Fostering SMART Goals in Your Students
A Teacher's Guide to Implementing Goal Orientation
Timely.
We will look at short-term and long term goals and their relevancy in instructional settings.
Short-term Goals
Many aspects of human behavior are directed towards the fulfillment of goals. Goals when accomplished will lead to greater self-efficacy and motivate students to keep going. Often, goal setting beyond one’s abilities leads to feelings of frustration and can diminish self-efficacy. As educators, sometimes students require concrete (proximal goals) that can be accomplished with reasonable effort. Goal setting is one of the first parts of self-regulated learning.
Proximal Goals: concrete goal that can be accomplished within a short time period; may be a stepping stone toward a long term goal.
Long-term Goals
Children give considerable thought to their future professions. Young children change them frequently and often; a firefighter one day and a magician the next. According to Ormrod, by late adolescents “many young people have reached tentative and relatively stable decisions about the career paths they want to pursue”(Ormrod, pg. 353).
Suggestions for the Classroom:
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Have students brainstorm the kinds of knowledge and abilities they’re likely to need to accomplish their goals.
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Also have students brainstorm possible obstacles they might encounter in pursuit of their goals, along with specific ways they might overcome those obstacles.
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Regularly tie school subject matter to student’s personal goals; for example, conduct activities in which they can authentically apply classroom topics to tasks related to their chosen profession. (Ormrod, pg. 354).
