Helping Students to Discover Their Goals and Dreams

Helping Students to Discover Their Goals and Dreams Ernest H. Johnson, Ph. D.

How do you motivate your students – to work on their goals and dream? q Maybe the better question is, “How can teachers create conditions where students will motivate themselves ((and pursue their own goals and dreams))? ” Motive, means “that which inwardly moves a person to behave a certain way. ”

-One Size Does Not Fit All-

Focal Point of All Motivational Strategies for Success “Building strong relationships with students to help them discover their own dreams and goals is the key to their success. ”

Formative Assessment Process Competence Leads to Confidence Identify strengths and learning gaps n Provide additional time and practice n Implement Corrective Instruction targeted at learning needs n Second chance to demonstrate learning n Focus on making learning relevant n

Dr. Carol Dweck – Mindset (2006) Over 20 years of research on student motivation Intelligence is not fixed n “…with practice, training, and good methods, we manage to increase our attention, our memory, our judgment and literally to become more intelligent than we were before. ” (Alfred Binet-Modern Ideas About Children) n

Growth Mindset vs. Fixed n. Mindset Growth Mindset q Intelligence can be developed and leads to a desire to learn and a tendency for students to: n Embrace challenges and persist in the face of setbacks n See effort as the path to mastery n Find inspiration in the success of others… n Higher levels of achievement n Discover their dreams and goals Question: Is there a science to helping students to discover their dreams and goals?

Dreams and Goals - Preliminaries The Scientific Process Behind Making Wishes Come True!

Dreams and Goals - Preliminaries I've asked thousands of people, many of them students, to think about what they want and to ask for what they want. What’s troubling is that most people don't KNOW what they want!

Dreams and Goals Preliminaries! In this session, you’re going to learn about a wonderful path you can use to help students paint their dreams into reality. You will learn about the secrets behind a strategy for helping student to set - and achieve - their greatest ambitions.

Dreams and Goals – Step One Before we set off on this path, let me make one thing clear: The word "goals" can be intimidating - it can feel so overbearing that it keeps people from beginning the process. So, let's instead think of goals as a "To Do List With Deadlines. "

Dreams and Goals – n “To Do List With Deadlines” Do the deadlines have to be tomorrow? Next week? Of course not. This is their To Do List for the rest of their life. Goals can be added to, subtracted from and - most importantly - scratched off the list - as they move through life.

Dreams and Goals – Step Two n Get a Journal – “If your life is worthy while, then it’s important enough to keep a record (Journal) of your dreams, goals, how you overcame roadblocks, and your accomplishments!”

Dreams and Goals – Step Three n Give your students some quiet time, put on some relaxing music. . . and have them write down 30 (101) goals. n Ask them to “open their mind to ALL the possibilities. ” Start each goal with "I am" or "I will. " Don't even THINK about restricting yourself!

Dreams and Goals – The School Process (For Younger Students) STEP Four: Go For the Gusto – 30 Goals for School!

Dreams and Goals For School n Our work with younger students needs to be more focused: 1. What are your goals for school? 2. What are your goals for this course? 3. What are your goals for reading? n To help you with this process, here are some questions to have students ask themselves:

Dreams and Goals – For School n n n n 1. What do I want to do in my classes? 2. What do I want my grades to be? 3. What do I want to learn? 4. How do I want other students to treat me? 5. What will I do to make reading fun? 6. How do I want to be treated by my teachers? 7. What will I do to make school and learning fun?

Dreams and Goals – Sorting School Goals into Categories n 1. Fun n 2. Behavior in Class n 3. Reading in Class n 4. Family/Friends n 5. Things n 6. Behavior at Home n 7. Reading at Home

Dreams and Goals – Step Four n Why Create a List of 101 (30) Goals? Meta-Cognitive Processing: Thinking About Your Thinking! …after placing 20 or so items on the list, students start thinking about their thinking and creating new ideas that are related to their thinking. Their creativity and critical thinking abilities kick in and they start to see new connections between their own dreams for their lives.

Dreams and Goals – Step Five Have students use a separate page for each category and sort each of their 101 (30) goals into these categories. As they do, some new ideas might come to their mind and please encourage them to put these on their list too!

Dreams and Goals – Next Step Sorting Goals into Categories n 1. Fun 7. Health n 2. Job/Career 8. Spiritual/God n 3. Financial/Money 9. Education n 4. Family/Friends 10. Other n 5. Things n 6. Vacations/Time Off

Dreams and Goals – Sorting School Goals into Categories n 1. Fun n 2. Behavior in Class n 3. Reading in Class n 4. Family/Friends n 5. Things. . . n 6. Behavior at Home n 7. Reading at Home

Dreams and Goals In Their Journal Have Students Create a Separate Page for Their Top Goals

Dreams and Goals – Finding Compelling Reasons For Top (A Level) Goals Using The Power of Questions

Dreams and Goals – For each Top goal, engage the students in a writing process where they use the power of Negative vs Positive Power questions to find reasons to move toward the goal!

Dreams and Goals – Negative Vs Positive Power Questions How will I feel about myself knowing that I failed to accomplish this goal? n What is it costing me emotionally to know that I failed to accomplish this goal? n What will I miss out in my life today, next week, and in the future because I did not accomplish this goal? n

Dreams and Goals – Negative Vs Positive Power Questions If I don’t accomplish this goal, then how will this affect my relationships with people who care about me? n If I don’t accomplish this goal, then how will this affect me emotionally, physically, financially, and spiritually? n

Question What is one action I can take next week to make a difference with my reluctant reader? -Buddy Talks-

Power Questions (1) What will life be like for my students if I don’t follow thru with this action? (2) How will I feel about myself? …my ability to teach? . . . if I don’t follow thru with this action?

Dreams and Goals – STEP Eight Monitoring Progress Daily Weekly Monthly Annually

Dreams and Goals – Celebrating Successes As Often As You Can!