Setting Goals Teaching Notes

Approximate Time Required

Skill Station: ~15 min class time

Group processing: 5 min max.

A. Explain the Need: This activity is designed to get students thinking about the reasons they are in college and in your class. Too often, students come to college because it is the thing to do after high school. Their appearance in your class reflects their dependence upon a program plan rather than explicit interest in the topic.

Goals have several characteristics. They need to be:

- Specific

- Measurable

- Achievable but challenging

- Relevant

- Transferable

Students may need to be reminded of this while they are answering the questions.

B. Define and Model: Students should be told that there are no right answers to the questions. They may feel like the instructor is looking for a particular response, especially to question #5. Remind them that the exercise is for them rather than you and that they need to provide answers only to show they have thought about the questions. After students have completed the questions, follow-up discussion could include the following questions:

How are your answers to #4, 5, and 6 related?

How do your goals from #4, 5, and 6 affect your behavior and the choices you make?

Which are greater daily motivators, short- or long-term goals?

C. Practice: This skill station links to others in the motivation/time management category. Once students set goals, they also need to think about how their behaviors affect accomplishing the goals (see Time Management). Also, students must establish a reward system consistent with their goals (see Rewards).

D. Evaluate: Time at the end of class is allocated to evaluating progress toward a group goal.

E. Feedback/Reflection: Suggest that students write down one short-term and one long-term goal on an index card and tape it to the inside cover of their class notebook as a reminder.