HOW TO SET AND ACHIEVE YOUR TEACHING GOALS THIS YEAR

How are you going with your new years resolutions?  If you are like the majority of people your goals have already fallen in a heap!  Before you get depressed, there is an answer.

rp_new-year-s-resolution-pic1.jpg

When it comes to being intrinsically motivated your ability to set Goals is a major factor.  However setting goals without a system of follow-up and accountability will do nothing for your motivation.  This is why we set goals and then not keep them.

The type of goal you set is also very important because the way in which you set your goal will determine the system that goes with it.  Every one of your teaching goals needs to have the following 5 characteristics:


To help you to easily remember the 5 characteristics we will use the acronym S.M.A.R.T

[S] – Specific

[M] – Measurable

[A] – Attainable

[R] – Realistic

[T] – Time limited

Out of the 5 characteristics the most important are that your teaching goals are specific and measureable.  These are the two elements of your goal that will enable you to set up your feedback and accountability system.  The rule of thumb is that if you can’t measure it then it’s not specific enough.

In the How to Motivate, Manage and Engage Your Students course we spend a lot of time deciding what our goals will be in the following areas:

  • Attitude
  • Effort
  • Engagement
  • Behaviour

Often teachers find it hard to write specific and measurable teaching goals in the areas of engagement and effort because they tend to be more intuitive.  But your student’s motivation will increase as you learn to set and communicate your goals more clearly.

In my classes I will have goals for each lesson and spend the first part of that lesson communicating those goals to the class in such a way that there is no ambiguity as to what I am saying.

Some examples of goals that aren’t specific or measurable:

  • Behave yourself
  • Don’t be too noisy
  • Everyone has a go
  • Take initiative
  • Respect other people and their property

How you could make these goals more specific

  • Be seated with your mouth closed and all your equipment ready within the next 2 minutes
  • Speak at a level where I can speak to someone at the back of the room without needing to raise my voice
  • Everyone in the group needs to write some of the answer – this means I will see five different types of handwriting on the poster at the end of the lesson
  • If you have a problem you need to try three different strategies to solve the problem on your own before asking for help
  • When someone else speaks, you don’t.  Don’t touch other people’s property without asking first.

With each of the examples above you can measure whether or not your students are reaching your expectations and then provide feedback and apply a consequence if need be.

An increase in motivation doesn’t come from the goal but rather the follow-up and feedback of the goal.  So if you say to your students that they need to try three different strategies to solve the problem on their own before asking for help, then they need to come to you with their three strategies.  Initially they will try and get away with just one strategy (or if your students are like mine – no strategies) but as you consistently ask them to reach this goal they will eventually just do it because they know that for them to get help they first needed to display a good attitude and put in some effort.  Over time your students go from waiting for the answer to solving the problem independently and your student motivation and engagement increases.

So just to recap…as you set clear and concise goals that are specific and measurable and then follow up that goal with a feedback and consequence system you can increase your student’s intrinsic motivation.  If you just set the goal (even if it was specific and measurable) but had no follow-up then motivation does not increase.  So whether you are setting teaching goals or personal goals make sure they are S.M.A.R.T and that there is a consequence for not reaching them.

 

Related Post

How well do you use the
Apple Apps Google Workspace Microsoft 365
tools in your workplace?

Find out if you’re working with the tools OR if you’ve got the
tools working for you.

What Industry Are You In?

Using Apple Apps, Google Workspace or Microsoft 365?

What Type of user are you?

🫣 Entry User | 🤹 Skilled User | 👑 Elite User

Take the quiz to find out. 

Privacy Policy

Using Technology Better Privacy Commitment

Introduction

We hold the privacy of your personal information in the highest regard.

Using Technology Better regards customer privacy as an important part of our relationship with our customers. The following privacy policy applies to all Using Technology Better users, and conforms to Internet privacy standards.

This policy will be continuously assessed against new technologies, business practices and our customers’ needs.

If you have questions or concerns regarding this statement, you should first contact the support team on our Contact Us Page.

Collection of Information

In order to use the Using Technology Better website, we may require information from you in order to provide the best service possible.

All correspondence may also be collected and stored, particularly in regard to sales, support and accounts, including Email.

Any information collected by Using Technology Better is collected via correspondence from you or your company. This may be via the telephone, Email, mail, fax or directly through our website.

Visitors and customers of japan.usingtechnologybetter.com will have their information shared back to DAIWABO INFORMATION SYSTEM CO., LTD. and DIS Service & Solution Co., Ltd.

Use of Collection Information

Any details collected from Using Technology Better customers is required in order to provide you with our

products and/or services, and a high level of customer service.

Correspondence is recorded in order to provide service references, and to assist in our staff development.

Web Site Use Information

Similar to other commercial Web sites, our Web sites utilize a standard technology called “cookies” (see explanation below, “What Are Cookies?”) and web server log files to collect information about how our Web site is used.

Information gathered through cookies and Web server logs may include the date and time of visits, the pages viewed, time spent at our Web site, and the Web sites visited just before and just after our Web site.

Storage of Collected Information

The security of your personal information is important to us. When you enter sensitive information (such as credit card numbers) on our website, we encrypt that information using secure socket layer technology (SSL).

When Credit Card details are collected, we simply pass them on in order to be processed as required. We never permanently store complete Credit Card details.

We follow generally accepted industry standards to protect the personal information submitted to us, both during transmission and once we receive it.

If you have any questions about security on our Website, you can email us at <ContactEmail>.

Access to Collected Information

If your personally identifiable information changes, or if you no longer desire our service, you may correct, update, delete or deactivate it by emailing us at <ContactEmail>.

Orders

If you purchase a product or service from us, we may request certain personally identifiable information from you.

You may be required to provide contact information such as:

Name

Email

Postal address

Your school or organisation

Financial information (such as credit card number, expiration date, name on card, card billing address).

We use this information for billing purposes and to fill your orders. If we have trouble processing an order, we will use this information to contact you.

Communications

Using Technology Better uses personally identifiable information for essential communications, such as

Emails

Accounts information

Critical service details.

We may also use this information for other purposes, including some promotional Emails.

If at any time a customer wishes not to receive such correspondence, they can request to be removed from any mailing lists by contacting support.

You will be notified when your personal information is collected by any third party that is not our agent/service provider, so you can make an informed choice as to whether or not to share your information with that party.

Third Parties

Using Technology Better may at its discretion use other third parties to provide essential services on our site or for our business processes.

We may share your details as necessary for the third party to provide that service.

These third parties are prohibited from using your personally identifiable information for any other purpose.

Using Technology Better does not share any information with third parties for any unknown or unrelated uses.

What Are Cookies?

A cookie is a very small text document, which often includes an anonymous unique identifier. When you visit a Web site, that site’s computer asks your computer for permission to store this file in a part of your hard drive specifically designated for cookies.

Each Web site can send its own cookie to your browser if your browser’s preferences allow it, but (to protect your privacy) your browser only permits a Web site to access the cookies it has already sent to you, not the cookies sent to you by other sites.

Browsers are usually set to accept cookies. However, if you would prefer not to receive cookies, you may alter the configuration of your browser to refuse cookies.

If you choose to have your browser refuse cookies, it is possible that some areas of our site will not function as effectively when viewed by the users.

A cookie cannot retrieve any other data from your hard drive or pass on computer viruses.

How Do We Use Information We Collect from Cookies?

As you visit and browse our Web site, the site uses cookies to differentiate you from other users. In some cases, we also use cookies to prevent you from having to log in more than is necessary for security.

Cookies, in conjunction with our Web server’s log files, allow us to calculate the aggregate number of people visiting our Web site and which parts of the site are most popular. This helps us gather feedback to constantly improve our Web site and better serve our clients.

Cookies do not allow us to gather any personal information about you and we do not intentionally store any personal information that your browser provided to us in your cookies.

Legal

We reserve the right to disclose your personally identifiable information as required by law and when we believe that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights and/or comply with a judicial proceeding, court order, or legal process served on our Website.

Links

Links on the Using Technology Better site to external entities are not covered within this policy. The terms and conditions set out in this privacy statement only cover the domain name of usingtechnologybetter.com

Changes to Privacy Policy

If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes to this privacy statement, and other places we deem appropriate so that you are aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it.

We reserve the right to modify this privacy statement at any time, so please review it periodically. If we make material changes to this policy, we will not use the personal information you have submitted to us under this Privacy Policy in a manner that is materially inconsistent with this Privacy Policy, without your prior consent

Delivery Policy

Most goods are digitally delivered instantly via email.  Our services may be delivered either via an online medium or live in person.

For our online delivery see below.  For services delivered live onsite, please refer to our speaker agreement form which is emailed to you on confirmation of booking.

Refund Policy

We do not offer refunds or returns unless we cannot supply goods or services or the goods or services are not delivered as promised.

Australian law is the governing body for all work, goods and services supplied by Using Technology Better.

Marketing Release

Using Technology Better (UTB) may film, record, and photograph me (the results of which are the “Recordings”). UTB may also incorporate into any production(s) any separate content (e.g., quotes, testimonials, biographical information, profiles, photos, videos, sound recordings, artwork, etc.) I provide to UTB or approve in writing (“Materials”).

1.License

I grant to UTB an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free license to, in its sole discretion, (i) edit, translate, and modify the Recordings and the Materials, (ii) attribute the Recordings and Materials to me by my name, age, and city and state of residence, (iii) incorporate the Recordings and the Materials into content to promote UTB, its programs, or products (“Content”), and (iv) publicly use, distribute, reproduce, create derivative works from, and perform/display the Content, and any excerpts thereof, in any language.

2. No Compensation.

I grant this permission without any financial or other obligation of any nature.

 

For any issues or concerns please contact us