Micro Goal Setting

Setting micro-goals can provide the foundation to improvement in skills over time. Middle school students improve their future ready skills by setting and revisiting micro-goals during projects using segments of rubrics provided by the New Tech Network.

In the example provided below, Staley Integrated Language Arts (ILA) and Social Studies teachers task students with giving a presentation with a visual aide in front of their peers. Students are provided with a few micro-goals on a rubric from their teacher. Students are asked to rate themselves on each of the items on the rubric and decide which they feel they could most improve upon. They are asked to perform actions that will assist them with moving up the rating scale during the duration of the project. The teacher reminds the student to look at their chosen goal several times during the project/presentation. After the projects are due, the students rate/reflect themselves using the rubric on their chosen goal. It is very important that this reflection be for personal growth only and remains ungraded.

This is used in Middle School ILA & Social Studies classes but can be adapted for any classroom.

Note: other goals from the rubrics are given based on the tasks. For group projects, the goals usually focus on collaboration.

Teacher Reflection

How has this impacted student learning?

• It seems like whichever category the students choose, we generally see some improvement in the area. We try to encourage them to pick something different the next time, and most of the students seem to keep the growth they had in the first area when they grow their skills in the second too.

How has this impacted student agency and/or engagement?

• I think everything about this ties to student agency. It's all about personalizing their learning and empowering students to influence their own path to mastery.

Would you change anything?

• We started with allowing them to have too much choice. So we have narrowed it down to having no more than 2-3 choices per project.

• We also found that it's also really important to keep reminding students to go back to their goal multiple times. We found we have more success when students are thinking of their goals every time they are working on the project. It doesn't work to just have them pick it at the start and reflect on it at the end.

Do you do anything to differentiate the goal setting?

• We're trying to differentiate by letting the students pick what they need, but I'll be honest and say that I do pick different options based on what that class seems to struggle with most. It isn't the same for each class period.

Which future ready skills does this practice best bolster?

• It depends on which goals they are working on, but, if they are choosing from the skills we discussed (shown in the image above), the future ready skill most impacted is Embrace Challenges, because students are persevering by applying new strategies and reflecting and building on struggles, failures, and successes. We have seen success using the collaboration rubrics as well. Students often need to be taught collaboration skills, and the rubrics help provide actionable items for them to focus upon.

Resource: New Tech Network Learning Outcome Rubrics for Agency, Collaboration, and Oral Communication across the spectrum of K-12.

Agency (Middle School Rubric from NTN)

Collaboration (Middle School Rubric from NTN)

Oral Communication (Middle School Rubric from NTN)

Folder for Editable Rubrics (Editable 5th grade rubrics - we often use these for our middle schoolers)