Teaching Goal-Writing to All Students

On the first day of classes two years ago, I had students in my professional and technical writing course send me an email with their goals for the semester. I discovered they had no understanding of goals, expectations, or objectives. I realized there are reasons why students typically can't do this without additional coaching: 1) they do not know the language, the cause-effect, the psychology of responsibility, or the careful determination involved in setting goals and making a plan; 2) they do not see the relationship between their success and the stating of goals; 3) they have not had repeated exposure to this task; and 4) they do not understand that goals are important in learning and in the workplace.

To continue reading, you must be a Teaching Professor Subscriber. Please log in or sign up for full access.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Articles

I have two loves: teaching and learning. Although I love them for different reasons, I’ve been passionate about...

Writers often evoke movies to describe the threats posed by artificial intelligence. Although AI has been around in...

In Rasselas, Samuel Johnson’s philosopher Imlac offers the following bleak assessment of life: “Human life is every where...

Most instructors breathe an inner sigh when they see a roomful of students on laptops in their classroom....
In a 2023 article published in The Hill, Sarah Eaton, an associate professor of education at the University...
Educators play a pivotal role in shaping students’ academic journeys, and their impact in the classroom extends far...

Are you signed up for free weekly Teaching Professor updates?

You'll get notified of the newest articles.

The Teaching Professor Conference 2024

June 7-9, 2024 • New Orleans

Connect with Fellow Educators at The Teaching Professor Conference!