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A Time for Goal Setting with our Seniors Students at PASB

By Leticia Daza – Secondary Deputy Principal, Pan American School of Bahia – Brazil

At PASB, teachers and administrators decided to have a Welcome Lunch for our Senior Class of 2020, followed by a session of reflection about the importance of Goal Settings for their last and challenging school year. We know that our Seniors have a lot to carry on their backs this last year of school; thinking about academics, IB exams, SAT, applications to Universities, among other things. That’s the main reason that we, as teachers and administration, need to support them emotionally and academically in order to help them make this last year of school a memorable learning experience.

Tony Robbins affirmed that “Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.” We cannot ignore that our lives without goals are lives without a destination and that we can’t go back and change what has already happened, but we definitely can start where we are and change the ending. Goal-setting was defined as a psychological tool for increasing productivity involving five rules or criteria, known as the S-M-A-R-T rule (Doran, 1981) and it is by far one of the most popular propositions of the psychology of goals. S-M-A-R-T is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely. Likewise, Goal-setting contributes to successful learning through personalization, because it actively engages students in their learning, fostering agency through inviting decision making.

At PASB during our Goal-setting time with our Seniors, teachers focused on guiding them to set their goals for the following days, months, until the end of the school year and beyond. I can’t express how proud I felt witnessing such an important moment with our students to ask reflective and learning process questions; to pursue personal aspirations and to challenge themselves, and overall, to take ownership of their learning.

The following pictures were taken during our Goal Setting Lunch with our Seniors.

References.

Doran, George T. (1981). “There’s a S.M.A.R.T. Way to Write Management’s Goals and Objectives”, Management Review, Vol. 70, Issue 11, pp. 35-36.

Robbins, Tony. The Art of Goal-Setting. Retrieved August 21, 2019 from https://www.themeritclub.com/new-blog/2018/self-help-tips-the-art-of-goal-setting

Leticia Daza is the Secondary Deputy Principal at Pan American School of Bahia – Brazil. She has been working in International Schools since the last decade. She’s a passionate and lifelong learner. Experienced in instructional design, student-centered coaching, language acquisition processes, collaborative teaching and learning strategies, and leading professional development.

@DazaLeticia

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