Goal setting
My school requires every staff member to come up with three professional goals at the beginning of the year. The goals can be almost anything, with the one stipulation being that one of the goals must relate to the school's Continuous Improvement plan. Looking back, I think that my goal-setting was more perfunctory and less useful than it could have been.
Typically I would base one of my goals on an easily measured library outcome -- say increasing book circulation by 10 percent -- and then I would outline three ways to get there. For example, increase promotion through the school TV broadcast, do more class book talks, or improve how materials are displayed. For the past two years I've been involved in an effort to make our school more trauma-informed, so that was also an area for one of my goals. The third goal was usually something more general, such as increasing collaboration with staff.
My immediate supervisor and I would typically go over my goals in October and then nothing else would ever happen with them from the administration. I'm ashamed to say that I rarely re-visited them myself. This is something I hope to change because I now see how helpful goals can be.
I think my experiences will be a valuable guide for my mentee in what not to do.
One thing that's been a stumbling block in my own goal setting is the idea of measurable goals. I discounted the value of anecdotal evidence and was always looking for something that could be easily measured. The truth is, the anecdotal things could be the most valuable. For example, I may be able to increase the number of database tutorials I give, but it won't make a difference if the students don't understand what I'm trying to convey. I could learn much more if my goal was instead to survey the students to find out how useful the tutorials were.
Things being so up the air, I'm not sure the usual goal-setting will even be required. It doesn't matter. Now that I've learned more about how useful they can be, I'll be setting meaningful goals of my own.
Thanks for reminding me that a valuable goal can be something not even mentioned in the tome of AASL standards, such as helping the school become "more trauma informed." I'm so glad we have some flexibility to make goals appropriate to our individual schools- not merely picking them from a national publication.
ReplyDeleteHi Marilee and Jen,
ReplyDeleteChiming in here! I appreciate your takes on goal setting. My feeling is that goal setting is an opportunity to reflect on what is going well in the school library, and what might need some improvement. When I was in practice, at the end of each school year, I had some ideas about what I would do differently in the next school year. There seemed to be no end in the ideas that would jazz me up for the next school year, until one day, I realized that I had been in the same position for 24 years. Yikes! I decided at that point, I had to turn off the idea machine and turn it over to someone else.
Two points I'd like you to consider: Data that supports your goals can be in multiple formats that may provide feedback. Surveys of students before and after you try something, is a way to build on your ideas. Encouraging suggestions for student input will also give you some data to work with. In the Evidence based practice information, there were a number of ideas for what that might look like. You can get creative!
Also, using the AASL standards to drive the bus is just one way to set goals. Instead of using the goals as a jumping off point, you can think about other local initiatives such as the trauma informed teaching and learning, (fine example) and see how those big ideas might be reflected in the AASL standards. When I look at the Shared Foundation: Include, I see in the school library alignment C. Share, #1. Implementing solutions that address the physical, social, cultural, linguistic, and intellectual barriers to equitable access to resources and services. That seems to be broad enough to cover trauma informed teaching and learning through a school library lens. As you have been learning about trauma informed teaching, have you found ways that you can implement those ideas in developing library resources or the learning environment? I would love to know about what you have learned!
When you encourage your mentee to reflect on setting goals, you can act as a consultant to share possibilities for a focus for goals. This year will be especially challenging because as you have said, everything is so up in the air. We are all just trying to "breathe."
Well done...
Judy
Hey Marilee,
ReplyDeleteI will recuse myself from commenting on the structured conversation post! I very much appreciate (and relate to) your honest account of goal setting. I predict many will have similar experiences. The measurable part of goal setting is a sticking point and I appreciate how you have found more ways to think about it now. And also how you say it doesn't matter so much whether admin requires it this year; it will have value to you. That's just the best!