9 th Grade Skills Needed for High School and Postsecondary Success Microsoft, 2011

Review Review the differences between high school and college. What do these differences all have in common? – What words do you see repeated in the guiding principles? Microsoft, 2011

Review Last class we also talked about tips for succeeding in high school and college. What was the first tip? How do the other tips relate to that tip? What was the second tip? Microsoft, 2011

Objectives To learn about taking responsibility for your own learning. To learn the importance of setting goals. To learn to differentiate between short- term and long-term goals. To set SMART goals for 9 th grade.

Pre-Test What are two reasons to set goals? What is the difference between short-term and long-term goals? What does the acronym SMART stand for?

Discussion: Why Set Goals? When do you set goals for yourself? Why do you set goals? How does setting goals change your performance or how hard you work on something?

10 Reasons to Set Goals 1.Goals help you be who you want to be. 2.Goals stretch your comfort zone. Goals boost your confidence. 3.Goals give your life purpose. 4.Goals make you more self-reliant. 5.Goals encourage you to trust your decisions. 6.Goals help you turn the impossible into the possible. 7.Goals prove that you can make a difference. 8.Goals improve your outlook on life. 9.Goals lead to feelings of satisfaction. Bachel, B.K. (2001).

Types of Goals Short-term goals are ones that you will achieve in the near future (e.g., in a day, within a week, or possibly within a few months). Long-term goals are ones that you will achieve over a longer period of time (e.g., one semester, one year, five years, or twenty years). Weinstein & Awalt, 2001

SMART Goals SMART Goals are:  Specific  Measurable  Achievable  Relevant  Timely Adapted from Doran, 1981 Microsoft, 2011

Become a Goal Getter! What is the dream you most want to accomplish in your future? – Create a SMART goal for that dream. – Here’s an example.

Dream Example Dream: to be a doctor – What is something I need to do to get there? I will need to go to college and then medical school I can write a long-term goal for graduating from medical school Microsoft, 2011

SMART Goal Example What do I want to accomplish? – I want to graduate form medical school. How will I know when I achieved my goal? – I will graduate. Is this goal realistic? Do I have the right tools? – If I work hard, take the right classes, have support from my friends, family, and teachers, I know I can do it. Why is this goal important? – I can’t become a doctor unless I graduate from medical school. When can I achieve this goal? – I’m in 9 th grade - I have 4 years of high school, 4 years of college, and 4 years of medical school. – I can achieve this goal in 12 years

SMART Goal Example My goal: I will graduate from medical school in 12 years and become a doctor. Microsoft, 2011

Your SMART goal On the back of your SMART goal paper, create a long-term goal that aligns with your dream that follows the SMART goal requirements. When you and your partner have completed your SMART goals, pair up. – Check each other’s goals. Do they fulfill the criteria? Can your partner answer all of the questions on the handout?

Directions Now, write 2 short-term goals (that you can accomplish this semester and follow the SMART goal requirements) that will help you reach your long-term goal. – If you have past goals from middle school, reflect on them. Have you accomplished them? If so, great job! If not, are they still appropriate goals? If so, keep them! If they’re no longer appropriate, come up with new goals.

Directions When you’ve finished adding your long-term goal, repeat this process and add two short-term academic goals. – Remember, short-term goals are goals you want to achieve in the next day, week, or month. – These short-term goals should be goals that will help you reach your long-term goal. Add your SMART goal from the PREP as well.

Post-Test What are two reasons to set goals? What is the difference between short-term and long-term goals? What does the acronym SMART stand for?

Review Reasons for setting goals – There are 10 reasons on your handout – Examples: Goals help you be who you want to be, stretch your comfort zone, boost your confidence, and give your life purpose. Short-term goals are those you can achieve in days, weeks, or a month. Long-term take a longer time to achieve like months, a year, or years. What are some of the goals you set for 9 th grade?

References Bachel, B. K. (2001). What Do You Really Want? How to Set a Goal and Go for It! A Guide for Teens. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing Inc Doran, G. T. (1981). There's a S.M.A.R.T. way to write management's goals and objectives. Management Review, 70(11), Microsoft Office Images. (2011). Retrieved from Southern Methodist University. How Is College Different Than High School? Retrieved from Weinstein, C. E., & Awalt, C. (2001). Becoming a strategic learner: Short and long-term goals. Retrieved from motivation/E1.html