quicker ? By establishing a specific end goal , children will understand the clear intent of why they are learning the skill which will hopefully drive intrinsic motivation . 2 . Break down the goal into a series of steps . Help the child to determine what steps need to be taken to achieve the goal ie practice sessions , modifications , etc . Let the student help map out how to break up the skill . Try using this four square idea to get started . Ask questions to help prompt the child if necessary but do not just provide the solution to the problem . If the student is able , write down a timeline of when each part will be completed . For example , if the student is learning how to climb stairs in a crowded stairwell , then the timeline could include activities such as climb the stairs independently with visual distractions in the stairwell , climb the stairs independently with one other student in the stairwell and finally climbing the stairs with many students in the stairwell . Set dates for each skill to be accomplished . If the student is tackling a big academic project , encourage him / her to set specific dates with specific directions for each part of the project .
3 . Stop , reflect and review . When you are moving through each “ piece ” of the overall goal stop , reflect and review . To encourage staying on task , the student can self talk asking “ is what I am working on now going to help me achieve the goal ?”. Review and check if the student is able to repeat what was previously learned and show 100 % achievement of that “ piece ”? Ask the student if they need to change the timeline or any strategies that are being used . Encourage the student to reflect on what , if anything , could be done to improve it to do it better the next time ?
My Goal Tracker : This is an electronic book of data collection forms for students to track their own progress . The student can track his / her goals over time , by monitoring the skills over the course of a day , week , month or quarter . This allows the student to get a visual picture of improvement , decline or maintenance of different skills . Find out more information here . 11