Monday, January 29, 2018

Focus: Goal Setting

When I arrive in school this morning, I'll quickly rearrange the desks. The desks in my room rarely stay in the same place which can be disconcerting for students, yet I know the kinds of arrangements that support specific learning goals.

For example, when the desks organized in small table groups support science labs well, but old fashion rows facing the front of the room help when it comes to the introduction of new material.

Today I'll introduce a new unit and as I introduce the unit, we'll focus on the idea and action of goal setting. We'll spend some time discussing how we can use goal setting and resulting action to power through the new learning. I know students are ready for this, and I believe the discussion will help all children to learn the material well.

As we discuss goal setting I'll focus on the following:
  • Identifying success criteria: learning to divide in many ways and solve problems that involve division.
  • Identifying the many ways students will meet this goal:
    • Completing the study packet
    • Coming in for extra help
    • Completing practice exercises in school and at home
    • Listening and asking questions when you don't understand
    • Reading and listening with your pen by writing notes, highlighting key information, making models, and writing down questions as you learn
    • And more ideas that students will add during the discussion.
As educators everywhere know learning to learn is as important as what you learn, and today we'll begin the lesson with the important learning-to-learn concept of goal setting and acquisition.