New Year! Set Goals!

As teachers, we have goals for almost everything.  

Students should be reading ___ words per minute. 

Students should know ___ letters and sounds by ___.  

Students should know addition and subtraction facts 10, 20 ... by ____.  

The list goes on... These goals may be helpful to us as teachers, but do they mean anything to students?

The answer is often a resounding no.  If students aren't part of the goal-making process, they won't be invested in their learning.   

Students work harder towards the goals they set!

There are many benefits of student goal-setting: students setting their own goals can be mighty and valuable, encouraging them to work harder, learn about themselves, and learn life skills. When students are part of setting their goals for learning, they are motivated to accomplish these goals.

1. Students are enthusiastic about working towards their goals. What better motivation than getting a choice as to which areas to want to improve on? 

2. Sets a focal point. Students need to funnel down a significant goal into smaller attainable goals. For example, reading can be overwhelming because it involves so many facets- decoding, fluency, comprehension, etc. Having students focus on precise goals makes this duty easier to approach.

3. Increase confidence. Instead of sharing a common goal as everyone else and feeling defeated if they fail, students can make individual goals they can meet.  

4. They learn about themselves as a learner. Setting goals can help students learn which habits will make them successful. Students get a chance to find out which practices work best for them and which they feel unsuccessful with as a learner.  

5. You can hold them accountable. If a student isn't working hard, you can remind them of the goal they set for themselves and ask them if what they're doing will help them achieve it.  

6. They learn life skills. Goal setting, planning, reflecting, and problem-solving are all parts of everyday life, and learning to do these effectively will benefit students throughout their lives.  

Students can set their own goals!

It may seem intimidating to think of kindergartners and first graders setting their own goals, but IT IS POSSIBLE with some guidance. It's essential to guide students to set realistic goals. Students also must have a plan to reflect and revise as they learn. To help students understand, I like to use a video game analogy. You wouldn't expect to beat all levels of a video game the first time you play it. But you also wouldn't give up right away, so remember that if you don't have success the first time, think about what needs to change next time. Goal setting looks different depending on grade level and subject area. Goal trackers are a concrete tool to help kids keep track of their progress. They also serve as motivation to keep working hard. They provide a great visual to let kids see how they progress and come close to their goals. Here are some ideas:

• Goal-setting sheet: Students write out a goal, as well as how they'll take to get there. This will also include the goal date.
• Post-its: Create an anchor chart for a subject area- reading, for example: Discuss possible areas of improvement and ask questions about which area they can focus on. Students can write their goals on post-it notes and add them to the chart (you can also write for developing writers). It's vital to refer back to this chart to check student growth. You may want to give them a goal sheet to keep as a reminder. This chart can group students by goals and collaborate on ideas to meet their goals.  
• Goal Slips: I use these goal slips to help my students set goals to learn High-Frequency words. They choose how many words they will know by a specific date. We brainstorm some ideas of how they can get there: study their word rings for 5 minutes a day, work in a small group with me to practice, read their word list nighly at home.

                                   

Celebrate! When students have achieved their goals, they need to celebrate and be rewarded. Students earn a certificate of recognition, a prize, and a class cheer. Then they can set a new goal.  

Data- Also, it's important to remember to keep track of all data to help students reflect.

There are so many things students can set goals for-

• Sight words, letters/sounds...
• Fluency scores
• Writing- more details, proper punctuation, adding feeling...
• Reading more books
• Doing their homework every night
• Daily routines
• Math Facts
• Behavior management

As you can see, you can have students set all kinds of goals! Start with one area you want to see student improvement in and work on that first. Don't try to have students set goals for every area. After all small steps are part of goal-setting.  

 

Positively Teaching,

Randi Muehlen

@positively_teaching

Increasing Achievement Through Relationships

Increasing Achievement Through Relationships

The month of December is exhausting! There is sugar in the air and so much to do in such a short time. I am beyond overwhelmed with being faced continuously with classroom projects, decorations, and adorable bulletin boards on social media. I start to wonder... Am I a fun-enough teacher? Do I do enough? How do all of these teachers do it? But then I stop.. and listen. My students are so happy. They tell me that they love school and that I am the best teacher in the world. We have built a mutual relationship because I just adore them. We have this relationship not because I have the best-themed room or best bulletin boards it is because we have a connection. My students know that I believe in them. My students know I respect them and want them to grow socially, emotionally and academically. We must believe as teachers that each student has the ability to grow and be successful no matter where they begin. They have the power to do so with our guidance and support.

The thing I know for sure is that if you want to build a growth-minded classroom, it's imperative that we spend time building relationships with our students. Students with a fixed-mindset are anxious and fearful about making mistakes in front of their teacher and classmates. They are afraid to fail so they avoid challenges and give up quickly. Stepping away from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset takes vulnerability. As their teacher, you need to be that person they feel safe enough around to show that vulnerability. A teacher who trusts and respects them, wants the best for them and won't judge them when they make a mistake. With all of this faith, your students might be willing to take the leap. Here is a great TED Talk that inspires me to be a champion for my students...

Every Kid Needs a Champion (7:48) Rita Pierson

So how do we do it? How do we get every child to know we believe in them, value them and want them to be successful in all that they do?

Make eye contact

Be intentional and engage with students who you’re speaking with. The two-minute check-in. Before school, after school, and during breaks make it your goal to engage students in non-school-related topics of conversation. This strategy will help you learn more about your students’ interests, build trusting relationships, improve classroom management, and curb attention-seeking behaviors.

Students feel safe with their teacher

Students should feel completely safe in your classroom and in your presence. Students should know that you want what’s best for them, you’ll protect them, and you’ll unconditionally care for them no matter what mistakes they make. 

Students must know that their teacher has faith in their ability to achieve

If we expect our students to have faith in themselves to grow, they must sense that we genuinely, and enthusiastically believe in them too. They need reminders DAILY that you believe in their ability.

Students seek and embrace their teacher’s feedback  

When students believe that you have their best interests at heart they’ll respond to feedback in more productive ways. Make it clear to students that their growth is your main priority, and let them know that the purpose of constructive feedback is to help them improve. 

Students know that grades are less important than growth 

Help students set goals for themselves. Let them know that grading is part of the process and a source of data about their overall performance, but the most important thing to you is their progression toward the goals that you’ve set together. Keep an open dialogue about overcoming challenges and obstacles, and while grades should matter to you, the letter grade, in itself, should never hold more value than the progress it indicates. 

Students respect and like their teacher as a person

Build deeper relationships with your students and take a personal interest in their lives and well-being. Take time to get to know your students’ out-of-school interests. The more information you have about each of your students, the deeper you can build your relationships and better tailor a learning experience most beneficial to them. Likewise, share appropriate personal information with your students to forge a deeper mutual relationship.

Positively Teaching,  

Randi Muehlen

Goal Setting For the Win!

Goal Setting For the Win!
Goal setting is a very powerful teaching tool that should be used in every classroom across grade levels! Creating small, attainable goals helps students to achieve success and boost their self-confidence. Setting academic goals also helps students to know what to focus on, and motivates them to do so. Not all learners are intrinsically motivated, so doing goal setting with your students helps to instill that motivation and drive for success within themselves.

Goal setting can yield powerful results and success in the classroom- both for the students AND the teacher!

It’s extremely heartwarming to see the look on the kids faces and hear their excited conversations when they find out they have achieved a goal they set! In my classroom, I goal set with the kids prior to each SRI assessment, and prior to the district Math and ELA benchmarks.  It really is a powerful tool to help students focus on a specific skill, motivate them to learn, and helps them to feel accomplished when meeting their goals.  Those who don’t achieve their goals are generally further motivated to  work harder until they accomplish what they’d like to.  My school site additionally does goal setting with each student in grades 3-6 prior to SBAC testing as well (you can see an example of this below). It really does serve as a motivational tool and helps give them a purpose and something to really strive for. 

So how exactly can you implement goal setting? It’s easy! Here’s how you can get started:

     
1) Have frequent Growth Mindset conversations with your class.  Let me know that they CAN accomplish ANYTHING they set their mind to.  Let them know that you believe in them, and that you are here to help them accomplish their goals.  

2) Meet one-on-one with students prior to a test you would like to goal set for.  Show them their score on the last (similar) test, and then help them pick an attainable goal for the upcoming test.  Discuss specifically what they will need to do to achieve their goal, and what they might need from you to accomplish this goal.

3) Provide them with some sort of paper that records their previous score (see examples above), and then add their current goal as you are discussing with them.  This can simply be done on a sticky note that they can just stick right on their desk and have as a constant reminder.  Or you can have them complete a more in-depth template where they might record their thoughts, ideas, etc. as in the examples above.  Either way is equally as powerful as long as the right conversations are being had!  

Collaboratively Learning,

Megan Brown

megan.brown@omsd.net