Survival and Goal Setting

We've reached the "survival" time of the school year for most teachers. We've been working for several weeks straight without much of a break, and without one in sight until Thanksgiving. I, too, am finding that I'm spinning my wheels a bit - trying to keep up with a long list of tasks that seems to grow each day. This is what "survival" is like - going day to day and trying to keep up in a very momentary way. It is short-sighted, but also understandable - especially when we consider a new colleague and the steep learning curve that they face. Most of the teachers we are mentoring are probably in "survival" mode right now, and it is essential that we are aware of and responsive to this state of mind, as it can be stressful and difficult for a novice teacher to maintain for very long.

If goal setting hasn't crossed the table with your mentee yet - this is the perfect time to set aside a meeting to attend to it. Goal setting provides us with direction and clarity for our work. It also sets the stage for moving into the inquiry cycle (lesson planning, observing, analyzing student work, reflecting on case study students) with focus rather than a haphazard "let's do one thing this week and something else the next week" approach that is reactive rather than responsive. Ultimately, clarity around our work together saves time, leads to identifiable efficacy in the classroom, impacts student learning positively, and provides the groundwork for intentional weekly reflection.

What if my mentee already has goals written? Fine. Perfect. It's still essential to take the time to have a conversation about those goals and to identify how you are going to work with those goals together. Also, it's important to consider the language of the goals. Often, teachers will write goals in terms of student achievement. For example, "90% of all students will move by 1.5 points on the writing rubric this year." What can sometimes be left out are the specific steps the teacher will take to move in the direction of reaching that goal.

In my work, I consistently use the New Teacher Center's Individualized Learning Plan (ILP) for goal setting. I use the ILP even if the goal setting meeting is conducted for the purposes of getting mutual clarity on existing goals. With the framework of the CSTP to guide the conversation, we are able to take a very comprehensive look at the mentee's goals. We consider how engaging students, classroom environment, lesson planning, knowledge of content, assessing learning, and professional development will be approached with the goal in mind. While it can seem big, (6 goals!) it's actually manageable. This approach takes a big picture goal like "90% of all students will move by 1.5 points on the writing rubric this year" and breaks down the mini steps that will need to be taken to attain it. So the 6 goals are actually mini goals or supportive goals linked to an overall goal.

I can't emphasize enough how important it is to have a goal setting or goals-oriented conversation with each mentee we support. Taking the time to stop and consider goals in a focused way - with clear and manageable next steps for both our mentee and ourselves - helps to stop the spinning wheels. With a named focus in mind, it also sets the stage for us to name successes. It has been found that one of the single most important factors influencing a teacher's decision to remain in our profession is his or her ability to identify ways in which he or she has been successful in the classroom and successful in terms of student learning. Naming such successes, I would argue, hinges on a clear understanding of one's goals and how one is reaching them in an ongoing way.

Thanks for reading!

Alison