Thank you for this great post about goal setting. I am currently learning about self-regulated learning in a university course, and a major piece of this is around goal setting. Working with students to create relevant and meaningful goals will foster a sense of autonomy for our learners and help them take ownership over their learning. I appreciate that in this article you mention multiple times that the teacher is still working with the student, prompting them, and asking reflective questions. While a component of self-regulated learning is having the student take more ownership over their learning, that doesn’t mean we completely abandon them and have them do it all. We are still mentoring and teaching them, guiding them, and recognizing what strategies they need at different steps along the process. I also appreciate that you have categorized this article into 6 phases as these phases reflect the Cycle of Self-Regulated Learning which includes planning/setting goals and strategies, using strategies and monitoring performance, reflecting on performance, and using results to guide future learning.

You also mention skills-based goals or habit goals, which I really appreciate. A big learning piece for me has been the idea of two types of goals: learning goals and performance goals. Learning goals are about the process of the activity and the focus is on learning new skills or habits. An example of this is practicing a sport where one will learn and practice skills and work on strategy. The goal in this situation is to improve and learn skills. Performance goals are when we are performing or creating a product. An example of this is game time in sports. Someone is performing and using the skills they have learned to try to win a game. The goal would be to win the game. We should keep in mind what goals we are encouraging our students to create based on what the desired outcome is. I also think we should teach our students about these two types of goals so that they can better align their steps with their personal end goal.

Thank you again for this great post. I love reading your blog and listening to the podcasts. I appreciate the great information you put into the world.

Samantha Jarvis