It is at this time that my students are encouraged to reflect on their learning and set their own winning goals for their learning. Although we regularly set goals and work towards achieving them, the end of term allows time for the students to really stop, think and look.
Part of setting goals is having the correct mindset, one that allows you to look for and see areas that can be improved. Since watching Carol Dweck's growth mindset talk at the beginning of the year students have been encouraged to use the word yet... 'I don't get it, YET' This one little word holds so much power and it is great to see the students beginning to believe it. Just the other day a student said to me 'Mrs McLean, I can get this if I keep trying!' and before I could respond to another who said 'Mrs Mclean, I don't understand' another student jumped in with 'Yet! You don't understand it yet but you will if you put effort in and don't give up!' A Hallelujah moment if ever their was one! To help personalize and inspire the students to continue to develop their growth mindset I also included a quote on the bottom of each goals page this term. The idea is that they will choose to record their goals on the page with the quote that speaks to them the most. Originally I thought I would just leave the quote box blank to allow them to record their own thoughts but when I found this list of growth mindset quotes I decided to try that next time.
This term I have created a new template and so students will be looking for areas of strength and weakness and then completing their My Goals sheet tomorrow. They will share their goals with their peers and then take it home before their reports on Monday. Hopefully through the conversations that Parents have with their children about their goals they will be guided/able to assist their child to develop in these areas and not to 'react' to their report. Students are encouraged to use the language of their learning in class and to establish and reflect on learning goals so that they can be active participants in their growth. Setting goals themselves gives the students an opportunity to take responsibility for their progress. By acknowledging their own target students become more engaged in the process of learning.
Click on the image below to view my template or here to download an editable copy. I would love to hear your thoughts on this template!