Embedding Personal Goal Setting and Self-Monitoring into the Curriculum Becca Leech Special Educator, Coordinator of the Personalized Learning Program, Warren County High School leechr@warrenschools.com

Starting Activity: Set your personal goals for this session Grab a pencil and a blank “My Class Goals” page. I use this form with my students. We’ll experience the process together. Write only above the dotted line for now.

In pencil, lightly sketch your personal goal For this session. (Don’t stress too much. We will refine this together) How will you measure your success? Break your overall goal down into specific knowledge or skills you want to learn

Benefits of teaching goal setting and monitoring Enhance Executive Functioning Skills – skills that help young people plan and complete tasks Promote Intrinsic Motivation – so that you do not have to provide rewards for them to learn. They want to succeed for self-defined, inner rewards Personalize Learning to make the learning relevant to their values and long term aspirations. Encourage Independence – When students know why they are working and where their learning is headed, they can initiate self-directed work rather than depend on the teacher to constantly guide

Performance Goals vs. Mastery(Learning) Goals Characteristics of Learners with Mastery vs. Performance Goals

SMART Specific Measureable Achievable Realistic Timely What is the specific goal you want to reach? I will ...______________________ ______________________________________________________________________ How will you measure it? ______________________________________________ Why do you think this goal is achievable for you (give evidence)? ____________________________________________________________________ Why do you think this goal is realistic for you? __________________________ ________________________________________________________________ When do you plan to achieve this goal? Day __________ month: ___________ year: ___________

Breaking down a larger goal into sub-goals or steps Make the steps more immediate. Have students reflect on what they need to learn this week and this month in your class. Share and discuss your class standards. Have students mark/highlight/prioritize and reflect on the standards they think are most relevant to their own goals and values. If a student isn’t interested in your course standards, try focusing on transferable employability skills – most young people want to be able to get a job

Sharing your course standards to help break steps down

Transferable Employability Skills

From TN DOE Work Based Learning Toolkit https://www.tn.gov/assets/entities/education/attachments/wbl_wbl_student_self_assessment_of_skills.pdf

Offering feedback for goal setting During the first teaching goal setting teaching session, it’s important that students get it right. So, feedback and revision are essential first steps. Students need private feedback, and time for self evaluation using the rubric and opportunities for revision, before their goals should be shared publicly. Establishing a culture of trust and respect is essential to the process Use the language of “not yet”, from the growth mindset research, to encourage growth

Rubric to use for feedback and reflection

Activity #2: Offer feedback to each other on your goal setting pages First take time to use the rubric, self-evaluate your goal pages, and make revisions We will share the goal setting pages you created for this session with partners and offer each other feedback using growth mindset feedback

Activity #3: Providing Feedback for Effective Goal Revision You will find a number of student examples Work with 1 or 2 partners to discuss the goals and provide effective feedback to the student, using the rubric We will share out a few examples with the whole group

Self-Monitoring Should be daily at first, until students are accurate and independent in the process. Offer written and verbal feedback to help students learn how to monitor Self monitoring can be intermittent later, so that the process does not become rote. I move from daily, to 3 times a week, to 1 – 2 times weekly.

Examples of Goal Self-Monitoring

Activity #4: Practice Self-Monitoring Complete the self-monitoring sheet on the bottom half of your “My Class Goals” page, evaluating your progress toward your session goals so far in the session. If there are goals you haven’t met yet, what can you do to move forward on this session? Are there questions you ask, resources you need, or ideas you would like to share with the group? After you have completed the page, turn to one of your partners and ask them to give feedback on your goals.

Written Reflections on Longer Term and Performance Goals Long term goals and performance goals need periodic (once per grading period or semester) reflections that ask the student to evaluate long term progress and remind them of their values and overarching goals. Sample prompt: “Read your long term goal on the wall or in the front of your notebook and write a journal entry reflecting on your progress toward that goal. Does the goal still reflect your values? Are you still working to achieve that goal? If not, how would you change it to reflect your current values and goals?” Allow students to modify their long term goals, if they wish.

For students who need more intensive intervention Consult your special department for students who do not seem to respond to goal setting. Some students have more severe executive functioning difficulties and need more direct instruction to understand learning expectations and self-monitoring. Some tools for explicitly defining expectations are included in the handouts and links provided.

Self-monitoring of classroom expectations

For more information: Email me at leechr@warrenschools.com Resources can be found at: https://readyforthenewworld.wordpress.com/2016/07/12/teaching-goal-setting-and-self-monitoring-to-high-school-students/ Code to join Google Classroom “Teaching Personal Goal Setting and Self-Monitoring” : ng0hgxu Or sign up with your email and I will invite you