Engaging All Learners

Engaging All Learners
Studio Day April 2019

Sunday, January 8, 2017

Setting Goals with Students


Magnolia students set goals for the new year.

Lisa Lothspeich, Cahaba 5th grade math teacher, helps students set goals for working in DreamBox.  Their progress is celebrated and noted on a display outside their classroom.  

At a recent EdCamp, Paine teachers shared information about how they help students set goals and keep data notebooks to record their progress. 

Second grade Magnolia students shade in a chart to keep up with their Accelerated Reader goals each trimester.  
 

From: Teaching Community by Dorit Sasson
 
The process of setting goals allows students to choose where they want to go in school and what they want to achieve. By knowing what they want to achieve, they know what they have to concentrate on and improve. Goal setting gives students long-term vision and short-term motivation.
Having sharp, clearly defined goals, which students can measure, will allow them to take pride in accomplishing those goals. They can see clear forward progress in what might have seemed a long drawn out process.
By setting goals students can:
1.improve their academic performance
2.increase their motivation to achieve
3.increase pride and satisfaction in performance
4.improve their self-confidence

By setting goals and measuring their achievements, students are able to see what they have done and what they are capable of. Seeing their results gives the confidence and assurance that they need to believe they can achieve higher goals.
Basics of Effective Goal Setting
Express goals positively: “To improve my spelling” is a much better goal than “Don’t spell with so many mistakes.”
Be accurate: If students set an accurate goal, putting in dates, times and amounts so that achievement can be measured and can be satisfied at achieving it.
Set Priorities: When students have several goals, give each a priority. This helps them avoid feeling overwhelmed and helps their attention to the more important ones.
Write goals down to make them more meaningful.
Keep Goals Small: Urge students to keep their immediate goals small and achievable.
Set Goals Students Have Control Over: There is nothing worse than failing to achieve a personal goal for reasons beyond the students’ control.
Set specific measurable goals: If students consistently fail to meet a measurable goal, then they can adjust it or analyze the reason for failure and take appropriate action.

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