Others were wondering why Keith was so insistent about finishing his volcano story by August 29th.
The impetus? He wrote a goal about it at the beginning of summer. He wanted to finish his goal on time. So impressive!
The power of goal setting and deadlines can push some of us into action. This was certainly the case for Keith.
Goal Setting
Setting goals is tradition for some of us. In a teaching setting where careers are at stake, goal setting is crucial.
Goals give us something to aim for. Goals also allow us to lay out a road map.
For academic settings, goals can be set at any time. We don't need to wait for New Year's Day or the start of the school year.
Last month, we used "What is the one goal I want to accomplish within the next thirty days?" as a writing prompt. After sharing and clapping for each person's goal, we guided writers into making these goals measurable.
Visual & Physical Support
Then, as a constant reminder for the next thirty days, we typed up the goals and printed them as bookmarks. Learners referred to them continually each day. We also posted them on the front bulletin board available for all to see.
Anyone who wasn't here on the day we set these goals became cheerleaders. Their task was to partner with someone with a goal and check in on the person's progress, offering help and verbal support along the way.
Celebrations
We tagged the completed goals with hearts. We posted them on a classroom door. While each person set his/her own celebration activity for accomplishing the set goal, the group decided that when we have 95% success rate for all who set goals then we'd do a special celebration with the group.
What goal would you set for the next month?
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