If you don’t know by now, I’m passionate about students having a math environment where they increase their self-efficacy. One way to help students increase self-efficacy, self-concept, and have a positive math identity is through goal setting. This is one major reason why goal setting is important for students.
I can remember growing up playing basketball. Each season I always had a goal to make more points. I can probably count on one hand how many points I earned my entire basketball career. But I can probably also count on one hand the number of times I actually worked on perfecting my shot. Because I continuously fell short, I concluded that I wasn’t a basketball person and I gave it up and went to cheerleading and volleyball.
This is what can happen with students. If they constantly say their goal is to make an A in math (which I disagree with, but we’ll talk about that later), but are never taught how to achieve it, then they may do to math what I did to basketball. They may conclude that they just aren’t a math person and run from it the rest of their lives. As Antoine de Saint-Exupery says, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
Setting Student Goals
In my experience with setting student goals, it’s best to conference with students first. I don’t do it at the very beginning of the school year because I want to establish relationships and create a safe class environment first. In my last few years in the classroom, I was able to do that by implementing this system. It helps me get to know my students so when I conference with them, I know what approach to take.
It’s also helpful to set goals with students after they’ve had a chance to take a few summative and formative assessments so that you can have baseline data to go by. Set the goal based on an achievable goal for the students. My friend and I call them “Goldilocks Goals.” They are goals that are juuuust right for the student.
After the goals are set, you want to help students track their weekly progress, determine if they met their weekly goal or not, and determine a plan of action for what their next steps should be that week. This will help students not just say that they want something, but it gives them a mapped-out plan of action to achieve their own personal goals. Here is a tracking chart, similar to the ones that I used. I also have a student goal-setting lesson ready for you to just grab and complete with your students. No planning or prep is needed.
How Goal Setting Motivates an Individual
I always like to say that math is a journey, and each student is on their own math journey. Math is not about making As and we want to help students with this mindset.
A college track athlete mentioned in her Instagram stories the other day that she likes track because it’s a sport where you are always competing against yourself. It doesn’t matter what happens in the other lanes, because as long as you meet your personal goals, you always win. It immediately resonated with me, because that’s the exact mindset that students should have about math. Setting goals allows them to focus on their own lane, set their personal goals, and win no matter what others around them are doing.
Goal Setting Benefits
- Improves student self-efficacy in math (more on self-efficacy here)
- Builds their self-concept
What is Self Concept?
While self-efficacy deals with a student’s thoughts about if they are capable to complete a task, self-concept deals with how students perceive themselves. It’s what they would fill in the blank with an “I am” statement. For example, “I am great at math.” Self-concept influences student motivation and behavior. This is a great activity to do with students to increase their positive self-talk, which helps develop self-concept.
- Creates a positive math identity
How can goal setting help with academic performance?
In my math class, after we set goals, using a system similar to this one, we then track them weekly and then set the next steps. Because students have goals that are attainable, this increases their self-efficacy and they are constantly building. I enjoyed seeing the light in students’ eyes weekly when they’ve achieved their goals. The silent cheers students make as they are recording their scores or the diligence as they plan to make adjustments for the next week are all priceless. This is how academic performance is increased. When students give those cheers, no one knows whether they have met their goal or didn’t quite meet their goal, but made growth. Every win is celebrated.
How Can Goal Setting Benefit You?
If you are feeling discouraged and beat down from feeling like your students just aren’t getting it, then goal setting is for you. It helps you celebrate everything and realign your expectations for what mastery looks like. You’ll find yourself more energized as you watch your students continuously show growth and meet their goals.
Need help getting started? I mentioned earlier that before I set goals, I implemented a system that helped me to establish relationships and create a safe environment first. If you’re thinking you’d like to try this system out, I have it already packaged for you to try out. You can grab a FREE copy of it below.
