Foundations of Education and Instructional Assessment/Involving Students/Set Goals

Bethany Zeigler Helping Students Set Goals and Monitor Their Own Learning

Learning Targets

You will learn about ways to set goals with your students You will learn ways they can use their own assessments to You will learn what characteristic a student must have to be capable of keeping track of their own learning

Setting Goals With Your Students

Learning in schools has typically been designed by adults. There is little to no input from the students in their own learning. Many students have a "tell me what to do and think" attitude which is causing students to become passive in their own learning (Critical Issue.) They are relying on the teachers and adults around them to tell them what to learn. When setting goals with your students the easiest way to start is with small goals. An example would be for a student to set a goal that they would get an “A” on their next test (eHow.) Make sure these goals can be accomplished quickly and that they ensure immediate success. In order for your students to be successful at attaining their goals, you need to make sure that they set goals that are realistic (Help Students Set Goals.) It’s important to remember that setting specific goals is a far more affective motivator than general ones. Student-involved classroom assessment opens the assessment process and invites students in as partners, monitoring their own levels of achievement. Under the careful management of their teachers (who begin with a clear and appropriate vision of what they want their students to achieve), students are invited to play a role in defining the criteria by which their work will be judged. They learn to apply these criteria, identifying the strengths and weaknesses in their own practice work (Chappuis and Stiggins.)

Students Monitoring Their Own Learning

When it comes to having your students monitor their own learning, doesn't mean that they make every decision. The idea is just to include them in the process in hopes that it will aid their understanding of a concept or topic. Many adults use this idea of self directed learning to teach themselves new things. Using it in schools for children younger than college students would be a good idea considering it would increase the rate at which students participate in their learning. They would no longer be passive learners. They would enjoy learning and want to take part in any process that will help them achieve their academic goals. The downside to this type of learning is that the students have to be independent, motivated, and have the resources to learn. Our goals as instructors, when aiding our student in their decisions to monitor their own learning should be:

• Help the learner identify the starting point for a learning project and discern relevant modes of examination and reporting.
• Create a partnership with the learner by negotiating a learning contract for goals, strategies, and evaluation criteria.
• Be a manager of the learning experience rather than an information provider.
• Help learners acquire the needs assessment techniques necessary to discover what objectives they should set.
• Encourage the setting of objectives that can be met in several ways and offer a variety of options for evidence of successful performance.
• Provide examples of previously acceptable work.
• Make sure that learners are aware of the objectives, learning strategies, resources, and evaluation criteria once they are decided upon.
• Teach inquiry skills, decision making, personal development, and self-evaluation of work.
• Help match resources to the needs of learners.
• Help learners locate resources.
• Help learners develop positive attitudes and feelings of independence relative to learning.
• Recognize learner personality types and learning styles.
• Create an atmosphere of openness and trust to promote better performance.
• Help protect learners against manipulation by promoting a code of ethics.
• Behave ethically, which includes not recommending a self-directed learning approach if it is not congruent with the learners' needs (Lowry.)

In other words, as instructors we should help shape the ideas of what needs to be learned rather than teach the information that needs to be learned. Letting the students have a say in some of the items they will learn about will help them become more successful over time because their independence will be strengthened and so will their self confidence.

Quiz

1. What should the goals you set with your students be? a. False b. Idealistic c. Impressionistic d. Realistic

2. What 3 characteristics must your students possess in order for them to be successful when monitoring their own learning? a. Active, gifted, Independent b. Dependent, lazy, no resources available c. Independent, active, motivated d. Independent, motivated, have the resources to learn

3. If you were a teacher with a motivated, independent student that was willing to watch their own progress which of the following would you NOT do? a. Behave ethically b. Help learners by telling them what to learn and how to learn it c. Provide examples of acceptable work d. Teach inquiry skills, decision making, personal development, and self-evaluation of work

4. Your student, Stephen has shown an increased interest in photography. He has shown that his ability to stay focused has increased ten-fold now that the subject is something he enjoys. He stays on task and spends most of his time in the darkroom during art class. He has shown more interest in his photography because it is a hands on activity. Which of the following should the instructor take notice of? a. Examples of previous acceptable work b. Help protect your learner from manipulation by promoting a code of ethics c. Recognize learners personality types and learning styles

Answers to Quiz

1. D 2. D 3. B 4. C

References

Chappuis, J., & Stiggins, R. Using Student-Involved Classroom Assessment to Close Achievement Gaps, Retrieved October 19, 2008 from http://assessmentinst.com/forms/TIP-pub.pdf.

eHow Education Editor. How to Help Students Set Goals, Retrieved October 19, 2008 from http://www.ehow.com/how_2317416_help-students-set-goals.html?ref=fuel&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=ssp&utm_campaign=yssp_art.

Lowry, C. M. Supporting and Facilitating Self-Directed Learning, Retrieved October 19, 2008 from http://www.ntlf.com/html/lib/bib/89dig.htm.

North Central Regional Educational Labratory. Critical Issue: Working Toward Student Self-Direction and Personal Efficacy as Educational Goals, Retrieved October 19, 2008 from http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/learning/lr200.htm.

Siegle, D. Help Students Set Goals, Retrieved October 19, 2008 from http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/siegle/SelfEfficacy/section8.html.