Overview
These activities are designed to teach socioemotional learning skills, specifically focusing on reflecting and future planning. Students read about the importance of goal setting, engage in discussions, visualize their goals, and create actionable plans to achieve them.
Objectives:
Students should be able to:
- Explain the significance of reflecting on and setting personal goals;
- Identify and apply strategies for planning and actualizing goals; and
- Create a detailed plan that includes medium-term and short-term actionable steps to achieve long-term goals.
Introductory Questions:
- How would you define “goals”? How do you relate to them?
- What is a goal you hope to accomplish in the near future? What about a long-term goal, years from now?
- Who or what helps keep you motivated to reach your goals?
- What challenges have you faced in achieving your goals, and how have you dealt with them?
- How do you track progress towards your goals and is this method effective?
Suggested Class Sequence(s)
Class sequences are connected topics with activities, worksheets, and readings which take two or more days of class to complete.
Self-Reflection and Future Planning
This sequence of activities is designed to guide students through a comprehensive journey of goal setting, planning, and self-reflection.
Videos
Short videos help tap into multiple modes of learning and can provide a good introduction to a topic. Use captioning when possible.
- A Complete Guide to Goal Setting (6:11, cc)
This illustrated video explains how goal setting helps us create markers and milestones which help us push through adversity to achieve our desired goals. - Why You Should Stop Setting Goals (Yes, Really)| TED (11:54, cc)
In this video, former NFL player, author and TV sports analyst, Emmanuel Acho, discusses the importance of setting realistic goals. - How to overcome your mistakes (4:51, cc)
This illustrated video explores what prevents us from learning from our failures, and how to become more resilient through cultivating a growth mindset.
Readings
All readings should be paired with a structure or protocol, especially if any reading will be completed in class.
- Successful Students Have Goals
Excerpt from chapter 1 of A Guide for Successful Students by Stewart and Maisonville. Discusses how college students set long-term life and career goals that can guide their academic and personal efforts. Can be paired with an activity where students practice thinking about such goals. - Visualizing Goals
Short reading from Mindtools on how to use visualization as an effective technique for achieving goals. Can be paired with an activity where students reflect on their goals, including long term ones by creating a visual life map or vision board. Helps students see the bigger picture of their personal life goals. - Ain’t Stressin’ Bout SMART Goal Setting
Short resource support blog post from Rutgers’ school site that students can use to practice using the SMART goal structured approach to goal setting and achieving. Can be used with an activity applying the SMART framework.
Activities
Activities include individual or group tasks that can be completed in less than one class period; some activities may be repeated in a sequence and are re-listed here for ease of access.
- Goals: Making them Personal
Introduces the concept of goal setting and the importance of aligning their daily activities with their long-term aspirations. - Long-Term Goals: Reflecting and Outlining
Students reflect on their own long-term goals and outline a plan that aligns their academic efforts with their broader life goals. - Setting SMART Future Goals
Students read Ain’t Stressin’ Bout SMART Goal Settin’ then collaboratively apply the principles of SMART and effective goal setting to their own long-term academic and personal goals. - ‘Treasure Mapping’ Life Goals
This activity adds a creative and visual element to goal setting, encouraging students to imagine their goals vividly and create a step-by-step roadmap to achieve them.- Drawing a Life Map – While not directly about goal setting, this light reflection activity can be used before creating goal setting maps. If desired, use the sample visual as a model for students to roadmap their long term goals.
- Gauging Progress and Future Planning
Students reflect on their current progress towards their goals, identify obstacles, and make needed adjustments.
Resources
- 45 Goal Setting Activities, Exercises & Games by Elaine Mead, BSc., Positive Psychology
A range of engaging activities to get students thinking towards their immediate and longer term futures - The Importance, Benefits, and Value of Goal Setting by Leslie Riopel, MSc. , Positive Psychology
Highlights the various benefits of goal setting - Setting Goals That Work by Nancy Frey & Douglas Fisher
Considers ways of framing goal-setting to make them meaningful and achievable - Five Year Life Plan
Provides an entire sequence of activities for students setting 5-year goals - Setting Goals from OvercomingObstacles.org
Provides a sequence of activities for students to develop a plan for long term goals. - Believing the College Dream
While this resource from Educational Credit Management Corporation (ECMC) targets younger students, a number of activities can be adapted for dual enrollment students; see, for example, “Road Map to Success” on page 25. - Goal-setting resource: ‘The Reality Slap’
PDF that contains five short and easy to follow exercises to help students on the way to set some realistic goals.
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