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Greetings GJS community! As the year begins, it is important for us to focus on personal goals for success. Effective goal setting is a reflective and specific process that allows us to stay focused on targets and processes for improvement. Three years ago, GJS incorporated goal setting into our reporting processes for students in Years 7-11. Over those three years, we have continuously evaluated and adapted this process to best serve our students. We shared this process with students in Extended Advisory on Friday, 26 August. This process is based on the Inquiry Cycle of Inquiry→Action→Reflection→Inquiry→Action→Reflection etc., which is part of the foundation of an IB education. Continue reading for much more detail about this process.
Term 1 Reports
Term 1 reports will consist of two parts: inquiry and action. Term 3 reports will be a reflection on students’ progress toward achieving their goals from Term 1. Click here for the slide show that was shared with students in Extended Advisory on 26 August.
Step 1: Students Inquire into their own learning by writing responses to the following:
Identify and Describe (give an example) an AtL skill and/or learner profile attribute you already possess that will help you be successful in this subject.
Identify a challenge you currently face or think you will face in this subject.
Describe an AtL skill and/or Learner Profile attribute you need to improve to overcome your challenge.
a. Explain how you will develop that skill or attribute to overcome your challenge.
Helpful tips for Inquiry
Definitions of key terms (IB Command Terms)
Identify: Provide an answer from a number of possibilities. Recognize and state briefly a distinguishing factor or feature
Describe: Give a detailed account or picture of a situation, event, pattern or process.
Explain: Give a detailed account including reasons or causes.
Inquirers Open-Minded
Knowledgeable Caring
Thinkers Risk-Takers
Communicators Balanced
Principled Reflective
Social Skills Thinking Skills
Communication Skills Research Skills
Self Management
Ideas to get you started: The examples provided below might help students who are feeling stuck with their process.
Identify and Describe (give an example) an AtL skill and/or learner profile attribute you already possess that will help you be successful in this subject.
My Self-Management skills will help me to succeed in this course because . . .
I am a communicator. I love working in groups and collaborating with people in my classes. These social skills will allow me to learn from others and will make me a better learner in this course because . . .
This subject requires a lot of research. Based on my use of OPVL and perusal of many sources, I have developed strong media and information literacy as part of my research skills. These skills will be useful . . .
Identify a challenge you currently face or think you will face in this subject.
I am not always comfortable sharing my ideas with my peers and there is a lot of discussion in this course.
I benefit a lot from bouncing ideas off of others to build my own understanding and, so far, this class has been mostly individual work.
I am having a hard time seeing the real-world applications of the content of this course.
Describe an AtL skill and/or Learner Profile attribute you need to improve to overcome your challenge. Explain how you will develop that skill or attribute to overcome your challenge.
Better self-management could help me overcome this challenge. If I come into lessons better prepared and organized, it might help boost my confidence in sharing my ideas. I will address this by thoroughly reading and acting on the information shared in the weekly plan. I could also approach this challenge from a communication/social skills standpoint by starting with sharing my ideas in small groups, then building up to sharing my ideas in class.
Just because the class is a lot of individual work does not mean I cannot reach out to my peers and ask questions of the teacher. I can achieve this by organizing my schedule to build time to collaborate with my peers or visit my teacher during office hours or after school.
Working on my research skills could help me overcome this challenge. By researching real-world applications of the content, concepts and skills we are being taught, I will see the relevance of this course beyond the classroom. I can then think creatively about how similar concepts apply to my life. By making the content and concepts more relevant to me, I hope to improve my focus and performance.
Step 2: Act on their inquiry into their learning by committing to a goal for this course. This goal should be their plan of action for success in this course between now and the end of Term 3. The format below can help with getting started.
In order to overcome (challenge), I will develop/improve my (AtL skill or LP attribute) by doing (a specific action) (this often/by this point).
Sample goals: Some goals are more advanced than others and that is ok. The key is crafting a goal that works for the student. The bits in parentheses are there as a guide and should not be included in the final goal.
In order to overcome my reluctance to share ideas in class (challenge), I will improve my self-management and organization (AtL skill) by checking the weekly planner (action) every Friday (this often) and prioritizing upcoming tasks (action).
In order to be more collaborative (challenge), I will develop my social skills (AtL) by applying the 7 norms of collaboration (action) whenever I am assigned to a group or involved in a class discussion (this often).
I will create better diagrams and outline the details of my solutions (action) so that I can increase my Criterion B assessment scores by at least 2 points (challenge), by the end of Term 3 (by this point).
Considerations:
Students should know themselves better than we know them. This process allows them to inquire into their learning and prove it!
This should guide them to better understand their strengths and weaknesses.
Recognize their strengths and continue to build on them
Truly understand their weaknesses and strengthen them
Remember, this is about the student as an individual learner. A half-hearted effort in this process will not benefit them.
Grammar, syntax, and sentence structure will not be proofread by teachers. They will only check reflections and goals for content.
Timeline:
26 August-9 September: Students work on their DRAFT inquiry (paragraph) and action (goal) for each subject.
9 September: Students submit their DRAFT inquiry (paragraph) and action (goal) for each subject via MB.
12-23 September: Teachers will provide each student with feedback. This can be done via comments on their submission or as face-to-face meetings.
26 September: Deadline for students to submit their final report to teachers, 16.00.
5 October: Reports are published by 16.00
6-7 October: MSC
Goal setting is not just a process for students. All teachers set goals for the year, Curriculum Leaders set goals for the departments they lead, MYP and DP Coordinators set goals for their programmes and principals set goals for the Secondary division. All of our goals are based on student progress and will be discussed, reflected upon, and evaluated throughout the year. The same should happen with student goals. Regularly reflecting on goals and evaluating progress toward achieving them is key to this process. Parents, I encourage you to speak with your child about their process so that you can collaborate with them on achieving their goals. Collaboration is not only a key social skill, it is a necessary element of an effective education. We look forward to working together to achieve all of our goals this school year!
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