Since returning to remote learning we have begun to inquire into the meaning of goals and their relationship to learning. Initially the preps were invited to share their current understanding of what a goal is, here are some of their thoughts.
A goal is something that you need to practice. Chloe
A goal is something that you want to do. Jack
A goal is where you can be really good at stuff by practicing. Esther
I know what a goal is. It’s to achieve something. A goal could be to run to somewhere. Henry L
After reflecting on their understandings we began to provoke the children to think more about their understanding of goals in connection to learning.
We need to be brave to make mistakes. Axel
I will just do some writing each day. Pola
And what will that do? Chelsea (Pola’s mum)
It will make me closer and closer to my goal. Pola
We then further provoked the children to set themselves a goal connected to remote learning. We asked them to consider how they might go about achieving their goal and who they could go to for support.
I’ll break it up and through the years I’ll learn a bit more about it. Flynn
My goal is to have lots of perfect letters and why? Because I want everyone to understand what I’m trying to say. This is a part of Amy’s feedback. Rohan
We will continue to develop the children’s understanding of goal setting in their learning as the term progresses.
As remote learning has commenced, we as educators have once again noticed the emergence of moments of curiosity and individual learning. This is something that we would really like to champion, share and celebrate. We see this as a valuable pathway to understanding independence and interdependence in learning. Often these moments of natural curiosity can highlight children’s strengths. We also believe that learning through something that one is passionate about can be authentic and leave long lasting imprints.