Goal Setting: Making It Real

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Goal Setting, Meta-cognitive Strategies, Study Skills

Semester Start Up: Time to Study!

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Goal Setting, Low-level ESOL, Self-directed Learning, Study Skills

 

Many of our adult learners haven’t developed effective study habits, and yet, we know a student’s ability to study largely determines his or her educational success. So how do we get our students to develop effective study habits?

 

The Class Conversation

Start by asking students about their study habits.   You may be surprised by their answers.  I often find out that students don’t study at all outside of class.

 

·         What do you study?

·         Where do you study?

·         When do you study? How long do you study? How often do you study?

 

 

Incorporate Effective Study Techniques in Your Class

Over the course of the first few weeks, address these study essentials in class.

  

Know Your Resources

Class is the best place for our students to learn how to use their study resources.  Take some time to engage students in the following activities:

·         Using flashcards

·         Maintaining a vocabulary list

·         Locating and using the audio scripts and answer keys

·         Cueing and playing audio segments

·         Reviewing class notes

 

I do. We do. You do.

Often students don’t understand their homework assignments. Spend a few minutes on the assignment. Model it and then do one or two items together before they leave class to do it on their own.

 

Get Organized

Make sure every student has a study kit – otherwise known as a book bag.  Reusable grocery bags (99 cents) are great for carrying a textbook, note-book, translator, flashcards, pencils, and erasers: everything a student needs to seize the moment and study.

 

Timing is Everything

Acknowledge the extraordinary demands of your students’ lives.  They may never secure an uninterrupted hour to sit and study.  Remind them:

·         Frequency is more important than duration.

·         Study every day.

·         20 minutes a day is better than two hours once a week.

 

Location!  Location!

Not everyone needs quiet to study, but everyone needs good lighting, a study kit, and a little protection from interruption.  Ask students to identify places they can be free from interruption for 20 minutes.  Maybe it is in the classroom before class, or in a break room after the shift ends, or on a bus on the way to work; or in a parked car. 

 

Love Your Brain

There are three essentials to a functioning mind: water, glucose, and blood flow. 

·         The 3-Minute Stretch:  In the middle of class, take 3 minutes for everyone to stretch and move a bit. When students settle back into their chairs they usually notice how much more alert they feel.

·         Drink water and encourage students to bring water to class. 

·         Provide snacks now and then.  Point out which what kinds of snacks help the brain (complex carbs and nuts).

Building Better Learners: The Teacher’s Worksheet

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Best Practices, Goal Setting, Low-level ESOL, Self-directed Learning, Study Skills

These are questions to consider as you plan your class for the next academic year. Any of these questions would serve as an interesting staff development conversation.

Setting Goals

·          What are my students’ goals in coming to English class?

·          How do I find out about their goals?

·          How do I model goal setting in class?

 

Charting Progress

·          How do my students know they are making progress?  What feedback do I give them?  (notes, tests, stars?)

·          What opportunities do I give students to assess their own learning? (checklists, logs, brief reflections on what been studied, self-testing, self-recording?)

 

Developing Organization Skills

·          How do I help my students develop better organizational skills?  Do I check their notebooks?  Do I talk about where papers should be stored?  Do we decide which papers are most important and where to place them?

·          Do I have class systems for when students papers? (folders, bins, labels)

·          Do I have a class system for returning papers to students?   

 

Developing Strong Study Habits

·          · Do I model in class how to do homework assignments?

·           What systems do my students use to record homework assignments?

·           What materials do my students use to study outside of class?

·          What do I know about my students’ study time outside of class?  How often do they study? Where? With whom? 

 

Developing Study Skills

·          Which learning and memorizing strategies do I teach in class? 

·          How often does the class review material?   What review routines do I model in class?  (recalling material, using flashcards, writing questions?)

·          Do my students understand they best learn? Do they undertsnad the different ways people can learn? ( visual, kinesthetic, auditory, and/or aural learning)

 

Self-correction Routines

·          Do I model in class how to use an answer key responsibly?

·          In class do students practice reading their written work aloud in order to hear for small errors or missing words?

·          Do students know how to record and playback their voices on their phones?  Do they use this device to practice pronunciation?

 

Independent Study Resources

·          Do my students know about public libraries? Do they all have library cards?

·          Do my students have access to the Internet (computers or smart phones)? Do they have email accounts? Do they study English materials online?

·          Do I talk to students about parts of their textbook they can study on their own?

·   Do I talk to students about independent learning resources at our school (a lending library? a computer lab?) Do students understand which materials are best for independent study?

Pause and Reflect: A Simple Way to Increase Student Learning

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Best Practices, Goal Setting, Learning Routines, Self-directed Learning, Study Skills

In the rush to pack classes with exciting activities, time for review and reflection often gets squeezed out.  But those rare quiet moments are essential to effective learning.   They allow students to consolidate their learning, commit new information to memory, assess their understanding, and identify areas for more practice. 

 

The basic ingredients to a reflection are always the same:

1.  Review

2.  Evaluate

3.  Plan for the next step in learning. 

The way you present these ingredients has infinite variety.  Here are three activities I have used in my classes:

 

Review Class Notes 

1.     For homework, students review their class notes. 

ü Students mark a check next to the points they understand. 

?    They write a question mark next to any section that confuses them. 

+    They mark an addition sign next to any language point they want to practice more. 

2.     At the beginning of the next class, ask if anyone has questions about last class.  Students can quickly identify the areas they need help in.

 

Recap the Class

1.  At the end of class, ask the class “What did we do in class today?  What did you learn?”  Write students’ ideas on the board. 

2.  Pointing to the complete list on the board, ask students “What was the most important thing you learned today?”  Place a « next to the items students identify.

3.  Ask, “What do you want to practice more?”  Place an addition sign + next to those items. 

 

Now you have a quick picture of student progress and ideas for practice next class.

 

Exit Tickets

At the end of class have students write down three things they learned in class.  You can make the suggestion more specific, for example: 

·        Three new words

·        Three irregular past tense verbs

·        Three important events in U.S. history

·        Three things about their classmates

On Teaching Effective Learning

Tags

Best Practices, Goal Setting, Low-level ESOL, Self-directed Learning, Study Skills

In the rush to pack classes with exciting activities, time for review and reflection often gets squeezed out.  But those rare quiet moments are essential to effective learning.   They allow students to consolidate their learning, commit new information to memory, assess their understanding, and identify areas for more practice.

The basic ingredients to a reflection are always the same:

1.  Review

2.  Evaluate

3.  Plan for the next step in learning.

The way you present these ingredients has infinite variety.  Here are three activities I have used in my classes:

Review Class Notes

1. For homework, students review their class notes.

(please insert check mark)  Students mark a check next to the points they understand.

?    They write a question mark next to any section that confuses them.

+    They mark an addition sign next to any language point they want to practice more.

1. At the beginning of the next class, ask if anyone has questions about last class.  Students can quickly identify the areas they need help in.

 

Recap the Class

1. At the end of class, ask the class “What did we do in class today?  What did you learn?”  Write students’ ideas on the board.
2. Pointing to the complete list on the board, ask students “What was the most important thing you learned today?”  Place a star (please insert star) next to the items students identify.
3. Ask, “What do you want to practice more?”  Place an addition sign (+) next to those items.

Now you have a quick picture of student progress and ideas for practice next class.

 

Exit Tickets

At the end of class have students write down three things they learned in class.  You can make the suggestion more specific, for example:

• Three new words
• Three irregular past tense verbs
• Three important events in U.S. history
• Three things about their classmates

Effective Study Skills

Tags

Goal Setting, Self-directed Learning, Study Skills

We all have ways to get the most out of our study time.  Some of us work best in the early morning.  Others do better burning that midnight oil.  Over many years, we have developed study and work  habits that support our strengths.

Adult students with interrupted education often haven’t had the opportunity to develop a sense of how they learn best    As teachers we can help them think about their study habit and how they learn best.

I recently I wrote up a survey about study preferences. Focus on one topic at a time with students and give them a few weeks to observe their own tendencies and preferences before moving on to the next topic.   For each topic, have students share what they learn about their own study habits and share tips.

	How I Study Best	Yes	No	I’m not sure
Noise	I need quiet to study.
	I like music when I study.
	I like a TV or radio on when I study.

	How I Study Best	Yes	No	I’m not sure
People	I like to study alone.
	I like to study with other people.

How I Study Best

Yes

No

I’m not sure

Food	I like to drink coffee or tea when I study.
	I study best when I am a little hungry.
	I study best after a snack.
	Some foods help me study better.

How I Study Best

Yes

No

I’m not sure

My body	I need frequent breaks to stretch when I study.
	My neck and shoulders get tense when I study.
	My hand hurts when I write a lot.
	I get very sleepy when I study.
	I need my reading glasses when I study.

Asking the Right Questions: WHAT are you learning?

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Best Practices, Goal Setting, Learning Styles, Low-level ESOL, Self-directed Learning

How can we get students to develop independence in their learning?  Look no further than the questions we ask. 

What is the difference between asking students “What are you doing?” and “What are you learning?”  The difference is in the answer. 

 

 

“What are you doing?”

 Teacher:  What are you doing? 

 Student: “I’m filling in the blanks. “

 Teacher:  What are you doing?”

Student:   “I’m answering the reading comprehension exercises.”

 

What are you learning? 

Teacher:  “What are you learning?”

Student: “I’m learning how to write these verbs in the simple past.”

 

Teacher:  “What are you learning?”

Student:  “I’m learning about the weather and temperatures.”

 

 This observation was inspired by an article by Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher  called Purpose: The Foundation for High-Quality Teaching.  When classroom observers ask K-12 students What are you doing? they put the focus on the tasks students are asked to complete. When they ask, What are you learning? students focus on the deeper purpose and the enduring understandings of the lesson.  (Link:  http://www.principals.org/Content.aspx?topic=Purpose_The_Foundation_for_High_Quality_Teaching) 

Goal Setting: Purposeful Learning

Tags

Goal Setting, Self-directed Learning

The Value of Goal Setting

When students set goals, they clarify what they want to get out of class.  They are more self-directed and purposeful in their learning and more efficient with their time.  According to research students who set goals tend to be more persistent learners and more likely to achieve their educational goals.

Goal Setting

Getting Students to Set Goals

At the Beginning of a Unit

1. List all the objectives of the unit (They should be listed on the opening page of a textbook unit or in the teacher’s manual).
2. Have students identify the top 3 items they want to learn.
3. Have the class vote by show of hands.  Each student gets only three votes. Now you know what students want to learn and students are aware that they may have differing priorities.

Note: If you are using a textbook, this goal setting adds no extra work, you just know to skim the less popular items and delve deep into the workbook and ancillary materials for the more popular ones.

At the Beginning of Class

Write an agenda on the board.   It’s ok if it changes.  As a teacher, you can model how to reasonably adjust goals as you progress.

With an Activity

Sometimes I ask students “Why are we doing this?  What are you learning?” I’m usually impressed by the insight of their responses.  This kind of occasional exchange allows them to think about how they learn and the value of different learning activities.

Note:  I find this especially helpful with activities that some students may initially resist, like pairwork or a team project.  Once students establish the value of the activity they are wholly invested in learning from it.

 

Related Posts: 

Building Better Learners:  The Teacher’s Worksheet http://wp.me/pMYto-a8