Lesson 2: Goal Setting

Attention

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able

• Explain the importance of goal setting
• Create S.M.A.R.T. goals related to professionalism and early childhood educator skills

Teaching

Before starting any new adventure it is important to ask yourself what the purpose is of what you are doing.  This course obviously has objectives laid out for you and I would hope you are here because you possibly want to work with children. But in looking further than that, what do you want to get out of this class?

For this lesson, you will be creating goals for yourself and later on in the class you will be doing reflection on how they are going.  This is an important process because goal setting gives you something to plan and work for.  By writing them down it is a reminder of what it is you want to accomplish and keep you accountable to achieve them.  Goal setting also makes things appear more realistic.  What seems like a far-away dream can now be more realistic and reachable. Lastly, by creating goals for yourself, you get more out of this class.  I can only “teach” so much of this course.  The rest is up to you.  It is your responsibility to look for ways in which the content of this course will be useful to you.

Think back to the first chapter in Powerful Interactions. Are you able to "quiet the static" and prepare for interactions with children? Can you "think and prepare" to make interactions with children as success? Do you know your own temperment, preferences, interests, culture and language? How does this impact your work with the children? On page 22 in your Powerful Interactions text, what strategies could you use to help you get better at being present? Use 23 to help you identify what being present looks like and think of a goal in this area that will help you do a "me check" and be the most present you can be during your practicum experience.

Read Chapter three in the text, Professionalism in Early Childhood Education pages 35-57.

***On page 40 it reviews various Early Childhood Teacher Preparation Standards and you will read about the NAEYC Standards for Professional Preperation. These standards were adopted by KVCC to assess the early childhood practicum students in their field placements. You can find more information about the standards in your practicum placement binder (in addition to the evaluation tool that will be used by your supervising teacher). It is imperitive that you familiarize yourself with these standards as it is the base for evaluating your performance and assessing your skills as you move throughout the program.

 

After reading this chapter, go to page 110 and rate yourself on number 1 - Child Development, number 2 - Observation, Assessment, and Documentation and number 5 - Learning Environment. From these self-assessments choose an area that you think is appropriate to work on throughout your practicum and this will also be one of your goals.

When creating your goals make them a S.M.A.R.T. goal.  This will assure that your process is meaningful and you will be set up for success.

A smart goal is:

Specific – A specific goal answers all of the W questions.  It is the Who, What, Where, When, Which and Why of the goal.  You have a much better chance of achieving this goal if it is more specific than broad.  For example, a general goal would be, “I want to learn more about free play for babies.”  A more specific goal would be, “For this semester I will spend two days a week at my practicum site participating in activities that will help me to better understand what babies do during free play time”

Measurable – This part of the goal is establishing criteria for measuring your progress toward the goal.  Your goal is measurable if you can answer questions such as, “how much, how many or how will I know when my goal is accomplished?

Attainable (agreed, achievable) – To be an attainable goal, it must be achievable.  Is this something that you think you can accomplish or you know you can accomplish? How important is the goal to you?  Of course you can attain any goal you set when you create a plan that follows the other steps of this goal setting process, but make sure it is one that you want and are driven to do.

Realistic – Is this goal something you are willing and able to do?  Are you hoping you can change the world for the infants during free play time or are you simply trying to understand what goes on before taking the next step?

Timely – can you reach your goal in the amount of time you have set for yourself?  This can go two ways – you can either A – set an easy goal with WAY to much time thus making things easier but not meaningful.  OR you can do B – set a really difficult goal with not enough time to do it, thus making it unattainable and unrealistic.  Assure your goal is attainable and realistic for the amount of time you give yourself.

To make a S.M.A.R.T goal successful, the goal must have action steps. Without action steps to reach your goal, it will be hard to measure progress and if you have succeeded. For example, a S.MA.R.T. goal would have actions steps like this...

GOAL: I will establish positive relationships with each child within the first three weeks at my practicum site.

Assessment

Lesson 2 Assignment

Create TWO goals. One goal will be realted to the Powerful Interactions text and the other to the Professionalism text. Each goal should be a S.M.A.R.T goal and will be graded accordingly. Follow the Goal Template and submit in the dropbox.

Goal Template (PDF)
Goal Template (MS Word)

Goal Rubric

(Be sure that you convert your final document to PDF and submit THAT version to the drop box.)

Lesson 2 Discussion

Read Chapter 1 in Swinging Pendulums. (pgs. 7-11) Is experience working with young children as valuable as academic preperation in early childhood growth, development, and education? Why or why not?