The Goal Getters

by Martha Elin Mountain

Martha Elin Mountain, Ed.D., is an Education Consultant and Coach in Self-Assessment, Strategic Planning, and Goal Setting. Her current work with professionals, organizations, and young people is based on over 25 years of experience and field research in classroom teaching, higher education, private industry, and professional development. She can be reached at MEMdocED@aol.com, or at P.O. Box 22301, Carmel, CA. 93922

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Effective Support and Encouragement

In a study across elementary and secondary ages, types of programs, demographics, and ethnicities, the support which teachers give their students emerged at the top of the list of influences on students' success. Students described a variety of ways in which teachers offered effective support:

"He compliments me to my parents."

“The teachers help us find places we can go to pursue our careers.”

“She gave me a smile and a pat on my back.”

“They’re proud of us. You can tell by their faces.”

“They write me little notes of encouragement.”

Our students by their very nature are goal seekers. They are "nudged" from within by curiosity and questions, excitement and passion. Unfortunately, most of the time, setting and meeting goals in school is enmeshed in required assignments; students seldom have opportunities to set and pursue their own goals.

When we do encourage our students to set and achieve a specific goal, however, we place them in the roles of real-world achievers -- problem solvers, entrepreneurs, and others who create personal success with meaningful goals. When practiced well, goal setting affects personal development in four important ways: increased independence of the learner, tolerance for risk taking, pride and self-worth, and increased depth of knowledge and experience with a topic of interest. Through effective practice with goal-setting skills, students learn that frustrations, "have-to's" and failures are part of the process and that one can respond to them profitably.

 

Goal Seeking and Goal Getting

Although goal seeking comes naturally to children, for most children "goal getting" does not. "Goal seekers" aspire to a result or outcome which they intend to achieve or finish. Their aim may or may not be clear and specific and “seekers” do not have a plan to focus their efforts for achieving the desired end. For these reasons they might be considered "blind learners." "Goal getters," on the other hand, go after the result or outcome they want -- they clarify the outcome then focus their efforts with a specific plan. They take hold of the goal with persistence and resourcefulness and achieve it. Because they are actively participating in this process, "goal getters" are informed learners.

 

Goal-Getting Needs

These two factors should be in place for goal getting to be effective:

1) Self-knowledge (strengths, challenges, style, interests/passions);

2) Support (examples, encouragement, guided experiences, safe environment for risk taking, and instruction in appropriate tools).

 

To help a student become an independent goal getter, teachers should provide practice in these four core goal-getting skills:

1. Planning and organizing (thoughts, time, resources, processes, and strategies);

2. Focusing attention (honoring priorities, personal strengths, resources, and time commitments, delaying gratification);

3. Identifying and dealing with consequences (problem solving, anticipating obstacles and setbacks);

4. Reflecting and making judgments (self-assessment, evaluation of decisions, strategies, and outcomes).

 

Powerful Influences on Student Success

What we say and do in response to students’ interests and behaviors has a powerful influence on what they believe about their abilities to succeed with personal goals. A recent study found overwhelming agreement that parents or teachers make goal getters succeed by sharing a caring attitude and encouraging responses (Mountain, 1998). We are much more powerful than we realize.

In addition to this support, other critical influences on a student’s success with goal getting include:

1) A student’s sense of self-efficacy (which is enhanced by successful scaffolding;

2) A student’s belief that she has control over the outcomes of her goal-getting process;

3) A specific (vs. general) goal;

4) A short-term (vs. distant) goal; and

5) A goal which is challenging (assuming requisite skills) but attainable, as assessed against a standard.

“They tell us stories about how they accomplished their goals.”

“My science teacher told me I have time heart and the personality to be a doctor.”

“She gets excited for us.”

 

Communication which Encourages Goal Setting:

• Listen to students in order to learn about who they are, their inner "nudgings," and what makes them "tick."
  
  
• Model personal interest in goal getting by sharing some of your own goals, risk taking, strategies, responses to setbacks, and celebrations of achievement.
  
  
• Build conversations about goals and goal getting with students in groups and one-on-one.
  
  
• Provide clear, immediate, and constructive feedback to students on a regular basis, and have students practice giving one another the same kind of feed back.

 

Encouraging Goal Setting Through Curriculum Design

• Integrate the concepts and "lingo" of goal getting into the core curricula of all subjects.
  
  
• Organize lessons, assignments, and projects so as to build the four basic skills of goal getting into the routine of classroom experiences.
  
  
• Use clearly defined rubrics, benchmarks, and performance standards to guide students to target clear, specific outcomes.
  
  
• Practice decision making and problem solving, as in dealing with setbacks and obstacles.
  
  
• Help students see their knowledge and experience as resources.

 

A teacher's focus on goal getting within each context will depend on her purpose and the learning context. Teachers can engage students in goal setting through direct instruction, within a portfolio process, and as part of assignments, class projects, teacher conferences, or simply through spontaneous check-ins.

 

Conclusion

To make sense of the significance of integrating goal-setting skills into our learning-teaching systems, we must shift our perspective from a linear one which views goal setting as an isolated set of skills, whose value lies solely in achieving future goals or results, to a perspective which sees goal setting as a core learning experience in acquiring critical life skills. When we help our students incorporate the life skills of goal setting into their learning processes, we are helping them develop qualities with a high premium for their future: personal management, adaptability, self-directed learning, and competence with basic skills. We are helping them cultivate the mental habits we use naturally when we are striving for something we truly desire: planning, managing resources, and attending to feedback.

At its best, goal setting is a process where students are experiencing their competence, building meaningful relationships, and gaining positive feedback and personal rewards. Practice with goal-setting skills helps students to work at the edge of their competence and to persevere even when answers or solutions are not readily available. It increases the opportunities for more authentic and, thus, more meaningful learning.