As educators, it is important that students are aware of how best to achievable their personal goals. Molding students, who are goal driven, will help them persevere regardless of what life throws at them. Here are five tips for setting successful goals with students.
Use verb-noun structure – Ensure that your to-do list has action items linked to them. For example, “Attend every class” or “Review notes with study partner before major tests,”. This gives the student an action that they can focus on to achieve their goals.
Plan strategically and tactically – Start off by telling your students to create a strategic goal. This could be “Get an A in English,” or “Write an accurate lab report”. You could then ask them to work out their tactical goals, which are the smaller goals that will help their larger goal. For example, this could be “Read 10 pages each night to finish my book on time” or “Attend extra help sessions.”
Recognize when help is needed. – Some students may need extra help to grasp a subject/sport to accomplish their goal. Give these students options on where they can get extra help.
Stop and reassess – Each month, speak to each student and find out how they are faring and if any circumstances/ variables have changed.
Review action plans regularly – Students should be told that their goals and action plans should be kept in an area that they often see. This will ensure that they are reminded of them frequently.