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Lesson Plan: Creating Individual Learning Goals for Students
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by Lorri Horn
Santa Monica High School
Santa Monica, California
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| | Rationale and Objectives
As more students gain access to AP classes, we find students at varying achievement levels with various learning needs. Good teaching means knowing each of our students well and addressing their various needs, something that gets more and more challenging as class size increases. One way to address this challenge is to create individual learning goals.
Activities and Instruction
- At the start of the second semester, I pass out a survey to help me get to know my students' perceptions of themselves as learners and as individuals better. I adapted this survey from Diane Heacox's "interest inventory" found in her book Differentiating Instruction in the Regular Classroom (Free Spirit Publishing). It works better for me to do this kind of student research after I've had a semester to get to know my students based on our class time and work together. Given too early, the survey doesn't connect well enough for me to each of those 36 warm bodies in my room.
- I model for students how to respond to the survey by providing my own responses. This both serves as a model on how to answer the questions and helps set the tone for honest and sometimes vulnerable responses.
- Students take the survey, and based on their responses and what I've experienced with them over the course of first semester, I create two learning goals for each of them.
- Students check the goals and either accept, revise, or reject them, offering other suggestions.
- I keep track of their goals by having copies in a notebook.
- I periodically remind students not to neglect their goals, and I allow for adjustments the first six weeks of the semester.
- At the end of each semester, students and I assess how well they met their goals, and we grade them accordingly.
The Getting-to-Know-You Survey
- Thinking back over your work this past semester, what do you feel good or proud about in terms of your growth and learning in our class? If there isn't anything you feel that way about, it's okay to say so, but try to say why you think that is.
- Of all the kinds of things we do as part of our class, what do you feel that you're the best at?
- Of all the kinds of things we do as part of our class, what do you feel is the most difficult for you to be successful at?
- What do we do in our class that you find hard and challenging but appreciate that we do?
- What do we do in our class that you find boring or uninspiring and know that we have to do but would like to somehow do differently? Do you have any ideas for how we might do or approach it instead?
- What do we do in our class that you cannot find a purpose or good reason for doing, and with all due respect to your best intentions, Ms. Horn, would like to propose we stop doing effective yesterday?
- What are some ways you learn best?
- What are some ways of learning that don't work well for you? Why do you think that is?
- Do you prefer to work independently? In small groups? Large groups?
- What are some things you'd really like me to help you learn or get better at?
- What else should I know about you as a person and a student that could help me teach you better?
- What is something about yourself that I do not know but you'd be willing to share with me to help me know you better?
My Answers
The following are my responses to the survey:
- I feel that I've gotten a lot better at walking around and making sure that you students are on task and not doing work for another class. I used to assume that wasn't happening in our class, but as I was observing lots of other teachers' classes, I noticed it happening a lot and started to wonder about my own classes. Once I started wandering around our class more, I noticed it here, too! I think I'm much better at helping you feel that I'll notice if you're not doing our work during class time than I was at the beginning of the school year.
- I think I do a good job at keeping a pretty high energy level and enthusiasm for what I'm teaching.
- I'm having a hard time making sure that all students all the time feel engaged in what we're doing and feel good and successful doing it (hence this survey).
- When I have a lot of work to grade, I find it hard to do and not feel burnt out about doing it. I know that written feedback is very important for you to grow in your writing, though, so I also feel it is time that is worthwhile and well spent.
- I know it's essential that I motivate you to keep up with our daily reading so what we do in class is meaningful. I find reading your pop quizzes, however, totally uninspiring and think you might, too. I should come up with a better way to inspire you to keep up with the reading. I don't have any good ideas, though. Maybe you do?
- I think vocabulary tests as a means of building your vocabulary are totally meaningless. I'm convinced that you don't remember the words after a month has passed. Go on. Try it. The words are on the wall still. How many of those words do YOU still remember?
- I learn best over time, slowly, not under pressure. I need to review and refresh. I also learn best when I can talk it through with someone else.
- I don't learn well under pressure or when I feel intimidated. I start to obsess about what I might be missing; then I miss even more. I'll read a passage fast, and then think about how I better be paying attention to what I just read, and before I know it, I've read the whole thing but not absorbed anything because I was worrying about reading it and not understanding it.
- I like to work on my own first and then figure stuff out with other people. I like to pick my own groups, though, and don't like when it seems that other people are randomly assigned to work with me.
- Math. (Especially when it comes to letting you pick your own groups and wanting them to be balanced but not knowing how to divide you up quickly. And also, how many groups I need at any given time. You know, like there are 36 of you and I want to have groups of threes and fours. How many groups of three and of four do I need? Stuff like that.)
- I'm not good at taking notes if things go too fast. I feel dumb asking a teacher to slow down, so I just get behind.
- a. I love to eat. Eating is my favorite thing to do. I plan entire vacations around the meals and food.
b. Before the age of 19, I had one fender bender and three full-on car crashes (all my fault, technically).
c. When I was 8, I scraped my knee on purpose with a rock and told my mother that my brother pushed me. I also locked my brother in handcuffs and said I couldn't find the key, and my mom had to take him to the fire department.
d. I care passionately about issues of equity and access in our world.
In Their Own Words: Students and Their Goals
The following are some sample individual student goals:
Name: [Student 1]
Goals:
- When a passage feels dense or boring, read it aloud to someone else and talk about it (for home reading, not timed writings).
- Each time I get a timed writing back, read two sample ones posted and then make an appointment with Ms. Horn to go over mine.
Name: [Student 2]
Goals:
- Do my reading for English as my first homework assignment of the night at least three times a week.
- Let Ms. Horn know after class or in email sometimes when I find it was hard to stay focused in class. Don't assume it's because of me [i.e., the student herself].
Name: [Student 3]
Goals:
- Practice doing a timed writing (reading, marking, and planning for it) every other week. [There are good practice books you can get.]
- Let Ms. Horn read and comment on my next timed writing without grading it. See if that helps me to feel less stressed.
Name: [Student 4]
Goals:
- Make an appointment with Ms. Horn to go over my essays when I get them back.
- Write down my reading assignments and homework each day in my binder reminder. Email Ms. Horn when I am not getting my homework done, especially reading.
Name: [Student 5]
Goals:
- Trade my seat next to someone who will not inspire me to talk to them during class (causing me to not do all of the work that I would be able to otherwise).
- Come in and do my reading homework three times a week at lunch.
Name: [Student 6]
Goals:
- When I have to say something for discussion aloud in class, try writing it down first so I feel more comfortable saying it aloud.
- Instead of trying to get myself to read faster, give myself the time I really need to read and practice feeling good about reading at the pace I naturally read.
Name: [Student 7]
Goals:
- Try raising my hand and speaking aloud once a week in class. If that doesn't work for me, make an appointment with Ms. Horn to find another way to share my thoughts since I'm not an outspoken person.
- Pick a study pal for our class and do homework together either in person or on the phone at least three times a week.
Name: [Student 8]
Goals:
- Pick four words I typically misspell on timed writings and commit them to memory. Write them on top of my timed writings before I begin in case I end up using them.
- Let the class know when I'm feeling like the discussion is stale and stagnant and needs a change.
Name: [Student 9]
Goals:
- Keep up with the reading each night. If I'm not, email or make an appointment with Ms. Horn so she can help me do so.
- Participate aloud at least twice a week. Make an appointment with Ms. Horn if this is feeling hard so she can help me.
Name: [Student 10]
Goals:
- Set up an email account and email Ms. Horn.
- Raise my hand once a week to talk in class. If I can't quite get myself to do it, email Ms. Horn my comment or thought or question instead.
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