Literature as Data Summaries

Initial Wondering (List it here):

In what ways can I use goal setting to promote continuous effort and engagement in the classroom?

Does your wondering pass the litmus test? Complete the checklist below to confirm.
� Is it specific?
� Is it focused on student learning?
� Is it a real question (question whose answer is not known)?
� Is it a question about which you are passionate?
� Is it a “how can I” wondering? (What impact might it have on your students?)
� Is it free of judgmental language?
� Is it focused on your own practice?
� Is it a dichotomous (yes/no) question?
� Is it clear and concise?
� Is it doable?

APA Citation: Sides, J. D., & Cuevas, J. A. (2020). Effect of Goal Setting for Motivation, Self-Efficacy, and Performance in
Elementary Mathematics. International Journal of Instruction, 13(4), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.29333/iji.2020.1341a

Title: Effect of Goal Setting for Motivation, Self-Efficacy, and Performance in Elementary Mathematics
Notes about Key Quotes & Ideas Actions or Impact on Actions in the Classrooms

1. Decades of research have shown that setting academic
achievement goals is among one of the most important and
beneficial approaches in education. However, frequent urging
from teachers for students to do their best is less effective than
setting explicit and rigorous goals. Studies have revealed that
goal setting may affect academic performance through
increasing motivation, self-efficacy, and self-regulation in
students
2. “Goal-setting theory indicate that there is a positive
relationship between setting explicitly high goals and academic
performance. When one is committed and invested in setting a
goal, no matter the difficulty of the goal, performance is
increased and attainment is probably (Locke & Latham, 2006) …
The attainment of goals provides students with the feeling of
capability, enhancing self-efficacy in learning. Additionally,
feedback on the progress of the goal can foster self-efficacy and
motivation in students, conveying that they are capable and
making improvements with their hard work. When goals have
value and a sense of ownership is present, they provide meaning,
purpose, and motivation in learning.”
3. “According to this study, student goal setting is appropriate
for elementary school students. Based on the results of this
study, elementary students involved in goal setting showed an
increase in their performance in multiplication fact fluency and
accuracy. However, goal setting did not have an impact on
motivation or self-efficacy in math for these elementary school
students. Upon analysis of the data from this study, goal setting
(Think of 3 or more ideas)
 I can use goal setting to increase motivation within the
classroom. For example, I can work with students to help
them develop appropriate achievement and performance
goals. One example that stuck out to me was using goal
setting to support students increase their performance in
multiplication fact fluency and accuracy. In the
kindergarten classroom, I could use goal setting to help
students achieve counting by 5s or 10s fluency.
 By encouraging goal setting, we can provide meaningful
feedback on student progress of the goal. This can then
foster self-efficacy and motivation in students as it is
conveying that the individual is capable and making
improvements with their hard work. In the classroom I
can work to have students set daily or weekly goals and
then provide feedback to them based on their
individualized goals. With kindergarteners, I could even
incentivize this idea by providing rewards for meeting
goals.
 It is essential to help students set realistic goals that allow
for monitoring of progress as well as flexibility. To
effectively use goal setting to support motivation and
participation in my classroom, I think it will be necessary
to explicitly teach the students what it means to set
realistic goals. I can do this by providing examples of
realistic goals and then allowing them to use some of the
examples the first few times.
is likely to increase the performance of elementary students.
Thus, we can recommend that goal-setting be included in regular
instructional practices in mathematics classrooms at the
elementary level.”

4. “While working toward more difficult goals builds self-

efficacy, it is essential to set realistic goals to allow for
monitoring of progress and flexibility (Schunk, 1990). Goals that
are too easily achieved can hinder growth in self-efficacy,
leaving students with little knowledge of their real capabilities.
Likewise, goals set too high can have the same effect on self-
efficacy. Furthermore, goals are affected by self-efficacy and the
value placed on the outcome (Latham & Locke, 2007). “

How does this article relate to equity in the classroom?

This article relates to equity as it is exploring the ways in which goal setting can support the learning of all students. The evidence
being collected shows that allowing students to develop their own goals puts them at the center of learning and makes them
responsible for their own learning. By having students set goals for themselves, there is room to create individualized learning plans
to help each student achieve their goals in ways that work for them. I feel as if teachers frequently set one or two learning goals for
each lesson and expect students to meet said goal. To me this is not equitable as you are expecting students, of varying skill levels,
to meet one goal. I think by allowing students to set their own goals we are being much more equitable.

APA Citation: Hughey, J. (2020). Individual personalized learning. Educational Considerations, 46(2).
https://doi.org/10.4148/0146-9282.2237

Title: Individual Personalized Learning

Notes about Key Quotes & Ideas Actions or Impact on Actions in the Classrooms

1. “Personalized learning is designed to address the
disengagement of today’s students and to be proactive in closing
the growing achievement gaps occurring in far too many schools.
The goal of personalized learning is to engage students in the
process, building on their interests, aptitudes, and strengths, thus
creating intrinsic motivation for achievement and success.
Students feel empowered when involved in goal-setting and
decision-making processes.”
2. “Personalized learning (PL) refers to practices that tailor the
pace and focus of instruction to address the needs and goals of
each student. In recent years, schools and school districts have
begun to adopt schoolwide PL models. Because the PL approach
is sensitive to student interests and areas of academic strength or
weakness, the programs have the potential to increase student
learning and engagement. Personalized learning prioritizes a
clear understanding of the needs and goals of each individual
student and the tailoring of instruction to address those needs and
goals. These needs and goals, and progress toward meeting them,
are highly visible and easily accessible to teachers as well as
students and their families, are frequently discussed among these
parties, and are updated accordingly. “
3. “ Multiple intelligence theory (Gardner, 2011) proposes that
individuals are able to connect instructional content in eight
different “intelligences” rather than the most dominant, linguistic
and logical mathematical, in traditional educational settings.
Self-determination theory, a humanistic approach, represents a
framework of human motivation and personality and is based on
the psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and
(Think of 3 or more ideas)
 This article made me think about how I can use goal
setting to support personalized learning as there are
seemingly several benefits to this approach.
 I can work to use goal setting to support students in
developing autonomy. I believe that this will help
learners take initiative and responsibility for their own
learning. This autonomy could then support increased
motivation.
 Personalized learning deals with tailoring learning to
meet the needs and goals of each individual student. With
this idea in mind, as a teacher, having students set daily,
weekly, or monthly goals can give me an idea of what my
students feel they need more support with. These goals
can help me to tailor instruction to address the needs and
goals of my students.
 In the article, the authors discussed that the needs, goals,
and progress towards meeting these goals should be
visible and accessible to the teachers, students, and their
families. I believe holding goal setting and goal progress
meetings could benefit all students. These meetings
would give me the opportunity to provide more specific
feedback to my students and help them to recognize their
growth. By having goal setting meetings, I would be able
to sit down and monitor students to ensure they are
setting realistic and challenging goals for themselves.
relatedness (Ryan & Deci, 1990). The two noted theories directly
relate to the instructional approach to effectively implement
individual personalized learning.”

How does this article relate to equity in the classroom?

This article relates to equity in the classroom as it is discussing personalized learning. Personalized learning can be equitable as it
works to focus instruction to address the needs and goals of each individual student. The goal of personalized learning is to engage
students in the process, building on their interests, aptitudes, and strengths, thus creating intrinsic motivation for achievement and
success. This approach is not a one-size fits all approach but works to understand each student and teach to meet the needs of each
student.

APA Citation: Schunk, D., Gaa, J. Goal-setting influence on learning and self-evaluation. The Journal of Classroom Interaction,
Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 38-44

Title: Goal-Setting Influence on Learning and Self-Evaluation

Notes about Key Quotes & Ideas Actions or Impact on Actions in the Classrooms
(Think of 3 or more ideas)

1. “Goal setting influences learning and self-evaluation through  This article helped me to better understand the difference
its motivational and informational effects. When students set
goals, they are more likely to attend to instruction, expend effort,
and persist. These motivational effects lead to more on-task
behavior and more rapid learning” Through the process of
setting goals, students are more likely to engage in on-task
behavior, instructional processes and persist at the tasks.
between setting a goal and setting a specific goal. I know
that if I am going to begin implementing goal setting into
the classroom, I must first have a discussion with
students regarding what it means to set a specific and
explicit goal.

 I learned from this article that for many students it may

2. A specific goal results in higher task performance than either be beneficial to initially link goals with extrinsic rewards.
no goal or a more general goal, such as, “Try to do your best.” This will work to provide motivation for the learning of
Explicit goals support task performance. new skills. Being in a kindergarten classroom, I feel as if
this is something that I will need to do when beginning
3. “maximal performance effects can be expected when goals
this procedure. I can provide rewards such as a JSR buck
reflect specific task demands, represent a greater challenge, or
or picking from the treasure box.
are attainable in the immediate future. These considerations are
relevant to educational situations requiring performance of
previously-learned behaviors as well as to situations involving
learning”  Performance will be impacted the most by goal setting if
the goals reflect specific task demands, represent a
4. In social learning theory, goal setting represents a primary greater challenge, or are attainable in the immediate
source of motivation. In the process of setting goals, persons future. This made me think that setting weekly goals
adopt desired standards of behavior. A perceived negative might be the most beneficial as they can reflect skills, we
discrepancy between the goal and the present level of are learning that week. If we are setting weekly goals,
performance can motivate persons to engage in the activity more then they will also be attainable in the immediate future.
frequently, expend greater effort, and persist at the task. These
behaviors would be expected to promote learning and
achievement. Further, the satisfaction brought about by goal
attainment often leads persons to adopt new goals that foster
additional learning.”
“For many students it may be helpful to initially link goals with
extrinsic rewards as a means of providing motivation for the
learning and performance of new skills”

How does this article relate to equity in the classroom?

 This article relates to equity because it is discussing the ways in which goal setting can positively impact performance of individual
students in the classroom. The article discusses ways in which goal setting supports motivation, engagement, and persistence all of
which will help every student succeed.

Reflection:

What are several themes you found across your literature summaries?

Several themes I found across each of the literature summaries is that goal setting can be a useful tool in promoting student learning,
motivation, self-efficacy, engagement, autonomy, and persistence with learning. Goal setting serves as a tool to support students in
succeeding in and out of school. Another theme I came across was the idea of setting realistic and explicit goals. When we are
teaching our students to set goals, it is important that they are not too easily achieved or too broad. From these articles I also saw a
common idea of using goal setting as a way to monitor student progress and provide feedback to each student.

What are some of your ideas for how to utilize what you learned from your literature in your classroom? How will this promote
equity for your students?
I can use goal setting to increase motivation within the classroom. For example, I can work with students to help them develop
appropriate achievement and performance goals. One example that stuck out to me was using goal setting to support students
increase their performance in multiplication fact fluency and accuracy. In the kindergarten classroom, I could use goal setting to
help students achieve counting by 5s or 10s fluency. I can begin introducing the concept of setting realistic goals by explicitly
teaching the students what it means to set a realistic goal. To do this I can provide examples of realistic goals and then allow them to
use some of the examples. When starting this process of setting goals, I think it would be beneficial to hold goal setting and goal
progress meetings. This will help me to monitor students’ goals as well as the progress they are making towards meeting said goals.
I learned that for many students it may be beneficial to initially link goals with extrinsic rewards. This will work to provide
motivation for the learning of new skills. Being in a kindergarten classroom, I feel as if this is something that I will need to do when
beginning this procedure. I can provide rewards such as a JSR buck or picking from the treasure box.
How have you revised your wondering after the literature data collection? Why or Why not? If a new wondering, add it here.

After researching, I decided to change my focus to using goal setting to promote continuous effort and engagement as opposed to
continuous on-task behavior and engagement. It is a very small change, but I thought that goal setting focuses more on student effort
and motivation than it does on on-task behaviors.

Old Wondering: In what ways can I use goal setting to promote continuous on-task behavior and engagement
New Wondering: In what ways can I use goal setting to promote continuous effort and engagement in the classroom?