consider their current academic status and what they hope to accomplish over the trimester or year.  After studying and interacting with the syllabus, I give students an opportunity to create a goal for themselves.  Since I prefer that they focus on academic literacies related to the course, I provide a list of ten or more potential goals from which they can choose.  The goals cover a broad spectrum of possibilities, which allow for students to set distal goals like “I want to get an A in the class” or “I want to improve my reading by two grade levels” or more proximal ones like “I will read for at least 20 minutes every day” or “I will read at least four books this term.”  Students submit those goals, and during the early weeks of the trimester, I make a point to visit with each student about them.  At midterms, I bring those goals back and ask students to reflect on their progress.  And then I do that again at the end of the term.  

Accountabilabuddies.  I also like to use goals at other strategic moments in the term.  I like to use them before a longer break (ie. a four day weekend in the fall, winter break, spring break etc).  I use  accountabilabuddies (or buddies who will hold you accountable for your goals).   Again, I ask students to write out a goal (and I usually offer a few examples), then they give that written out goal to a partner in the class.  And upon return from the break, I ask the partners to revisit each other and evaluate their progress.   

Backward Design.  This is as much about executive function as it is goal setting, but it is especially helpful for activities or projects that require many steps.  For backward design, I have a form with a box at the top for students to fill out.  In that top box, the student identifies what project they will complete.  A second box asks students to describe what that project will look like if they do a good job with it, asking them to identify at least three qualities.  A third box, taking up the largest amount of space, asks students to identify the five steps they will need to complete to get to the project they have described in the first two boxes.  The activities allow students to begin with the end, to imagine or visualize the finished project , and to work backward from there. 

 

Locke, E.A, and G.P Latham. A Theory of Goal Setting and Task Performance. Prentice-Hall, 1990

 

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