Section 3.3 - Goal Setting

 

One of the first areas that you will need to work together on is determining the learner's goals.  It is important to determine goals first because you need to know where you are going in order to know how to get there. It is crucial that goals be realistic and attainable because many adult literacy learners have experienced failures related to learning, and as such often require successes and positive reinforcement early on in order to stick with learning.  As such, it is recommended that short-term goals be emphasized, at least initially. A sample goal-planning form is shown below.

 

It should be noted that not all learners are definite about what they wish to accomplish. Many will say that they just want to improve their reading and writing or learn to read and write. For these learners, it is helpful to have them think about everyday tasks that require reading, writing, spelling, and/or numeracy, and identify the ones they may be having trouble with. Once a few short and mid-range goals are developed, long range ones are likely to follow. Toward this end, there are forms/checklists here and here  of the ALL resource "Creative Student Assessment" (Appendix E if you have a hard copy of this).

 

It is also important to be aware of the fact that learners' goals can and do change over time. Once individuals gain confidence and positive experiences with learning, often they will extend their horizons and decide to go further than they had originally planned. In contrast, others may find the demands of learning too much and need to scale down or even to leave and return at a point when they are not as busy.  It is important to reassure these students that they are welcome to return whenever they would like to and resume learning.

 

GOAL PLANNING FORM

 

	Short Term	Mid-range	Long Term
Goals
Time Period
Learning Activities
Resources
Results

Resources:

 

   Forms to Facilitate Goal Setting (From your resource “Creative Student Assessment”)

   Assessing Interests and Attitudes  (From your resource “Creative Student Assessment”)

   Go for the Goal: A “Winning Approach to Learner-Centred Goal Setting in Adult Literacy - Illinois Literacy Resource Development Center

   Setting Goals – www.about.com

  Goal Setting - Planning and Achieving Personal Ambitions – www.mindtools.com

  Setting Goals – www.womensmedia.com

  Goal Setting - Powerful Written Goals In 7 Easy Steps! – www.topachievement.com

 

 

 On to Section 3.4

 

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(Page updated July 2002)