Goal setting and 'The Power of Yet'.

This week, our Autahi students had their first taste of our Goal Setting process. This is something we do throughout the school: it looks a little different in each space to suit the age and stage of our students. 

Our Autahi students conference with their teachers and decide on something they are proud of that they can do NOW. They then think about the things that they can't do YET - and choose two. These are our students' goals. We ask them to draw their ideas. The drawings give us plenty to talk about and help us to discover what our students' choices mean for them.

We usually find that our students students think big. We encourage their aspirational thinking: goals should be substantial.  'I want to write a story' and 'I want to count to 120' are chunky goals that will take time and effort to achieve. This can make it hard to know where to begin. This is where Kaisen steps come in. When conferencing with students and their whānau, we have the opportunity to break down these big goals into a pathway of smaller steps. For example, 'I want to write a story' might begin with telling or drawing a story or learning some letters and sounds. Kaisen steps give our students meaningful actions that they can take straight away. They also give students the chance to experience Positive Accomplishment on the way to achieving their big goal.

Of course, there are going to be bumps in the road: learning new things is should be fun. But, where learning is happening, there are always challenges as well. At Worser Bay School, we draw on the work of Carol Dweck, who has researched and written extensively about Growth Mindset - or The Power of Yet. Struggle is intrinsic to learning. Developing the skills to respond positively when the going gets tough is what makes great learners. Your child will be working on this throughout their time at WBS.

An example you will have come across in our Goal Setting meetings is our Character Strengths. We help our students to recognise the strengths that they have - such as Bravery, Curiosity, Perseverance and Humour - how to 'dial them up' to help with different challenges and situations. We also work on strategies to cope with feelings of frustration, how to get unstuck or find help. And we are always keen to notice and praise our students' effort, grit and determination. 

For more on this, take a look at Carol Dweck's Ted Talk about The Power of Yet.

And for fun, The Power of Yet by Janelle Monae and Sesame Street.