Goal and Target Setting - What’s my role? Module 3

Goal and Target Setting - What’s my role?

The aim of this activity is: To draw attention to the links between goal setting and target setting and improved learning outcomes.

Other aims of this activity include:  Showing how classroom goals and targets sit within school goals and using one of our school goals to demonstrate what this means in practice  Showing how we can maximise our efforts by working together as a school team

Today’s activity will consist of:  A general introduction to the concepts being explored  A paired activity during which you will have the opportunity to focus on one of our school goals and what led to it being chosen as a school goal  A small group activity which will review the processes we have in place to monitor how we are going in regard to achieving this goal  A band level/faculty group activity designed to consolidate our efforts as a staff team

Introduction  The top priority for schools is improving student learning outcomes  Every goal, whether it is generated by the school, by a teacher, or by a group or faculty, needs to relate to this priority

Goals are broad statements such as:  ‘Increase the level of literacy across the school’  ‘Increase the level of literacy within my classroom’  ‘Increase the level of literacy among year 9s’

Targets answer some of these questions. Targets are more specific than goals and have a quantifiable element.

An example of a junior primary target: After 4 terms at school, children who have been identified through the School Entry Assessment (SEA) as being in the early/initial stages of the continuum have made more progress along the continuum than the general cohort.

An example of a primary target: By year 7, 90% of our year 5 students who have been identified through the state literacy tests to be in the two lowest skill bands will have made more than two years’ progress in their literacy development.

An example of a secondary target: Between year 8 and year 12 there is an annual 10% decrease in the number of students who respond negatively to the following question: ‘Maths lessons are dull and boring,’ and a 10% annual increase in positive responses to: ‘I understand how the Maths I learn at school can be used in the real world.’

In order to achieve a particular goal the staff and the school community, including students, need to set a manageable number of targets and clarify individual or group commitment towards achieving these targets. How will I contribute to the achievement of these targets?

In collaboration with others, each staff member needs to take responsibility for achieving one or more specific targets.  In individual classrooms  In year groups/faculties  For the school

It’s far better to:  Set and action a small number of key goals with explicit targets and observe an improvement Than to:  Set many goals and achieve little.

TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT ONE OF OUR SCHOOL GOALS Activity 1 - ‘Where are we heading and why?’

Activity 1 (continued)  With the person next to you: Discuss your understanding of what we want to achieve through this goal. Do you differ significantly in your understandings?  As a whole staff group: - Brainstorm the values that underpin this goal. - Why was this goal set? - What is the timeframe for this goal and do you think it is realistic? - What data/evidence was used to generate this goal as a priority?

Activity 2 - ‘Keeping track of success’ 1.In working towards the achievement of this goal, are there clear points at which you can assess progress, reflect on the effectiveness of strategies being used and set new directions? If not, suggest when and how this should occur. 2. What evidence of success will you be looking for at the next reflection point? 3.How does this evidence differ from the reasons (baseline data) for setting the goal? The difference between the two shows progress/distance travelled and the results of team effort. 4.Do the monitoring processes help you personally gain a sense of how well your school team is progressing in the achievement of this goal? If not, what would be helpful?

Activity 3 - ‘Contributing to success’  Personal contributions  What needs to change?  Asking for support  Collecting data along the way  Helping out with the monitoring of progress