Goal Setting

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One best practice for implementing a growth mindset is instructing students to set incremental, achievable goals that support success and continuous growth. Designing a growth mindset lesson that teaches students how to make goals creates experiences surrounding the psychological benefit of small successes. This motivates students to work towards larger concepts and become stronger learners. In addition, when students design their own learning process they are much more likely to feel they can achieve (Dweck, 2006). Students setting their individual goals personalizes their learning, empowers students by fostering motivation, holds students accountable for their learning, and provides the beginning foundation for self-advocacy (Toro, 2021).

Teaching goal setting to foster a growth mindset can start as early as kindergarten provided there is adequate scaffolding. In secondary classrooms, students can begin each day by writing daily, achievable goals on sticky notes or in their notebooks. Students should keep these goals visible so they can refer back to them. At the end of the class period or day the teacher can lead a short small group discussion where students assess if they have met their goal and if not, what they can do to achieve it. This process can eventually lead toward weekly or larger goals. In this video, students discuss with each other their goals. By fostering group discussion on goals, students are guided by extra ideas and support from their peers.

In high school, goal setting can be taught through reflection sheets and specific questioning surrounding what students can do to advocate for themselves and what leads to their success.This document provides a strong series of lessons to encourage high schoolers to identify their goals, create an action plan, identify problems, then reflect on their success or what they need to reach success. Using the process of SMART, students determine if their goal is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time phased. Teaching this process of goal setting encourages a growth mindset that creates driven societal members as they move beyond the school system.

As students are instructed on informed, efficient goal setting, a growth mindset is fostered by creating a personal, reflective process that leads to positive attitudes towards themselves and their learning abilities. Students become more engaged in the academic world enabling stronger classroom environments and management.

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Resources:

https://soeonline.american.edu/blog/growth-mindset-in-the-classroom

https://www.edutopia.org/article/guiding-students-set-academic-goals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiFWPd1PJZc

http://www.coloradoedinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/GS-9-12-model.pdf

Self-theories: Their Role in Motivation, Personality, and Development by Carol Dweck