Goal setting in the inquiring classroom
© Kath Murdoch 2011
One of the keys to a successful inquiry-based classroom is to develop students’ sense of themselves as
responsible and independent people who are capable of participating in decisions about their learning. In an
inquiring classroom, we are focused on developing a life-long appetite for learning – we aim to maintain the natural
curiosity and sense of agency that accompanies very young children. Inquiry based teachers recognise that if they make
all the decisions for their students - if what, how, with whom, where and when students will learn is always decided by the
teacher - then little is done to grow independence and capacity to ‘do the learning for themselves’. UK based educator
Guy Claxton describes this work as building ‘learning power’ in students. Learning power is enabling – and includes a set
of transferable skills and attitudes students take from year to year, topic to topic, and out into life beyond school.
What’s the value in goal setting?
Becoming effective learners
Much has been written about the characteristics of more successful learners (see for example, Kallick and Costa, Baron,
Ennis, Claxton, Perkins) Common to most accounts is the view of the learner as able to manage or regulate their own
learning. As Claxton describes it:
—“ good learners…also need to be aware of how their learning is going, and make strategic decisions about it…Good
learners like taking responsibility for planning and organising their learning…they also monitor themselves - they have that
‘little voice of self awareness that keeps their goals in mind”
—(Guy Claxton: 2002, Building Learning Power, p 33)
When we teach students how to set goals – be they formal or informal, short or long term – we contribute to the
development of this self-regulative behaviour, self awareness and personal responsibility. In the early primary years, goal
setting tasks may be less about the goal itself and more about introducing the process, disposition and accompanying
language of the independent learner.
Agency and resilience
When we invite students to set goals, we are giving them the message that they know something of their needs as
learners and as people. We are respecting their self-knowledge at the same time as building it. Most importantly we are
giving our students one of the most important gifts available to a human being – a sense of personal agency and control.
We are letting them ‘in’ on the fundamental basis of resilience – that they can make choices about how to respond, to
behave, to ‘be’.
The secret to high performance and satisfaction—at work, at school, and at home—is the deeply human need to direct
our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world.
9Daniel Pink, 2010)
Reflection
Goal setting can also contribute to the development of reflective thinking and metacognition –critical skills for the inquiring
student. When students have clear goals or intentions for themselves they have something to reflect back on….as we
move towards our goals, reflective thinking helps us monitor progress and compare past an present. Reflective thinking is
also very important in the process of selecting goals. In order to decide what it is we want to to, have or become – we
need to look back and ‘take stock’ of where we are now.
Personalising
Goal setting helps differentiate and personalise your classroom program. Although some goals can be team or even
class-based (see below) they are often highly personalised.
Keys to success
Like most aspects of what we teach, there is no single approach to goal setting. If teachers really understand the value of
the task if goal setting (as outlined above) then they are in the best position to develop strategies and approaches that will
work for groups and individual students with whom they work. There are, however, some ways of working that can lead to
more success with the overall strategy.
Model – be a goal setter yourself!
As with most things we teach - the most powerful way to help students learn is for them to see it in action. In an inquiring
classroom – the teacher positions themselves as a co-learner. They too should be regularly setting, planning towards and
© Kath Murdoch 2011 Goal setting in the primary classroom. evaluating gaols as learners and people. Where appropriate – share this with your students. This can be on a short term
basis - “My goal today is to make sure I have a conversation with each one of you at some stage” - or longer term:
“One of my goals for this term is to master the program “Glogster” – I want to be able to use it effectively so I can
document some of my ideas in an interesting way
They may be action oriented, behavioural, long or short term, professional or personal but whatever they are – give some
time to modelling your thinking processes to students. Help them ‘hear’ what a goal setter does. Share with them what
you intend to do, why, what you think it will ‘look like’ when you achieve it and how you might go about the process. Ask
students to help you make a plan and share your reflections along the journey towards the goal.
Practice short as well as long term goal setting
Some of the most effective goal setting work I have seen done with primary school children happens in the scope of a day
– or even a lesson. For young students, a simple, manageable goal such as ensuring that he/she waits his or her turn to
speak during a group discussion time can be quite a feat! When we set and practice short term goals, we build capacity
to manage the bigger ones.
Engage in some whole class goal setting experiences
Goal setting does not always have to be an individualised experienced. As a class, you can set yourself a range of goals
that build team spirit, cohesion and develop the language associated with this way of being. Goals might be set around
some fun things such as the speed of completing a collaborative game, a fund raising exercise, reduction in rubbish in the
bin, pack up time, return of library books, etc. There are any number of daily classroom activities that can be used as the
basis of group goals.
Keep goals manageable and achievable
This is particularly important in the early years and/or in the beginning phases of introducing goal setting practices.
There is no point in a student who has only just learned to read, deciding that he or she will read Lord of the Rings by the
end of the month! This is where the skill of the teacher/adult is critical to the process. As students consider the goals
they set for themselves – we encourage them to ‘see’ themselves having achieved that goal – the goal should be
challenging but manageable and it is often through the questioning of the skilful adult that it will be settled upon.
Children often work more productively with manageable, focussed goals. Instead of “I want to be a better writer” a
teacher can help that student break the goal down into more achievable, manageable components, for example “ My goal
is to use more creative ideas and descriptive language to enhance my writing”. Working with the class or small groups to
develop success criteria for some common areas for goal setting can be very helpful in this regard.
Use a range of techniques, visuals and other prompts
Goal setting can become laborious! When it does, students lose motivation and consider it just another chore expected of
them by teachers rather than something valuable and motivating for themselves. Recording goals in novel ways – on cut
out basket balls, targets, rockets, footsteps, pavers, etc can provide both a motivating display and a metaphor for the
process. Graphic organisers such as a fishbone diagram, time, line or flow chart can also be very helpful in supporting
students to think through their goal and the process they will use to work towards it. Cards with sentence beginnings or
prompts on them can be used for short term goal setting, students can also contribute to charts and lists of skills and
behaviours from which they can select when setting their own goals.
Identify blockers and drivers
Setting goals is important….but it is developing a PLAN that will enable you to work towards it that is critical to success.
As part of the plan – ask students to think about what could STOP them from achieving their goals. This discussion can
be a helpful way to then plan ways to work towards the desired result.
Monitor progress
One of the most commonly cited pitfalls of using goal setting in the classroom is that it is a process that starts with a bang
and ends in a whimper! Many teachers describe how guilty they feel about having students set goals and then getting so
caught up in the day to day press of classroom life that they forget to have students consider how they are working
towards the goal. It helps to:
• Make the goals visible – so they become a shared responsibility. Set aside a short time each week where
students deliberately reflect on their progress and use evidence to support their reflections
• Keep some kind of documentation of progress (journal, time line, blog, photo story)
• Celebrate the achievement of goals
Give feedback
Many students need help in recognising their progress towards goals. Constructive and targeted feedback can be
enormously helpful in building students won capacity to ‘notice’ progress in themselves. If teacher feedback (and student
© Kath Murdoch 2011 Goal setting in the primary classroom. self assessment) is tied to goal setting, this can form powerful congruence and build independence. As a rule, it is wise to
ask students themselves to provide their perspective on their progress…(”How do you think you are going? How do you
know? What are you most pleased with? What do you need to do next? What is getting in the way? ) but quality, specific
TEACHER feedback is essential for growth – for example:
“ You set yourself the goal of working more effectively in small groups. I noticed that when you were involved in group
work today, you waited your turn to speak and you asked other people to share their ideas. That really helped your group
get the job done. I also noticed that you are still finding it difficult to respond respectfully when someone disagrees with
you. The sentence starters we have discussed will help you do this more effectively. It would be good for you to make
that a focus next time.”
Investigate what others do
A very useful strategy – particularly for older students, is to have them investigate the way people in all walks of life set
and work towards goals and then use this information to decide what they will do to work towards theirs. This can be
done through interviews, discussions with parents, reading of biographies, surveying older students etc. What most
students discover about goal setting is that success is achieved most often through practice. And lots of it!
Avoid unnecessary motivating ‘rewards’ systems
Recent research into motivation by word renowned expert Daniel Pink reminds us that we are most driven to succeed
when we experience autonomy, mastery and purpose. In other words, we have a sense of control and choice, we have
the experience of becoming ‘good’ at what we are doing AND we feel that what we are doing has worth. For deep,
creative tasks that are part of the learning journey for students, it is these elements that will be most rewarding and
motivating.
Keep timelines flexible and varied
Goals can be short or long term. They can change as we work towards them. Some goals work best IF there is a fixed
time line, others are lifelong – we are always working on improving. Not all students will reach goals at the same
time…allow for flexibility.
Know your students
Our role as teachers in an inquiring classroom is to be a mindful, active guide BESIDE. When we are helping students
think about the things they want to do, learn about or become, the best thing we can do to support them is to find out as
much as we can about them as learners and as people. We are then in the best position to advise, to guide, to coach and
to question. Our job is to ‘see’ each of our students for who they are and to ask ourselves what we can do to help them
become the best that they can be. This knowledge is gained in the way every teacher intuitively knows – through listening,
observing, careful analysis of work samples, stimulating talk and reflection and engaging with parents. The best goals
are formed when we take time to ‘confer’ with students on a one-one basis. Some questions that can assist this process
include:
Tell me about the kind of learner you are.
When do you like learning the most? When do you have the most fun?
When do you find learning the most challenging/the least fun?
What do you think you are best at?
What is something you could teach others?
What would you really love to be better at/know more about?
Why? Tell me more about that?
What do you think other people think you’re good at?
What is something you couldn’t do in the past that you can do now? How did you learn to do that? What helped you?
So, I can hear this is something you want to do/learn/be/get better at – how do you think that will make a difference to
you? Why is that something that will be good for you to achieve?
What do you think it will look/feel/sound like when you have reached your goal?
What do you think might get in the way? Is there anything you are worried about?
How do you think you might help yourself work towards this?
How will you know when you have got there?
Is there anything you will have to do or change to help you reach this goal?
Would you like me to share some of my thinking about this with you?
Would you like some ideas about how to help you work towards this?
What can I do to help you?
© Kath Murdoch 2011 Goal setting in the primary classroom.