#86: Building Tenacity: It's All About the Goals

This is Part 2 in a series about building academic tenacity in our students. Throughout this series, I will explore empirically-validated interventions shown to promote long-term learning and achievement. This post will focus on the purposeful use of goal-formation. 

Academic tenacity consists of the mindset and skills that allow students to focus on long-term or higher order goals and withstand challenges in pursuit of these goals. It's about working hard, working smart, and working for a long time. It allows students to look past their immediate wants and needs and focus on long-term goals. It gives them the will to withstand challenges and persevere in pursuit of their goals. In this post, we will dive into how setting goals can affect a student's academic tenacity and overall well-being.

The Importance of Goal-Setting

At their most basic level, goals encompass our hopes for our future. They direct us to where we want to be. The types of goals we construct impact our tenacity and overall well-being. The most effective goals are intrinsically motivating, personally valued, realistic, and are freely chosen.

There are two broad types of goals: approach and avoidance goals. Approach goals motivate us FORWARD and TOWARDS something. For example, "I want to be healthier." Avoidance goals motivate us to AVOID something. For example, "I don't want to gain any weight." Studies have indicated that approach goals are more likely to result in increased well-being (Compton & Hoffman, 2020, p.46).

Fostering Goal-Attainment
There are specific ways to increase the likelihood of goal-attainment. First, it is important for a person to own their goal. It needs to be meaningful to them. Secondly, it should be fun! Fun makes the grind easier. Thirdly, the goal is placed in the context of the big picture. This can increase perseverance by showing how small steps will lead to big things. Lastly, balance matters. The change must be sustainable. It's important to keep a balance between the goal and the other aspects of life (Compton & Hoffman, 2020, p.47).

In addition, It is important to balance abstract and concrete goals. Abstract goals are, well, abstract. They tend to be more general in nature. This means it can be harder to measure one's progress. An example of an abstract goal is that "I want to be happier." Concrete goals are achievable goals that are easily defined but not. For example, "I want to save $5,000 for a vacation." These two goals work best when used in conjunction with each other. Abstract goals define what we want to work towards. This is the WHY. Concrete goals help us take actionable steps towards achieving long-term abstract goals. This is the HOW. Both matter.

Hierarchical goal setting encompasses both abstract and concrete goals. It allows for "longer-term goals, principles, and values (ideally) to set the agenda for shorter-term skills, processes and procedures" (Sheldon, 2013, p.45). One way that we can encourage hierarchical goal setting is through the use of the SMART goal format. A SMART goal requires individuals to identify goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. The creation of short-term or stepping stone goals pull individuals into the future which then creates congruence between the present and future selves. I'll share specific interventions that facilitate this process at the end of this post.

Building Academic Tenacity
In my last post, I described how students' mindset can affect their academic tenacity. There is also a clear relationship between students' mindset and their goals. Students with a FIXED mindset tend to choose performance goals. They are focused on proving what they are capable of. Students with a GROWTH mindset tend to choose learning or mastery goals. Students "who endorse learning goals tend to seek out academic challenges, persist on difficult academic tasks more, and develop their abilities more readily, learning goals promote academic tenacity" (Dweck et al, p 8). This is MY goal. I want my students to leave my classroom with the courage to seek out challenges, the tenacity to persevere in the face of difficulty, and the confidence to believe in their ability to succeed.

Identifying student purpose and value system is an essential part of the goal-setting process. It helps them answer the question, "What's the point?" There are a number of different interventions that are designed to help students identify their purpose and values in life, such as:

1) Best Possible Self: At their core, goals are future-oriented and, as such, they can be abstract and elusive. One way to connect a student's present reality with their future goals is to have them complete the "Best Possible Self" activity. In this activity, student's imagine their life in the future. It could be 1 year, 5 years, or even 10 years or more down the road. This requires the student to clearly identify what they want in life and what they will need to do to get there.

2) Values Inventory: It is important that a person's goals, meaning, and purpose align with who they are. Researchers have found that goals that are self-concordant promote greater well-being and happiness (Sheldon, 2013). One way to promote this is to have students take a values survey. The Personal Values Survey is an online inventory that helps people identify their core values and how they act or react in accordance to them. The inventory is quick and easy to complete. They will be asked to identify ten values that are most important to them. After completing the inventory, they will be emailed an analysis explaining their value set as well as two activities that can be used to further explore their values and identify areas in which they want to develop or grow. This could serve as a precursor to the development of their SMART goals.

3) Development Questions: Goals can be motivating or paralyzing. Oftentimes, when someone is experiencing anxiety about their goal it is because they are focusing on what can or has gone wrong. The following questions were developed to help individuals focus on the progress they have made and provide them the motivation to keep going:

• What progress have you made?
• When have you been successful at similar goals in the past?
• What resources are at your disposal to help with this goal?
• What do you like best about this goal?
• What have you tried so far?
• Who could help you with this goal?
• What keeps you working at this goal?
• What kind of energy reserves do you have left around this goal?
• How can you make this goal work? (Biswas-Deiner, 2010, p. 66)

A student's mindset can have a direct effect on the types of goals that they create for themselves and the type of goal that they create can affect their mindset! As educators, we want to support a growth mindset in our students through the creation of learning goals that will be meaningful to them and promote academic success and well-being. In my next post, I will share some ways that we can help our students develop the self-regulation skills needed to achieve their goals. Until then, I would love to hear about your goals! What are you currently working towards and why?

Be Well,
Cori

Previous Post: #85 Building Tenacity: It's All About the Mindset

Resources:

Biswas-Diener, R. (2010). Practicing positive psychology coaching: Assessment, activities, and strategies for Success. John Wiley and Sons. 

Chowdhury, M. R. (2022, September 12). The 3 best questionnaires for Measuring Values. PositivePsychology.com. Retrieved November 6, 2022, from https://positivepsychology.com/values-questionnaire/ 

Dweck, C., Walton, G., & Cohen, G. (2014). (publication). Academic Tenacity: Mindsets and Skills that Promote Long-Term Learning. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Retrieved October 28, 2022, from https://ed.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/manual/dweck-walton-cohen-2014.pdf. 

Faucheux, L. (n.d.). Aligning strengths with goals: Creating a self-concordant journey. Aligning Strengths with Goals: Creating a Self-Concordant Journey. Retrieved November 6, 2022, from https://www.ncda.org/aws/NCDA/pt/sd/news_article/56642/_PARENT/CC_layout_details/false 

Sheldon, K. (2013). Positive motivation: A six week course. Positive Acorn.