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Crosswalk of Learner Agency Across the Stages

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Crosswalk of the Elements of Learner Agency across the Stages of Personalized Learning Environments (PLE) The seven elements contribute to learner agency: voice, choice, engagement, motivation, own…

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Crosswalk of Learner Agency Across the Stages

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Ms. Ceely's Personalized Learning Classroom by hvanlooy

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This video refers to "deeper learning" which is very similar to PL.

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This video refers to "deeper learning" which is very similar to PL.

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Personalized Learning Examples in Henry County

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Personalized Learning Examples in Henry County

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Personalized Learning in Henry County, Georgia

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What is Personalized Learning [Dallas ISD 2015]

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Goal Setting at Lovett Elementary in Chicago

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Goal Setting at Lovett Elementary in Chicago

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Lovett Elementary has been focused on Learner-Led instruction to personalize learning for students. Learner-Led instruction encourages learners to have meaningful input and choice in their learning experiences, and it goes beyond differentiated instruction to truly transform the learning experience.

Created for educators. By educators.

"If I were to summarize Lovett before, the word I would use is compliance. Kids were required to come in and get ready to receive instruction. Now they have an understanding of their own goals. The "why" comes from the students, and they know what they have to do to achieve those goals."

"Traditionally it was one-size-fits-all. But with personalized learning you're looking at your individual students and what they need. Students know that we - teachers - are not in control of how they progress; they are in control."

Ms. Melissa Moody-Shumaker

How Student Conferences Work in Ms. Moody's Class

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Goal Setting in Student Conferences | LEAP Innovations

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Lovett Elementary has been focused on Learner-Led instruction to personalize learning for students. Learner-Led instruction encourages learners to have meaningful input and choice in their learning experiences, and it goes beyond differentiated instruction to truly transform the learning experience. Created for educators. By educators.

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Includes sentence stems and sample student lead IEPs

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Click on one of these filters for easy access to just the right resource for you. Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is by the Deeper Learning Hub and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Highlights various schools across US engaging in DL/PL

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Highlights various schools across US engaging in DL/PL

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For many years (at least until 2020), we visited about 100 innovative schools a year. It's the most important form of professional learning we do for ourselves and for the educators that accompany us. It's how we create and update a shared vision of powerful learning.

This page features some of the most innovative schools that exhibit best practices - schools that, on one or more dimensions, illustrate the path forward. We most appreciate practices, supports and environments that promote deep engagement. We're most interested in schools that serve historically marginalized groups - or whose practices have the potential to promote equity at scale. This list is only a segment of the many great examples of learning that exist, and we are going to continue adding exemplars of deep learning experiences as we are made aware of them.

If you'd like to visit schools (physically or virtually) contact Jessica. If there is an innovative school that we should know about, send information to Info.

Elementary (K-6)

Classic Rehab. Horace Mann Elementary School, in northwest Washington D.C., is a joy-filled student-centered personalized learning environment serving a diverse student body. The new and modernized historical facility reflects thoughtful programmatic values: Collaboration and Connection, Sustainability and Stewardship, and Choice and Invention. (See podcast with principal Elizabeth Whisnant.)

Mandarin IB. Wade King Elementary School in Bellingham, Washington features the IB Primary Years Program. Students have the opportunity to learn Mandarin and benefit from individualized instruction, access from home, and coaching from a native speaker.

K-8 Schools and Paired Elementary & Middle Schools

Data-Driven. Cesar E. Chavez Multicultural Academic Center is a neighborhood P-8 in Chicago's Back of the Yards neighborhood on the south side. Despite nearly 100% poverty and nearly half of the students new to English, the school has been a top academic performer in Chicago for a decade. Principal (and data ninja) Barton Dassinger was a teacher at Chavez and has kept a veteran staff focused on getting better every year.

Lit Magnet. Burley School is a Chicago literature, writing and technology magnet school. Visitors see students discussing, reading, thinking, exploring, questioning, experimenting, creating and collaborating. Students have access to iPads and laptops and a full art and music program.

4 Pillars. Caliber Beta opened in 2014 in Richmond, California, with personalized learning plans, a flexible rotation model for math and English and project-based learning for science and social studies. Four pillars include a safe and supportive environment (HEART) so that students can engage in rigorous learning (SMART) and develop the skill set to be critical thinkers (THINK) who then become agents of change in their communities and world (ACT). ​Students participate in computer programming, engineering and robotics classes.

Montessori. Magnolia Montessori for All educates the whole child, focuses on leadership, embraces diversity, and welcomes families as partners. The Austin muti-age P-8 charter school is organized in four grade spans.

In Park. Environmental Charter School at Frick Park in Pittsburgh uses their theme to build systems thinkers, explore complexity and develop problem solving skills in a multidisciplinary, "out-the-door" learning approach that builds active, engaged, and empathetic citizens.

Environmental Charter School (from their website)

PRIDE. Ingenuity Prep opened in Southeast Washington, D.C in 2013. It helps PK-8 students develop civic leadership, strong relationships and an inclusive community. Their "kid friendly" spell PRIDE: positivity, resilience, integrity, discipline and empathy.

Innovation. Bricolage Academy in NOLA is a diverse, active learning K-8 school focused on creative problem solving. Teachers model design thinking and rapid iteration across the curriculum.

Middle (6-8)

Middle & High Schools (6-12)

STEM Partnerships. School of Innovation, part of Willoughby-Eastlake City Schools (east of Cleveland), is a 3-8 school (growing to 3-12) in a former corporate training facility.

School of Innovation

Compass Circles. Valor Collegiate AcademiesinNashville has two middle schools and a high school powered by Compass, a human development model that is incorporated into the advisory system and rigorous academics. More than 50 schools have adopted the Compass. (See video.)

Leadership. Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders serves 800 girls in grades 6-12 in Austin, Texas. The focus is on leadership, college readiness and STEM. Sophomores do a big project, juniors participate in an internship, seniors conduct a capstone project. All graduates attend college, most in STEM fields.

High School (9-12)

Competency. Del Lago Academy, Escondido USD in north San Diego County, is a health sciences focused school featuring interdisciplinary projects. Business partners help define competencies and assess student work. To assess what students were doing throughout the scientific process they created Competency X, a badging system. (See tenth grade example, feature, op-ed, and podcast.)

Design Thinking. Freshman at LEAD Innovation Studio in the Park Hill School District , north of Kansas City, learn design thinking and develop leadership skills. A new facility for the 2020-21 school years was designed to support collaborative, project based learning and display student work. (See feature and video of new facility.)

The DaVinci network also includes Connect (mentioned above) and XQ grantee RISE High, a unique three campus school helping youth navigate foster care, housing instability, probation and other complex challenges .

Library. e3 Civic High is located in San Diego's high rise downtown library. Students learn through a mixture of self-paced online instruction, teacher or student-led small-group instruction, direct instruction, and problem-based and project-based work. They benefit from strong supports and extended learning opportunities.

Gradual release. Huntley High School,northwest of Chicago, features a blended learning program where teachers set the number of days in class needed from week to week depending on how the class is doing, or how individual students are progressing. Students can study in the HUB in individual or team spaces. (See feature and podcast with Superintendent Scott Rowe.)

Building 21

Early College STEM

Tech Jobs. IBM launched the Pathways in Technology Early College High School ( P-TECH) in Brooklyn in 2011 in partnership with CUNY and City Tech. The model combines early college and tech work experience and has been replicated to more than 200 innovative schools with more than 600 industry partners. Sarah E. Goode STEM Academy in Chicago is a good example (See 2021 podcast and 2017 feature).

Hospitality. Alonzo and Tracy Mourning Academy of Hospitality & Tourism in North Miami is also an NAF academy. Every student completes a 150-hour internship between their Junior and Senior years. The school has a productive dual enrollment relationship with the adjacent Chaplin School of Hospitality and Tourism at Florida International University.

Miami-Dade offers 58 NAF academies in the five career themes of Engineering, Finance, Health Science, Hospitality & Tourism and Information Technology. (See feature on NAF.)

Design Tech High School

Design for Good. After a decade of innovative after-school and summer learning experiences, Boise nonprofit One Stone opened Lab51, a small innovative high school to help young people make the world a better place. (See design summary, feature, video and 2021 results from advisory pilot.)

Learner Centered Portfolio. Latitude High School has intentionally designed their offerings, schedule, and curriculum around a thorough set of competencies. Students develop and refine these competencies through community-engaged project-based learning, and graduate with a portfolio of accomplishments and work products to back up their learning.

Crosstown High

Urban. Urban Academy Laboratory High School uses performance-based assessment tasks as graduation requirements. The school was a founding member of the New York Performance Standards Consortium that share a rich performance assessment system. It was approved as an alternative to state tests by the Board of Regents in 1995 and reaffirmed in 2008 when additional schools were added ( see feature). Founder Ann Cook negotiated an early and nationally visible co-location of six schools at the Julia Richmond Education. Cook also co-founded the NY State Standards Performance Consortium. (See our feature.)

K-12 Schools & Systems

Show & Tell. High Tech High has 16 schools on four campuses in San Diego County. They are all world class examples of integrated project-based learning and spectacular student art.

Progressive. Harlem Village Academies is a progressive PK-12 public charter school network that creates learning experiences that inspire and require the highest levels of intellectual sophistication.

World Class Focus. Northern Cass School District believes every learner can change the world and is committed to providing a "world class education." This work led to collective commitments that shape all systemic design and budget decisions. Their emphasis on relationships helps to drive continuous improvement, strong instructional practice, self-reflection, and playing off personal strengths.

Teton Science Schools

Part Time Programs

High Tech Learning. Summit Technology Academy is a half-day program in Lee's Summit, southeast of Kansas City. It shares a state of the art facility on the Missouri Innovation Campus with the University of Central Missouri. It offers tech and health pathways with college credit and real world learning opportunities.

International Schools

Low Cost Private. Inspired in 2012 by visits to American school networks, two MBA students launched SPARK Schools and developed 17 schools in Johannesburg and Cape Town featuring blended and extended learning and design thinking. (See feature.)

Dual Immersion. La Paz Community School is a PK-12 school that focuses on place-based education, culturally responsive curriculum and dual immersion on two campuses in northwest Costa Rica.

Singapore American School

Green. The Green School in Bali combines a rigorous K-12 core curriculum with hands-on experiential learning within a Green Studies curriculum and a Creative Arts curriculum. Check out the spectacular bamboo architecture. It's a boarding school, so you could send the kids and visit a couple times a year.

The Green School

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For many years (at least until 2020), we visited about 100 innovative schools a year. It's the most important form of professional learning we do for ourselves and for the educators that accompany us. It's how we create and update a shared vision of powerful learning.

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Discover the power of project-based learning at High Tech High with these examples of student work. It's our record of what we've done and how to get there.

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Redesigning the school day at KIPP LA using a Station Rotation model bonita

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Routines and Procedures | Blended Topic | BetterLesson

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BetterLesson reimagines professional learning by personalizing support for educators to support student-centered learning.

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For children, a fixed view of intelligence can lead them to negatively label themselves with statements such as, "I'm not good at math" or "I'm a bad writer." Similarly, when professionals struggle with new demands, they may be tempted to use phrases such as "I'm too old for this," or "I already know what works for me," or "I'm just not a computer person."

Such statements can be self-protective, said Peter Heslin, associate professor of management at UNSW Australia Business School. For example, a teacher might avoid adopting a new teaching strategy "for fear they might jeopardize their identity as an already highly skilled instructor." According to Heslin, administrators can help alleviate these concerns by "reminding teachers that experiencing setbacks are par for the course when learning something new" and creating a safe environment for taking risks.

Heslin has developed a research-based growth mindset workshop for business leaders. His program includes four self-reflective exercises that he said could be easily adopted by superintendents and principals in their professional development work.

First, participants think about it's important to understand that people can continue to grow and develop their abilities throughout adulthood. In essence, what are the "real consequences" of adopting a fixed or growth mindset?

Second, they think about one of their strengths that used to be a weakness -- and then reflect on this change took place. He says this exercise helps participants understand that their skills are "not merely the result of an aptitude or talent they have," but rather the result of effort and initiative.

Third, participants write a letter to a struggling employee, sharing thoughts about how they can strengthen their skills. And finally, they think about someone who surprised them by learning how to do something that they never thought this person could do. This final exercise, Heslin said, asks participants to reflect on the harm a fixed mindset can do to others by "leading us to ever so subtly discourage and hold them back from achieving more than we can imagine they can."
Create a Growth Environment
As a schools superintendent in Dobbs Ferry, New York, Dr. Lisa Brady says that teachers need to adopt a growth mindset just as much as students do.

"As educators, we cannot ask of kids what we are unwilling to do ourselves," she said. "Students 'sniff out' hypocrisy quickly and it is very powerful when we model the willingness to try new things -- with the struggles and failures that come along with this."

Brady said that creating an environment where teachers feel comfortable taking risks requires time -- because trust takes time. Just as teachers can sometimes create an environment that inhibits students' desire to take risks, administrators are "too often part of the problem."

Brady offers administrators these suggestions for supporting a growth mindset culture:

Remodel Faculty Meetings: Meetings "where information is shared that can be sent via email or other tools need to be a thing of the past," said Brady. Instead, use this time for engaging activities that enhance instructional practices. For example, her district provides a monthly "Wednesday Technology Session." In September, teachers come together to discuss what they want to learn -- and what they could share with their colleagues. The district uses this feedback to create a year-long technology education "menu" that allows teachers to learn from each other on topics that feel relevant.

Reach Out to Seasoned Teachers: Brady said she tries to personally connect with veteran teachers who may be reluctant to adopt new strategies and then work with them on taking small steps that will have a meaningful impact on students. "When others see that these folks are making an effort, it has a huge impact," she said.

Model a Growth Mindset: Eight years ago, Brady decided to sign up for Twitter to explore how it could be used as a professional development tool for her teachers. It seems like a small matter now, but at the time some of her colleagues were "aghast." Her willingness to experiment helps her staff see that she walks the walk. "I continually reinforce that I expect folks to not always get it right -- and I am quick to point out when I personally do not get things right," she said. " We have to be willing to take risks. If we are not taking risks and making mistakes, we are not doing our jobs as educators. "

Expand the Walls of the Classroom

For Jim Doherty, the community he found online helped him revitalize his classroom practice and expand his concept of what was possible. Too often, he said, educators "close that classroom door and feel we are on our own to figure out what the students need."

He said the virtual community he discovered midcareer "allowed me to tap into the wisdom of dozens of educators who have worked through the problems I am wrestling with." He recommends that teachers who "feel stuck" take a similar journey:

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Never Too Late: Creating a Climate for Adults to Learn New Skills

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For children, a fixed view of intelligence can lead them to negatively label themselves with statements such as, "I'm not good at math" or "I'm a bad writer." Similarly, when professionals struggle with new demands, they may be tempted to use phrases such as "I'm too old for this," or "I already know what works for me," or "I'm just not a computer person."

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But administrators may have the trickiest part to play-they must share the leadership role, and trust "their people"-their students, teachers, parents. This distributed leadership approach is a collaborative effort undertaken between people who trust and respect each other's contributions. By using principles of distributed leadership, school administrators can empower people to make great decisions, learn from mistakes and reach new heights.

Here are my 10 guiding principles for blended learning schools moving to a distributive leadership structure. (They're inspired by the awesome leaders and colleagues with whom I share this work!)
1. Remember: Everyone is a Novice & an Expert
Resist the urge to make some people knowers and other people learners. Everyone has something to learn, and everyone has something to contribute. Make this clear to all on the team and remind them often of this fact.
2. Embrace ALL Parts of Entrepreneurship
Educators love the idea of fostering entrepreneurship, but often forget that part of being an entrepreneur involves making mistakes. Taking leadership risks that sometimes end in failure is a natural way of learning to do better and reaching new heights. In fact, when you get something right, one brain synapse fires; but when you get something wrong, TWO synapses fire. So we shouldn't be so worried about making mistakes-rather we should use them as stepping stones to greater learning and increased success.
3. Know the Vision & Share it Often
If people know where they are going, how they get there is irrelevant. Like a flight to Italy-you don't really care what flight plan the pilot makes, just as long as you land there. Allow your teachers to create their own flight plans, but make sure often that YOU KNOW and THEY KNOW where they're landing! At our school, we spend over a week talking about our vision; we then spend another week and a half mapping our path. People can map their own path once they are crystal clear about where they are headed.
4. Give People Voice and Choice
The choice on how to arrive at a location (see above) is vital to people truly believing in their work. If you have set the vision clearly, then people will choose whatever path is best for them and for students. Trust them to do so and check in on to find out what they need. When checking in, make sure you hear all voices. Giving "voice" doesn't mean every decision is democratic, but it does mean that everyone gives input and all input is valuable. Ask yourself, "Have I heard from everyone?" If not, figure out a way to get more voices-or find out why folks aren't talking!
5. Create Systemic Autonomy
To build autonomy and empower your team, you must have systems in place that support self-direction. Autonomy done well is not careless; it is thoroughly thought out, intentional, and sustained by the structured and systems you create. For example, rotate leadership responsibilities, like facilitating a school-wide meeting, so every person gets a chance to set the agenda and take responsibility for the conversation about the school and its needs. Another system might be setting up budget line items for each staff member. By giving some budget control to individual team members, they have the opportunity to buy what they need when they need it. Trusting that your staff knows what the organization needs empowers them, builds autonomy, AND distributes the leadership in the school community.
6. Hire Well
Don't ever shortcut hiring! You are creating a team-get everyone involved-staff, parents, and students. Including all stakeholders in the hiring process ensures a shared responsibility and commitment to the school vision. Dynamics and culture will make or break specific projects. (If you want to know why, see number 4.)
7. Get Out of the Way: Don't Micromanage!
Teachers are entrusted with the lives of children every day-a task none of us takes lightly. We expect them to protect, teach, and care for kids, so why is it so challenging to trust them with other decision-making responsibilities? As leaders, we must let our teachers step up, take control, make mistakes, course-correct, and manage their classroom budgets accordingly. We trust them with children; the other things are small in comparison!
8. Allow Opportunities for Assessment
A big part of distributing leadership means checking in, evaluating, reflecting, and assessing. We do this naturally with students, but often forget to do so with adults. Reflecting on strengths and finding opportunities to grow can happen often and with a kind-but-discerning eye on school vision and student success. Self-assessments, 360-degree evaluations, and feedback cycles are all part of assuring that people are doing what they can and are receiving the support they need.
9. Focus on Skill & Will
Help people on your team find their passion and make their mark. Provide training and opportunities, create individualized professional development plans, and create plenty of instances for stakeholders to share their expertise. Building a team of passionate experts is an intentional and ongoing project.
10. Celebrate Small Victories
Make success-big and small- visible and irresistible. People want to be recognized for their great work (even when they say they don't). And by celebrating great work publicly, you will attract people to the success party (and the school). Everyone likes to be on a winning team, we all want to do what is best for kids, so make all of the great things that are working public!
This article would not have been possible without inspiration from my fellow innovation leaders (and NGLC grant recipients) Oliver Sicat, Liz Arney, and Jonathan Tiongco. Thanks for letting your brilliance rub off on me.

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10 Principles Move Your School Toward Distributive Leadership | NGLC

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But administrators may have the trickiest part to play-they must share the leadership role, and trust "their people"-their students, teachers, parents. This distributed leadership approach is a collaborative effort undertaken between people who trust and respect each other's contributions. By using principles of distributed leadership, school administrators can empower people to make great decisions, learn from mistakes and reach new heights.

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Explore the differences and similarities between personalized learning and differentitation

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In the recent years, personalized learning and differentiated instruction have been hot buzzwords in the education world, especially with the increasing use of technology in classrooms. The idea of school catering more towards each student's needs is something almost all agree is beneficial. However, though these words have become popular, there still seems to be a lack of clarity on what these terms mean, the difference between personalization and differentiation, and how to implement them in your classroom.

In this blog post, we break down for you the meaning of these terms and the difference between personalized learning and differentiated instruction. We then link you to two other blog posts that each include five ways to personalize or differentiate your instruction with the help of Edulastic.

Differentiation

In the words of ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education), "Differentiation is a type of learning where instruction is tailored to meet the learning needs, preferences and goals of individual students." In other words, in the differentiated instruction model, the teacher adapts instruction to meet the needs of different groups of students. According to the U.S. Department of Education, "Learning goals are the same for all students, but the method or approach of instruction varies according to the preferences of each student or what research has found works best for students like them."

Differentiated instruction involves the teacher adapting various elements in the classroom according to the needs of his or her students. This can play out in a variety of ways, and this article explains some of the ways to create an environment of differentiated instruction in your classroom with Edulastic.

Personalization

According to the U.S. Department of Education, "Personalization refers to instruction paced to learning needs, tailored to learning preferences, and tailored to the specific interests of different learners. In an environment that is fully personalized, the learning objectives and content, as well as the method and pace, may all vary." From this definition, we can see there is some overlap between differentiation and personalization as they both involve catering instruction to different learning needs. However, thought leaders on the subject, Barbara Bray and Kathleen McClasky, emphasize the critical difference being personalization starting with the learner and letting them "actively participate in the design of their learning."

The focus of personalized learning is letting the learners choose how they learn in the most beneficial way. They work alongside the teacher to create their own goals and pave their own educational pathway. As ISTE puts it, "Instead of education being something that happens to the learner, it is something that occurs as a result of what the student is doing, with the intent of creating engaged students who have truly learned how to learn." Like differentiated instruction, personalized learning has many possibilities, and this article shows you a few of the ways you can implement personalized learning in your classroom with Edulastic.

To Sum it Up...

The main difference between personalized learning and differentiated instruction is personalization's focus on the student's agency in designing their own learning path depending on their interests and style, while differentiation's focus is the teacher adapting their lessons to different types of learning, and accounting for the various students in the room. We are not advocating for one of these styles over the other, as both are shown to be effective and beneficial. We know the best teaching strategy is different for everyone and depends on each school, teacher, and group of students. In addition, many people choose to use a combination of the two ideas in their instruction.

In our research, one overwhelmingly common factor in implementing both of these teaching models was the effective use of technology to personalize and differentiate the learning of different students. Because of this, we decided to break down for you how to use our #edtechtool, Edulastic, to make your classroom more effective for each student. In these articles, we also share examples and quotes of the ways other teachers are using personalized learning and differentiated instruction in their classrooms with Edulastic:

Sources

ISTE - "Personalized vs. differentiated vs. individualized learning"

Barbara Bray and Kathleen McClaskey - Personalization vs Differentiation vs Individualization

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Personalized Learning and Differentiated Instruction: a Breakdown

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In the recent years, personalized learning and differentiated instruction have been hot buzzwords in the education world, especially with the... Read More

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Do you remember when you learned how to set goals?

If you have trouble answering that question, you're not alone! Most of us don't spend much time thinking about how we set goals.

In fact, many of us don't even think of goal setting as a skill; rather, it's just something we do without reflecting on it much.

However, goal setting is a practice that operates on a set of specific skills-and luckily, these skills are relatively easy to teach.

As with most skills, it's best to start teaching goal setting early. Although parents are perhaps the best source of skill-building and development for their children, it's vital to have some goal setting material in the school curriculum as well. Learning how to set goals in school and seeing goal setting modeled by peers and teachers is a great way to encourage effective goal setting in children.

This article will explore why goal setting is a great addition to the curriculum from elementary school all the way up to college, and how it can best be incorporated.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Goal Achievement Exercises for free. These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients create actionable goals and master techniques to create lasting behavior change.

A Look at Goal Setting in Education

Setting goals is a vital practice that can benefit anyone with a dream or a vision for their future. Young people who are just starting out on the grand journey of life are at a particularly opportune time to start building their goal setting skills-not only will these skills serve them throughout their lives, but building them now will help them mold their future into one that they desire.

Parents can encourage goal setting in their children-and absolutely should do so-but the importance of this skill justifies its inclusion in our schools' curriculum. The world of education is an excellent place to introduce children to goal setting, lay the foundations for effective goal setting, and begin to practice setting and striving towards personally meaningful goals.

Why is Goal Setting Important for Youth?

Not only will a curriculum that includes instruction in setting goals teach kids the mechanics and techniques of goal setting, but it will also give them early wins and help them develop belief in themselves. Anyone who has worked with children will recognize the importance of self-belief and self-confidence for early life development.

Further, research backs up the effectiveness of goal setting, both for the children themselves and for schools and systems overall (O'Neill, 2000). When teachers practice good goal setting, the benefits for their students are two-fold:

1. The students see effective goal setting modeled, and

2. The school itself is likely to become more effective at facilitating learning.

How Do Children Benefit from Goal Setting?

Aside from helping them believe in themselves and setting them up for success in school, goal setting also benefits children and students in many ways, including:

1. Improving self-image

2. Increasing awareness of one's strengths

3. Increasing awareness of one's weaknesses

4. Providing an experience of success

5. Facilitating effective visualization

6. Clarifying the path ahead

7. Encouraging prioritization

8. Defining reality and separating it from wishful thinking

9. Building responsibility for one's self

10. Improving decision making (Goucher College Office of Student Engagement, n.d.)

These are generic benefits of goal setting that anyone who engages in smart goal setting and striving can attain, but a few of them can be particularly effective for children; for example, the benefits of goal setting for youth include:

Provides direction, which most youths are either seeking or trying to nail down.

Helps children clarify what is important to them and focus on it.

Facilitates more effective decision making through better self-knowledge, direction, and focus.

Allows children to take a more active role in building their own future.

Acts as a powerful motivator by giving children something to hope for and aspire towards.

Gives children a positive experience of achievement and personal satisfaction when they reach a goal.

Assists children in finding a sense of purpose in their lives (The Peak Performance Center, n.d.).

Using Goal Setting Effectively with Kids and Teens: A Look at the Research

According to Education World, there are six key secrets to successful goal setting that you can communicate to your students:

1. Write clear and measurable goals.

2. Create a specific action plan for each goal.

3. Read your goals daily and visualize yourself accomplishing them.

4. Reflect on your progress to see if you are on target.

5. Revise your action plans if needed.

6. Celebrate your accomplishments.

The research on this topic provides some extra tips and tricks for maximizing the effectiveness of goal setting curricula:

Set upper and lower limits on students' goals to teach realistic goal setting (they can always be removed later).

Use games to teach goal setting in a context with low pressure and high engagement.

Hold one-on-one goal-setting conferences with students to give them individual attention and help them learn to assess goal difficulty (Schunk, 1990).

Encourage students to write down their goals rather than simply creating them and leaving them floating around their mind (Matthews, 2015).

Make extensive use of models (teachers and/or peers) in the classroom to show students how it works.

Teach effective goal setting strategies (like setting SMART goals) to increase the likelihood of success and provide feedback on student progress.

Provide direct instruction on goal setting and include instruction on self-evaluation.

Provide instruction on effective learning strategies in general, as students will need these broader skills to build their goal-setting abilities (Schunk, 2003).

How to Best Teach Goal Setting to Students

If you're looking for some concrete examples of the best ways to teach your students' goal setting, you've come to the right place. Read on for lesson plans, exercises, activities, and examples.

Examples of Goal Setting for Teachers

The Children's Center for Psychiatry, Psychology, and Related Services provide five great examples-one per each aspect of the SMART goal setting method -that teachers can use to teach their students about setting SMART goals:

A Lesson Plan for Teachers

There are tons of lesson plans available to help teachers incorporate goal-setting into their curriculum. Here is a popular and widely-used lesson plan outlined below.

Growth Mindset Goal Setting Lesson Plan

This lesson plan from Mindset Works is intended to meet one important objective: Students will (learn how to) set growth mindset learning goals.

The objective will be met through guiding students as they:

You'll need the following materials to implement this lesson plan:

Goal Setting Template (found here)

Assignment list(s) with scores

Recent rubrics (holistic or analytic) that have feedback from a teacher

Recent reports from benchmark tests

Examples of their own work that the student has produced over time

The lesson plan outlines three mini-lessons, each with their own activity:

1. Mini-Lesson 1: Setting a Goal
Activity 1: Goal Setting

2. Mini-Lesson 2: Creating an Action Plan
Activity 2: Action Planning

3. Mini-Lesson 3: Reflection on Progress
Activity 3: Reflecting

Click here to see this lesson plan and download it for your use in your classroom.

4 Goal Setting Worksheets and Templates (PDF)

Templates and worksheets are a must-have for teachers going over goal setting in the classroom. Use the four listed below to help your students learn about and practice effective goal setting.

1. Goal Execution Plan

The Goal Execution Plan template is an excellent resource for older students due to the considerations it includes and the level of detail.

It includes space for up to three goals, with six steps per goal, and provides the following columns for each step:

Goals and Action Steps

Date Start

Responsible (who is responsible for it)

Starting Metrics (metrics measure goal progress-this is the starting point for these measures)

Budget (if any)

Notes

Final Metrics (endpoint for the measures of goal progress)

Date End

You may not need all of these columns, but it's helpful to have prompts to think deeply about each goal. You can find the template here.

2. Student Goal Setting Worksheet

This worksheet is quick and simple, making it a great choice for young children.

The Student Goal Setting Worksheet has space for the student's name and the current date, then poses these five prompts:

1. I am good at...

2. I am bad at...

3. What I will improve?

4. How will I make these improvements?

5. If my plan doesn't work, what will I do?

Working through this activity will help them start thinking about what goal setting is as well as what direction they'd like to go with their goals.

You will likely need to walk your students through these prompts, so be prepared to provide assistance as needed. You can find the worksheet here.

3. Simple Goal Setting Worksheet

This is another simple worksheet-as the name implies-that can be used with younger or older students to help them figure out the basics of setting and working towards their goals.

The worksheet provides space for students to answer the following prompts:

If you use this worksheet with younger students, you might need to help guide them through it or provide examples, but older students should have no trouble completing it on their own.

You can find the worksheet at this link.

4. SMART Goal Setting Worksheet

If you want to focus your students on setting SMART goals, this worksheet is a great choice. It's a bit more involved than the previous worksheets, making it more suitable for high school students than younger students.

Here's the gist of the worksheet:

1. What is the goal?

2. Why is the goal important?

3. SMART goal checklist:

1. S - Specific - Is the goal clearly written, with no ambivalence? Is it clear who needs to accomplish the goal, and any support they might expect?

2. M - Measurable - Does the goal answer the questions of how many, how much, and/or how often?

3. A - Achievable - Can you get the support needed to achieve the goal by the target date? Do you have all the resources needed to achieve the goal? Are the results expected realistic?

4. R - Relevant - Does the goal make a difference in your career? Is it going to make an improvement in your personal life? Is it going to significantly make a difference to your business/academic career?

5. T - Time-Bound - Does the goal state a clear and specific completion date?

4. List potential problems that might keep you from completing your goal.

5. Goal Completion Date.

At the bottom of the worksheet, there is space to list up to 7 action items and determine when they need to be completed by.

Click here to see this worksheet and download it for your classroom.

2 PPTs to use in the Classroom

If you want some ready-made positive psychology PowerPoint presentations (PPTs) that you can use in your classroom or as templates for putting your own unique spin on goal setting, these slideshows are a good place to start:

A Look at Goal Setting in Elementary and Middle School

Goal setting is a bit trickier in elementary and middle school than in high school. Younger children generally need a bit more guidance and supervision when setting and striving towards goals, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't give it a shot!

Use the games, worksheets, and activities below to teach goal setting to your elementary and middle school students.

5 Games and Worksheets for Elementary Students (PDF)

1. Pressure Cooker

This game is a great way to get your elementary students to use their critical thinking skills.

It was designed to:

It takes only 15 to 20 minutes to play, keeping it within the attention span of the average elementary school student. You can have up to seven players.

Here's what you'll need to play:

A long rope (around 7 meters)

One numbered spot marker per player

A stopwatch

Here's how the game works:

In advance, lay a long rope on the floor/ground to form a large circle.

Collect and number as many spot markers as you have people in your group.

Randomly distribute the numbered spot markers inside the circle.

Ask each person to stand on top of one of the spot markers.

When ready, instruct each individual to move to and touch every other spot in the ascending order of the numbers.

For example, the person standing on spot #8 will move to 9, 10, 11 and 12 (presuming there are 12 people in the group,) before moving

to 1, 2, 3 through to 8.

As soon as an individual has touched all of the spot-markers and returns to their own, they will exit the circle.

Challenge your group to perform this task as accurately and as fast as possible.

Furthermore, challenge your group to solve this problem without stepping outside of the (roped) circle or touching any other person in the process (touching elsewhere within the circle is permitted.)

Encourage your group to make as many attempts as possible within a specified time period, aiming to improve their performance with each attempt.

Allow ample time for planning and problem-solving.

Click here to download the activity sheet and see popular variations on the game.

2. Cat on Yer Head

This silly game was designed to work with crowds and can accommodate medium to large groups.

The benefits of this game include:

It only takes 2 to 5 minutes to play, making it an excellent warm-up game. All you'll need to play is some balloons and a stopwatch to keep track of time.

To play the game, follow these instructions:

1. Choose or invite two volunteers seated in opposing corners of the room.

2. Nominate one of these people to be the Cat, and the other person to be the Mouse.

3. Announce that the Cat and the Mouse will soon move positions very quickly.

4. To help identify where the Cat (or Mouse) is at any time, they must say the word "CAT" (or "MOUSE") loudly over and over.

5. The Cat and Mouse move whenever the person with it taps any person close to them on the shoulder.

6. Practice this calling and tapping movement for 5 to 10 seconds to gauge understanding.

7. Remind your group that both the Cat and the Mouse can be moved around the audience in any direction, at any time.

8. Announce that the Cat has 30 seconds to catch (tag) the person with the Mouse.

9. When ready, call "GO."

10. If the Cat catches the Mouse before the time expires, the Cat wins.

11. If the Mouse survives for 30 seconds, the Mouse wins.

12. Play several rounds and/or try a variation.

If you'd like to give this game a shot with your students, click here for the full game description and more information.

3. Longest Shadow

This is a quick problem-solving game that requires nothing but the sun! It's good for up to 7 players and only takes 5 to 10 minutes to play.

Why would you choose the Longest Shadow?

1. It's simple to set up.

2. It inspires creativity.

3. It fosters collaboration.

4. It requires no props!

Here's how the game works:

1. Invite your group outside on a bright, sunny day within a wide open space.

2. Challenge your group to work together to position themselves in a manner that casts the longest shadow possible.

3. Each group starts with their shadow touching a common starting line.

4. To heighten the challenge and govern fair-play:

1. The shadow must be one continuous line (i.e., all shadows must be connected); and

2. Only bodies may be used to cast a shadow (i.e., no clothing or other props).

5. Allow the group to have as many attempts as possible within 10 minutes.

6. Measure and record the longest shadow.

To see the full game description and learn about popular variations of this game, click here.

4. Paper Holding

This fun and easy game is great for small groups and facilitates team-building.

You might want to try this game if you're looking for something that:

1. Is an innovative challenge.

2. Fosters cooperation.

3. Inspires creativity.

4. Is very playful and fun!

It takes only 5 to 10 minutes to play and all you need is some paper.

Follow these steps to play the Paper Holding game:

1. Form into teams of three to five people.

2. By way of demonstration, ask two people from a team to volunteer and hold one sheet of paper between the palms of one of their hands.

3. Each team is challenged to assist two of their group members to hold as many pieces of paper
off the ground by using only their bodies.

4. To guide fair play, announce that:

1. Only one sheet of paper can be affixed between any two body parts.

2. No adhesives can be used to hold paper to one's body.

3. Folding the paper is not permitted.

4. Each sheet of paper must be in contact with both team members.

5. No two sheets of paper can be touching.

5. Distribute sheets of paper to each team, and announce "GO."

6. Allow up to 10 minutes and survey the results.

If you want to play this game with your students, you can find more information by clicking here.

Click here to see more games you can use to help students learn about and practice goal setting and goal striving.

5. My Goals Worksheet

It's not as fun as the games described above, but this worksheet is a great way for your students to practice identifying and planning for their goals.

It only requires them to set two goals and gives them ample room to write them down (although they may need your help with this).

After they have identified two goals, they answer the following prompts for each of them:

This goal is important because...

Steps I'll take to reach this goal are...

It's simple, easy, and won't take more than 10 minutes or so, making it an excellent addition to the goal-setting curriculum either before or after one of the games above.

You can find the worksheet here.

8 Goal Setting Activities for Middle School Students (Incl. Worksheets)

If you're a teacher of middle schoolers (or anyone else that interacts with several middle schoolers on a regular basis), these activities and worksheets will provide you with plenty of options for adding goal-setting into the curriculum.

1. Make a Family Bucket List

Making a bucket list is a great way to set goals, and this activity involves the whole family in the goal-setting practice. It's a great way to both model goal setting and encourage your children to practice it themselves, all at once.

Here's how to do it:

Get your family together and collect a piece of paper and some markers.

As a family, brainstorm a list of accomplishments, experiences, or achievement goals that you want to work towards as a family over the next year.

At the end of the year, look back over your list and see what you've accomplished. Celebrate the goals you accomplished as a family.

Encourage your children to use online tools like Trello or Evernote to help create this bucket list and/or to create one for themselves.

2. Draw a Wheel of Fortune

The wheel of fortune is a fun way to introduce goal setting in different areas of life. It will show your children that you don't need to keep your goals limited to school or work, you can set goals in all life domains.

Follow these steps to create and use a wheel of fortune:

1. Draw a circle and divide it into even segments (like you're cutting a pizza into slices).

2. On each segment, write one of the important life domains; for example, you might write "Family," "Friends," "School/Work," "Hobbies," "Health," and "Fun."

3. For each domain, have your child write out the goals she would like to accomplish. Make sure she keeps the goals to a specific timeline (e.g., a month, 3 months, a year).

Make sure to help her keep track of her progress throughout the timeline you chose.

3. Create a Vision Board

Vision boards are a great way to plan out your goals, especially the big ones that are especially meaningful to you. Helping your children or students create a vision board will challenge them, get them thinking about what is most important to them, and encourage them to stay motivated in striving towards their goals.

Here's how to create an effective vision board:

Gather some old magazines (you can also draw pictures, use newspapers, print out some pictures, etc.) and have your students cut out some pictures that represent their hopes and dreams for the future.

Help your students arrange the pictures on a piece of cardboard and use glue to secure them in place. You can also provide glitter, stickers, ribbons, markers, and anything else they might like to decorate their vision board with.

Ask your students to describe what each picture represents and how he or she plans to work toward that goal. If your class is too large or you have some shy students, ask them to write it down instead of sharing it out to the group.

Send them home with their vision board or hang it somewhere in the classroom if there's space for all of them.

4. Play 3 Stars and a Wish

This is a fun and easy game that you can play with your students or your children to help them start thinking about their goals.

It's a simple activity with simple rules:

1. Ask your students or children to come up with three "stars," or things that they do well. The sky is the limit for this activity-the thing they're good at can be anything from a subject in school to a quality that makes him or her a good friend.

2. Now that they have their three stars, tell them to come up with a "wish" to complement their stars; the wish should be something that the children need to work on or would like to get better at. Again, they are only limited by their imagination. They can pick any goal, as long as it is meaningful and important to them.

This activity will not only help them come up with important goals, but it will also help them develop the self-belief they need to succeed.

5. Ask Fun Questions

Asking questions is a great way to get your children or students thinking about what is important to them, what they'd like to achieve or accomplish, and how they can get there.

There are tons of fun questions out there, but here are a couple of examples to get you started:

Ask your students "What would you do if you won the lottery?" or "If you had a superpower, how would you use it?"

Listen to their answers and encourage them to be detailed.

Discuss how they can take their fate into their own hands by making a plan to achieve the hopes, goals, and dreams they identified in their answers.

Continue the discussion as often as you can to make sure they are still thinking about their long-term goals and actively planning ways to reach them.

6. Interest Maps

Interest maps are best for older students, so you may want to save this for upper middle school or junior high students.

Here's how to help your children or students create an interest map:

1. Ask your students to think about what they like to do. Do they like art? Science? Writing? Sports? Have them think about all of their interests and favorite things to do, and write them down.

2. Help them look through their list of interests and see if they can find any patterns; for example, maybe most of their interests involve helping other people or being outside.

3. Have them create an interest map by creating a web of circles and filling them in with their interests in a way that makes sense (e.g., similar interests by one another).

4. Based on their interest map, assist them in creating goals that are relevant and meaningful to them.

This activity will help your students learn more about themselves, which is a vital prerequisite to setting good goals.

7. New Year Reflections and Resolutions

Middle-school-age children will likely have a grasp of the ritual that is setting New Year's resolutions. They will also be at an age where they are demonstrating more agency and preferences in regards to their studies and extracurricular activities.

Making a ritual out of setting New Year's resolutions not only serves as a great opportunity to set goals, but it provides an opportunity to encourage children to reflect on the challenges and triumphs of the previous year, fostering gratitude and a sense of accomplishment.

To facilitate this activity, ask your child to reflect on some of the following questions:

What are you most proud of having achieved in the past year?

What do you think you could have done better in the past year?

What's something you felt particularly passionate about in the past year?

What new goal would you like to accomplish in the new year?

What's a behavior you'd like to stop in the new year?

What's a behavior you'd like to start doing in the new year?

What's something new you'd like to try in the new year?

This is a great exercise to do together as a family. This way, you as the adult can also describe your reflections and set new goals in your personal or professional life. This will allow you to set an example for your kids, who may wish to set goals regarding their schooling, sports, or other extracurricular activities.

For a range of useful worksheets to help your child set goals for the new year, take a look at the templates available at Charts4Kids.com.

8. My Goals Worksheet

This worksheet is an effective tool for encouraging children to think more about their goals and plan on how to meet them.

At the top of the worksheet, there is a box for them to identify their goal and a box to note the target date for completion of their goal.

Next, they are asked to identify three actions that will allow them to reach their goal. These should be relevant and realistic actions that will lead them to completing their goal by their target date.

At the bottom, there is space to explain how they will know they've reached their goal (e.g., what will it look like when they achieve their goal, what the outcome will be). Plus, they are prompted to come up with two things that will help them stick to working towards their goal (e.g., an encouraging friend, a motivating thought).

To see this worksheet or download it for use in your classroom, click here.

Goal Setting for High School Students

At the high school level, goal setting gets a bit easier to teach, but not necessarily easier to learn and implement for the students! High school brings with it all kinds of distractions that can make setting good goals a challenge.

5 Activities and Worksheets for High School Students (PDF)

Use the activities and worksheets described below to help your older students navigate effective goal setting.

1. Smarties Warm-Up Activity

You can use this activity to get students warmed up and ready to think about goal setting. All you'll need is two rolls of Smarties candies (or a similar round, stackable candy) per student and 5 minutes.

The students' task is to stack as many Smarties as they can in one vertical column in one minute-but they can only use one hand. Before they begin, have them set a goal for themselves by estimating the number of Smarties they think they'll be able to stack.

Start the timer and have the students start stacking! Once the timer hits one minute, instruct your students to stop stacking and count up their candy.

Next, you'll guide them through the scoring guidelines:

The Smarties must be standing 5 seconds after the time ends to count.

If the goal is NOT reached, each candy stacked is worth 5 points.

If the goal IS reached, each candy stacked is worth 10 points up to the goal, and 5 points for each additional candy stacked over the goal.

For example, say a student sets a goal of 15 Smarties stacked.

If the student stacked 10 Smarties, they would score 5 points per candy for a total of 50 points.

If the student stacked 15 Smarties, they would score 10 points per candy for a total of 150 points.

If the student stacked 18 Smarties, they would score 10 points per candy up to 15 (150 points) and 5 points per candy up to 18 (15 points) for a total of 165 points.

Have the students calculate their score then determine who stacked the most candies and who had the highest score-due to the scoring, this may not be the same person. Discuss any unusual approaches students used, if any.

See more activities and a full lesson plan on setting goals with high schoolers here.

2. Action for Goals Worksheet

This worksheet is a great reminder for students that setting goals on its own won't get you anywhere-you need to set mini goals and identify action steps on the way to your larger goal.

The worksheet provides an example of a larger goal and the mini goals and action steps that will lead to it:

Overall Goal: I will learn to play a musical instrument proficiently in 5 years.

1. I will determine which instrument I would like to play.

2. I will find a tutor/teacher and begin taking lessons weekly.

3. I will practice daily for 60 minutes.

Using this as a template, students are given the space to write down four goals and come up with 3 mini goals or action steps per goal and provided with these instructions: " In each box below, state a goal that is important to you and then identify the mini goals/action statements needed."

Completing this worksheet will help your students get in the right frame of mind for goal setting and goal striving, and keep them cognizant of the effort required to actually meet their goals after setting them.

You can find this worksheet at this link.

3. My Goals Worksheet

The My Goals worksheet is a good way to help your students figure out what their goals are and refine them into ones that are relevant, meaningful, and motivating.

Here's how it works:

There are 4 boxes on the worksheet:

Healthy Living

Finance

Friendships

Work or School

These boxes surround one oval marked "Me."

Students are instructed to "Describe your needs in each of the following categories below; from those needs, determine what good goal statements would be. In the middle box, describe yourself."

Good goal setting requires healthy reflection and an understanding of who we are and what we want, which this activity is sure to help your students build upon.

View, download, or print the My Goals worksheet by clicking here.

4. Rate Yourself Worksheet

Another great activity to try before setting goals is to rate yourself on your need for goal setting in each life domain-in other words, to determine how much you are in need of improvement in each area.

This worksheet provides you with an easy way to get your students to rate themselves in 12 different life domains. The instructions at the top state:

" Before setting goals for yourself, determine where the need is by completing the scale below. Once completed, prioritize them from greatest to least need."

The scale given to students for their use in rating is as follows:

1. Very Dissatisfied

2. Somewhat Dissatisfied

3. Neither Satisfied nor Dissatisfied

4. Somewhat Satisfied

5. Very Satisfied

The 12 domains listed for students to rate their need are:

1. Money

2. Family Relationships

3. Friends and Relationships

4. Fitness

5. Diet

6. Career or School

7. Social Life

8. Spirituality

9. Sense of Belonging

10. Hobbies / Sports

11. Knowledge

12. Other

To use this worksheet with your high schoolers, follow this link.

5. Goal Setting: Learning from the Past

It's also important to think about your past goals and taking inventory of what went well, what didn't, and any other lessons learned. This worksheet can guide your students through that process.

It opens with an explanation of why it's an important practice:

"Before setting new goals, it's important to look back to previous goals you have set and learn from them. Analyze why you reached those goals or why you didn't reach those goals."

Next, the worksheet presents several questions and prompts to help the user think it through:

Be ready to help your students with useful prompts or examples in case they need help, and discuss their answers with them after they've completed the activity.

Click here to see this worksheet.

Goal Setting for College Students

By the time students reach college, they are generally at least somewhat familiar with goal setting techniques and have a minimum level of competence in setting effective goals; however, that doesn't mean they have no work left to do!

Goal setting and striving are made up of a set of skills that can be increased and enhanced throughout life-there is no maximum level of skill one can have in setting good goals.

9 Activities and Games for College Students

The activities and games described here can help you give your college students the push they need to further develop their goal-setting skills.

Goal Setting for the First-Time College Student

This is a great activity for new college students, as it shows them the importance of setting good goals and planning to achieve them.

Here's how to get your new students thinking critically about their goals:

1. Ask them to answer the questions in this activity as profoundly and honestly as they can.

2. Instruct them to think of at least categories of life goals:

1. Relationships with other people (family, friends, work relationships)

2. Work or career goals

3. Other personal achievement activity goals (hobbies, travel, athletics, etc.)

3. Have them take a few moments to visualize what their life would be like if it was perfect.

4. Hand out six 3 x 5 index cards to each student and have them number them 1 through 6.

5. Allow one minute for Part 1:
On the first card, have your students answer this prompt: "How do you want to spend the rest of your life? Make a list of activities and goals for the rest of your life."

6. Allow one minute for Part 2:
On the second card, have them answer this prompt: "What do you want to do the next 5 to 10 years? Again, list activities and goals."

7. Allow one minute for Part 3:
On the third card, have them answer this prompt: "If you had six months to live, how would you spend it? List activities and goals."

8. Allow one minute for Part 4:
Have them go over the first three cards and add or delete any item that has come to mind since the beginning of the exercise.

9. Allow one minute for Part 5:
Card 4, line 1: Have your students select the goal or activity from card one that they most desire to achieve and write it there.

10. Allow one minute for Part 6:
Card 4, line 2: Have your students select the goal or activity from card two that they most desire to achieve and write it there.

11. Allow one minute for Part 7:
Card 4, line 3: Have your students select the goal or activity from card three that they most desire to achieve and write it there.

12. Allow three minutes for Part 8:
On card 6, have your students write as many things as they could do in the next 7 days to further the goals they wrote down on card 4. This part isn't about feasibility, but creativity and comprehensiveness, so tell them not to worry about how possible or likely these things are yet.

13. Allow one minute for Part 9:
Instruct your students to scratch out any item on card 5 that they don't actually intend to do or think they can't do.

14. Allow one minute for Part 10:
Have your students choose three items from card 5 that they will do in the next 7 days and write them down on card 6.

To further the goal-setting practice, you can share the worksheet at the end of this activity with your students.

It poses 8 prompts for students to answer:

1. My long-range goals to complete in the next 2-3 years are:

2. Steps I need to take to achieve these (long-range) goals are:

3. My mid-range goals to complete in the next 1 year are:

4. Steps I need to take to achieve these (mid-range) goals are:

5. My short-range goals to complete by the first day of the semester are:

6. Steps I need to take to achieve these (short-range) goals are:

7. My immediate goals for the next month are:

8. Steps I need to take to achieve these (immediate) goals are:

To see this activity and the worksheet attached to it, click here.

8 Activities to Think About Goal Setting

This list of activities to help students think about goal setting comes from the Supporting Transition and Education through Planning and Partnerships (STEPP) Program, a program designed to help students with learning disabilities succeed in college. It's not just helpful for students with learning disabilities though-the activities can be helpful for anyone who wants to improve their goal setting skills.

The activities include:

1. Thinking About You - What qualities do you like most about yourself? What qualities would you like to improve?

2. Thinking About Others - What qualities do you admire in others (i.e., qualities you see in specific people, and/or those you admire in general)?

3. Values - Identify your top 5 values. What is most important to you? Why?

4. Strengths vs. Weaknesses - What are you good at? What is difficult for you?

5. Likes vs. Dislikes - Identify things you strongly like and dislike (e.g., places, activities, classes, foods, events, people, etc.). Why do you like/dislike these?

6. Super-You - Imagine you are a superhero? What would your superpower be? What would your "kryptonite" (vulnerability) be?

7. Back to the Future - Picture yourself 5 years from today and consider where you would like to be, who you would like to be with, and what you would like to be doing. Then ask the same questions for 10, 20, and even 50 years down the road.

8. Pushing Up Daisies - Imagine that you have passed away at the age of 100, and someone close to you is about to give the eulogy at your memorial service. What do you most want them to say about you?

These 8 activities will give your students a great head start on thinking about their goals and how they plan to reach them.

Click here to see these 8 activities and other helpful tips and tricks on goal setting for college students.

Recommended Books on the Topic

To learn more about goal setting for children and students, check out these six popular books on the subject:

My Happy Place: A Children's Self-Reflection and Personal Growth Journal with Creative Exercises, Fun Activities, Inspirational Quotes, Gratitude, Dreaming, Goal Setting, Coloring In, and Much More - Sheleen Lepar and Helene Pam (Amazon)

Future Lady Boss: Goal Setting Journal - Suzie Luv (Amazon)

Student Achievement Goal Setting: Using Data to Improve Teaching and Learning - Leslie Grant and James Stronge (Amazon)

Every Kid's Guide to Goals: How to Choose, Set, and Achieve Goals That Matter to You - Karleen Tauszik (Amazon)

Levi's Great & Wonderful Life: A Child's Story About Overcoming Fears, Setting Goals, & Achieving Success Through Visualization - Brandon Vannoy (Amazon)

My Simple Book of Goals: Goal-Setting Journal for Youth - Alicia Hadley (Amazon)

Then we have an additional article where we take an in-depth look at the best goal-setting books.

3 Recommended Videos

If you don't have time to read a full book at the moment but want a little more knowledge about goal setting for children, give these four videos a try:

Setting Goals - McMasterUTV

CashVille Kidz Episode 11: Goal & Goal Setting - CashVilleKidz

Goal Setting Growth Mindset - Michelle Turner

A Take-Home Message

In this piece, we described goal setting for children, explained why it's important, and provided some resources to help you teach your children or students about goal setting.

I hope you found this piece helpful and that you have some ideas about how to encourage successful goal setting and striving in your children or students.

What are your thoughts on goal setting for children? Does it need to be approached in a different way than goal setting for adults? How do you think it's best to get started? Let us know in the comments section!

Thanks for reading, and happy goal setting!

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don't forget to download our three Goal Achievement Exercises for free.

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42 Goal Setting Activities for Students & Kids (+ PDF)

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Learning how to set goals in school and role model the right behaviors that can encourage effective goal setting by students and kids.

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What the Heck Is Inquiry-Based Learning?

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Teachers use inquiry-based learning to combat the “dunno” -- a chronic problem in student engagement. Check out these four steps for creating inquiry-based curriculum.

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Self-Reflection of Learner Centered Classroom

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Self-Reflection of Learner Centered Classroom

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By: Rebecca Midles and Laura Hilger
For as long as there have been schools, there has been the knowledge that schools need to change. This tension often exists at the intersection of power and equity. To combat this tension, numerous new terms, new ideologies and reframings have been created - but perhaps none are as promising as learner-centered design.

When systems say they are learner-centered this means that the system is designed for and by learners. As educators, we have signed up to put learners first, a commitment that varies across the globe within different educational systems. Oftentimes, this dedication to being learner-centered is a defining characteristic of educators who are considered to be professionals and artists of their craft.

If we are really here to do the work of serving every learner, where they are, in real-time so that they become agents for their own learning who are prepared for life after high school, it's necessary that we make a shift to students-centered practices that ground in anti-oppressive practices, inclusivity and cultural responsiveness .

Student-Centered Learning, sometimes referred to as the aforementioned learner-centered education, encompasses the idea that instruction should be shifted to focus on each and every student's needs. This focus on students typically means disrupting traditional constraints like seat time, grade bands, state accountability, and many of the relics of education's past that reinforce systems of power, marginalization, bias and inequitable interventions. This approach also invites radically different systems and structures at the fullest level of implementation.

Unfortunately, all too often, well-intentioned student-centered models, policies, projects and even magnet schools develop such a mission, only to veer off the path and become adult-centered before they are able to truly and deeply embed the student-centered culture and components. It can be hidden well, although often inadvertently, and in order to make needed shifts, it's important we call out what practices can contribute to adult-centered, and student-centered learning. We have identified eight signs that educators and edleaders can look for to reflect on the ways learners are at the center of learning and whenever possible, driving the learning.

Innovative Use of Time

When looking at the daily schedule, consider how the innovative use of time and scheduling aligns to and nourishes the vision you have for your learning community, how it grows learner agency, cultivates learner readiness, and enables procedural efficiency with flexibility.

The traditional school calendar that was influenced long ago by the agrarian summer break and national holidays has not changed for the majority of our school systems. The challenge of bus schedules is still often cited when learning teams are trying to design creative use of time and move away from a universal start and end time in order to find more "flex" time. In some cases, students are having to move across campus to get to classes and often may not even choose an elective because of the distance traveled in a designated passing time. There have been attempts and some success with rethinking in-service days, instructional prep time, and interim learning sessions between semesters, but for the most part, this structure can be a significant obstacle to being more systematically set up to be learner-centered.

Guiding Questions for Innovative use of Time

Why is there a need to change our master schedule?

What is the purpose of a master schedule and how can these goals be met in other ways?

How might you design schedules that better align to your learner-centered shared vision?

What are the current barriers that your community faces when looking at changing the schedule, and which one(s) can you begin to dismantle?

Possible Look Fors

Flexible Grouping of Learners

Flexible grouping aligns to learner needs and context which supports flexible pacing, leading to a system that allows learners to advance upon mastery rather than seat time or age. When cohorts of learners are based on age over strategic learner readiness, you are less likely to have personalized learning at a deep level for each and every learner. Learners deserve academic content that is appropriately challenging with support they need and teachers that are prepared for those levels - versus the artificial push and pull of getting everyone to the same spot.

Often, the grouping of learners can be directed by the teacher's schedule and their content area with the additional layers of class sizes or timing of course offerings. Offerings such as electives, AP or math classes can be lynchpins for designing learning options and often create obstacles for personalized learning. In addition, labeling learners by permanently sorting or tracking results in an inequitable system that is based on privilege, access, and convenience. Alternatively, flexible grouping gives educators and learners the freedom to move based on learner needs by content, context, or social-emotional priorities.

In the landscape of needed equitable structures, when a freshman class requires prerequisites, a system needs to review whether all middle schools provide this opportunity. If not, is the sorting outcome worth the change? Is the prerequisite more about the adults or the learners, and if learners - for all learners or just a few? Many systems address this with pre-assessments or one-to-one meetings to share expectations, but why not reconsider the onramp by reviewing the final outcomes that are intended with this class? If it is to access higher rigor earlier, why not imbed that in all courses, all the time, by implementing a more personalized learning approach within the content and context?

Guiding Questions

Where might you begin using learner needs to drive group formations?

When students show readiness for the next level of rigor that is beyond a grade-level content - what is the process? Consequently, when learners need more scaffolding to reach what is being presented, what are the supports?

How do you build a system that is anti-tracking, and adjusts groupings based on needs in real-time?

How could you provide or increase equitable access to rigorous coursework?

Possible Looks Fors

Sequence and Documentation of Learning

An inclusive process was used to design the systemic, aligned, accessible, and essentialized learning continuum that is culturally responsive, non-biased and anti-racist, and shows what all learners need to know and be able to do. The learning continuum drives all teaching, learning, and curricular resource decision-making.

When a system has a canon or a third-grade curriculum, the concept of this structure can often be intended for the adults that deliver the instruction and the provided resources. Personalized systems have aligned essential learning goals that show what all learners need to know and be able to do and provide options and flexibility for resource selection and context. The look fors or learning goal indicators are common but the process may vary.

Guiding Questions

Possible Look Fors

Assessment Literacy and Practices

Educators work together to design quality common measurement tools aligned to the learning continuum such as rubrics to enable both educators and learners to provide feedback on the learning, growing assessment capable learners. These assessments are transparent and accessible to the entire learning community. Based on readiness, a variety of types of aligned assessments are provided for learners over multiple opportunities, grounded in learner choice. Over time, learners are part of the assessment design process, leading how they will show what they've learned.

Guiding Questions

To what degree are assessments aligned to the standards/competencies required for learning?

To what degree are we using common assessment tools as a PLC or content team?

How are we using assessments with our learners?

Possible Look Fors

Common assessment tools such as rubrics are aligned to the learning continuum and being actively used at the classroom level

Feedback is aligned to the assessment

The assessment is not a secret; instead, it is accessible and used throughout the learning experience

A variety of formative assessment opportunities takes place through the learning journey

Learners have choices in how they demonstrate their learning

Learners are aware of the rubric, can speak about the rubric, and are using it to drive assessment practices such as self-assessments and peer assessments

As ready, learners can use the rubric to design how they are going to demonstrate their learning

Grading Practices (or Recording and Reporting)

The systemic grading practices focus on showing what has been learned aligned to the learning continuum rather than cumulative letter grades, seat time, or non-academic behaviors such as penalization for late assignments. The concept of grading is about what a learner earned, notwhat was given.

For time-based traditional systems, the final learning mark/grade for quarters/semesters can be an average of scores, and not all averaged scores are created equal. A grading process may be a mixed percentage of assignments, formative assessments (like quizzes) and summative assessments (like tests, projects, presentations) mixed in with either behavior, effort or extra work. Because educators tend to work in subjective silos with grading practices, this leads to a variety of grading methods resulting in inequitable outcomes. In addition, these individual scores can be based on a random collection of marks and different pedagogical approaches, approaches that may or may not allow retakes, or shared learning criteria, and thus can make it difficult for learners to have agency within this structure.

Some learning systems have moved toward inviting learners to revisit marks on their work to improve, grow and ultimately earn proficiency for a learning outcome.Others look at separating the habits of a learner or work ethic separate from the content learning. In a personalized learning system, the grades should not be a surprise or a feeling of wait and see. In this same vein, a grade is a point in time about where a learner is and therefore, the grade is not static.

Guiding Questions

What is our data telling us about our learners' progress and how does that relate to how we report out on learning and goals?

How might we make our grading practices more equitable?

Are learners aware of learning outcomes and expectations?

What are the routes for learners to refine or revisit their learning?

Possible Look Fors

The system reports out on the progress of the learning using the standards/competencies

Non-academic learning such as SEL, if assessed, is assessed separately from academic learning

The system has a strategic plan or goal for moving away from letter grades and a first step might be that zeros and Fs are no longer used

Instructional Framework

Changing how learning is reported does not directly change the way learning happens. A shared vision of learning requires teachers and related stakeholders to come together to define what they want for their graduates and learners. This vision has to be for all learners, with thoughtful inclusion as the driver. If the framework is not about the needs of all learners then it is not learner-centered and continues the practice of education for some or most but not all learners.

An instructional framework is about the learning design that supports this vision - the strategies, the assessment practices, the data that is collected, and how learning is supported, nurtured and captured. At the district level, it becomes the essential driver for professional learning and resource allocation.

A systemic instructional framework grounded in what the community believes about teaching and learning drives professional learning opportunities and modes and provides a common language for educators to discuss where they are in their professional practice and what they need to do in order to improve. How this framework translates into a classroom can and should have learners at the center of that work helping to co-design the environment.

Guiding Questions

Possible Look Fors

The framework and educator readiness drives our professional learning opportunities, feedback, and continuous improvement

Educators can speak about the instructional framework

The use of the framework across different campuses, classrooms, and PLCs is evident

Learning Culture

The culture is designed with the learners to cultivate belonging. Learners are part of the decision-making, community agreement development, shared accountability processes, goal setting, and celebrations. The learning ecosystem depends on their leadership, their commitment and their needs.

The role of student leadership within a learner-centered community is collaborative in nature and their roles entail active involvement in decision making, brainstorming solutions and creating community agreements. Leadership in this context is more than a label and creates space for codesign, mutual accountability and active responsive structures. This can also transfer to the concept of ranking learners with titles and honors; some systems have completely done away with the titles of valedictorian and salutatorian or have settled with a Latin honor distinction which makes space for recognition for groups of learners.

Another key component of every learning culture is discipline. Originally meant to convey learning, it is often an inequitable gotcha game, and counterintuitive to a system dedicated to learning. Because certain types of learner behavior are expected, a learner-centered system ensures that this is not only being taught but celebrated. Alternatively, when social-emotional learning is referred to as a soft skill it implies that it is not as important as academic learning and can be either an add-on or supplementary. If a system teaches learning behaviors, then the growth in this area should be shared alongside academic learning-if it is not, then it is truly a soft attempt and supplementary over primary in design.

Guiding Questions

To what degree do we have active community agreements?

How do we hold ourselves and each other accountable for our learning culture?

How do we celebrate our learning culture?

What is our goal-setting process for our culture?

Possible Look Fors

Flexible Use of Space

The learning environment is set up so that learners have agency over their learning space to decide where they will learn best for that particular context. The learning community then dedicates resources to get creative with its use of space, which includes expanding learning opportunities beyond the classroom walls as well as online learning options. Off-campus learning requires intentionality towards growing authentic community and business partnerships that are dedicated to learners.

Guiding Questions

Possible Look Fors

Collaboratively, the learning community intentionally develops agency at all levels of the organization so that each and every learner graduates choice ready. Our educator's promise to learners is that they leave our system with agency. Our charge then, is that each and every educator becomes a change agent for equitable student-centered learning systems that grow this promise of agency.

Where will you get started?

For more, see:
Laura Hilger is the Director of Teaching and Learning at KnowledgeWorks. She has spent her entire career devoted to learning communities and systemic change, working as a classroom teacher, a dean of students and an assistant principal, as well as an instructional coach in nine states. Stay in-the-know with innovations in learning by signing up for the weekly Smart Update

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Are You Putting Learners First? Here are 8 Ways to Check Yourself

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By: Rebecca Midles and Laura Hilger For as long as there have been schools, there has been the knowledge that schools need to change. This tension often exists at the intersection of power and equity. To combat this tension, numerous new terms, new ideologies and reframings have been created - but perhaps none are as promising as learner-centered design.