Effective Teaching Methods

Goal Setting and Planning Sheet

• At the beginning of the school day, Mrs. Wormwood can check in with Calvin and help him set a daily goal. This is something he wants to be able to achieve by the end of each day that is obtainable, specific, and measureable. At the end of the day, Mrs. Wormwood can check in with Calvin again and see if he achieved his goal for the day. Eventually, the goal is for Calvin to be able to create goals and monitor them himself. This will hopefully boost Calvin's intrinsic motivation to want to reach these goals and complete his classwork. 

Timer for Homework and Projects

• While at home, Calvin can use a timer while doing homework and at-home projects so that he can monitor his progress and keep track of his time management. This way, he can take charge of his own learning and be able to regulate how long different tasks take. 

Writing Drafts and Revising

• When writing essays, Calvin can write a first draft and then revise it. This way, we can follow the "Self-Reflection Phase" of Zimmerman's cycle. Drafts are very helpful for self-regulation because they let you lessen your cognitive load. Instead of trying to think of everything you're going to put on your paper, you can plan it out first and write a baseline to follow. Calvin can use different thinking/brainstorming maps to plan out his drafts, so that he is also activating Zimmerman's "Forethought Phase." This way, he can break up his paper/project into chunks instead of having to cram it all in at once. Again, while he is doing this, he can set a timer to regulate himself as well. 

Reflections

• After completing a task, Calvin can write a short reflection on how he thinks he did. Reflections are vital for self-regulation because it allows to compare the performance to the original goals that were set. It also helps to look back on what worked well and what did not work so well, and make adjustments for next time. "At this stage students should look back at their work and make new goals for the future, analyze what they could have done better and take stock of what they did well on. This will foster more goal setting behavior in the future" (Paris, 2001). Doing reflections can help Calvin create a sense of control and competence with his schoolwork.