Setting well-constructed goals is a skill, and the habit of developing goals is helpful in all aspects of school, work, and life. Although some people will naturally learn to set goals, it’s important to assist students with goal setting so that they become familiar with the process and apply it on their own. It seems intuitive that students would regularly set goals in school, but it’s not as prevalent as it should be. One reason for this is that goal setting is an individualized strategy; not every student will create the same goal, which means that setting goals in the classroom can seem cumbersome. While goal setting may appear to be time consuming, the benefits outweigh the challenges. The following three tips are meant to help educators who want to do more with goal setting without adding one more thing to the busy plates of teachers, counselors, and administrators.  

Develop Prompts that Are Based on Themes

Setting goals can be elusive, and when goals are vague or ambiguous, they’re difficult to meet and don’t matter nearly as much as when they’re specific. Assigning goals to a theme–or content area–makes them much more meaningful to students. Students can set goals in any number domains, including academic goals, career goals, college goals, and more. For younger students, we might set a goal to earn a certain grade on an exam or project. For high school students, we might set a goal for the amount of financial assistance that students want to earn toward college.  

The point is to help students to choose different aspects of life for their goals so that they realize that goals can be set in a wide variety of ways. Within each dimension, teachers, counselors, and school leaders can prompt students with specific verbiage to be intentional about the language that students use in their goals. Instead of just asking students to “write a postsecondary goal,” we might ask students to “write a career goal for what job they would like to have when they graduate from college/trade school.” The better the prompt from the educator, the stronger and more important the goal will be from the student.  

Use a Framework for Goal Setting 

Using frameworks for goal setting is critical. It can make or break whether or not goals are met. In fact, one study found that only 8 percent of adults who set goals manage to achieve them. That’s why learning to use a format for goal setting and follow-up is imperative–not just for setting the goal but to remember to include important aspects of quality goals, such as measurement and timeline. We suggest the use of a SMART goal–specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely. This framework helps students to write better goals than they would without it, and it helps them to think about all of the necessary parts of a good goal. 

This is also where even more prompting comes into play. As students contemplate the "achievable" aspect of their goal, we can remind them to be optimistic but realistic. When students approach the “measurable” detail of their goal, we can ask them questions, such as “How will you know you reached this goal? What would a clear sign of success look like?” Asking students for the particulars over time also trains them to write better goals in the future. 

Normalize Goal Setting as a Strategy

Goal setting shouldn’t be rare–in life or in the classroom. It shouldn’t be reserved for a new year’s resolution or the big test at the end of a unit. Goal setting should be a normal practice, established as a regular strategy for learning and growing. Not only should students be setting goals often, they should have them available for reference throughout the timeline in which the goal should be met. We normalize goal setting when we make it part of the fabric of what we do. 

Normalizing goal setting as a strategy can mean setting more goals with students, creating daily practices for goal setting and goal referencing, and explicit teaching and feedback for the goal setting process. When goal writing is frequent in school, it’s more likely to become a habit in life. When quality goal writing is used strategically to reach goals, students are more likely to reach their goals in life, putting pressure on the 92% failure rate discussed above. It’s not that goals inevitably fail; it’s that they’re not taught and learned well enough or early enough in life for them to be effective. 

Conclusion

Setting goals for different facets of life as a student can have long term benefits in their future, and when teachers, counselors, and administrators help students with solid prompts, the use of a framework, and increased frequency, students can graduate with the life-long skill of using goals to reach for their dreams. 

If you want to talk about setting goals as a classroom system or school- and district-wide approach, schedule time here. 

If you want to learn about a platform that can facilitate quality goal setting for students, schedule your demo today.