Goal Setting

"While the length of time needed to gain the skills necessary to move on to the next step may at times seem extraordinarily long or even unachievable, planning for a long-term goal does keep the learning focused on the needs of the learner. The transition plan needs to be flexible to accommodate this timeline. A useful strategy here is to set a series of short-term goals so that the learner will be successful in meeting goals on a regular basis. Each new short-term goal is part of the transition process in the learner's journey towards reaching the next step."
Excerpt from "Transition Planning", retrieved from Literacy
Basics at
www.nald.ca/literacybasics/exit/exit/02.htm.

As you begin your tutoring sessions with your learner, you'll need to know where she wants to go. You may already know about her long-term literacy goals (I want my GED, I need to pass my driver's exam, etc.) But how will you help her to achieve them?

Think about the last time you reached a personal goal such as running a marathon. What steps did you have to take in order to reach your goal? What was your timeline? How many hours did you devote to each incremental step?

Realistically, an adult learner at a very low literacy level may take years to obtain a GED or even complete one grade level. Rather than allow your student to guess how long it will take to obtain a GED, we will show you how to identify the steps she will need to take (short-term goals) in order to reach that long-term goal.

Each time your student reaches a short term goal, she will experience a sense of accomplishment, and a movement towards that larger, long-term goal.

Required: Please click on this online link to read about setting SMART goals with your student. This PDF document contains good information at the beginning. Skip the middle section until you reach "Goal Setting With Students" and the "Student Goal Questionnaire" at the end, along with two other tools for goal setting. These four documents are excellent tools to use with your student.

Optional: Click here to view a set of competencies for very low level literacy learners. These competencies will help you set goals with your student, and plan your lessons. http://www.marshalladulteducation.org/beginning-abe-literacy/student-report

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