All students, though some students will likely need more support, typically those with weaker executive functions
Teach It!
Objective: Students will learn the importance of having actionable goals so they are able to manage their own learning
Teacher Takeaways: Goals should be SMART (specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, timebound). Goals should be stretch but achievable. Goals should reflect students' intrinsic motivations and interests, not what they think others want them to achieve. Even academic goals should be focused on the learning objective (what new knowledge or skill do I have) rather performance goals (getting a good grade). Goals should be diverse and focus on strengths, not just deficits.
Instruction/Activities: a)Teacher-led discussion: Reasons for Goal Setting b)Student Activity: Goals We Can Measure c) Student Activity: Individual Goal Setting d) Coaching: Make Goals Visible
Effective goal setting is critical to both academic and life success. Students will learn to create SMART goals based on their new understanding from previous chapters of their strengths and needs (personal, academic and cognitive) and their personal interests and motivations. Ensuring that goals are focused on learning rather than performance is likely to increase motivation and higher long-term achievement. Excerpted from the book The Empowered Student available from CAST Professional Publishing, the leaders in UDL.