Setting Goals, Self-Monitoring, and Self-Instruction: The Writing Trifecta

As is evident from the title of this article, one of the primary goals of teaching kids how to write is to teach them how to write for themselves, without constant guidance from peers or instructors. Reading and writing are tasks that can be difficult for some, and a lot of students simply rely on constant prodding from their teacher to get things done in the right way at the right time. This is somewhat counterproductive; what we really want students to learn is to regulate and monitor themselves, their own progress, and their successes.

But how do we do that? Where do we have to begin to help students develop the skills necessary to complete projects and assignments on time? And can we do it?

The authors of the article mention three suggestions of what to focus on for teachers looking to help their students become more self-sufficient with their writing.

11.       Goal setting.  In school, students assume that the permanent goal is to get the assignment done in time. More motivated students will have a certain grade as their goal. Rarely do students, even the exceptional ones, set a personal goal for themselves and their learning during a certain project.  Tragically, as they focus on superficial goals like due dates letter grades, they ignore the larger idea of learning. Indeed, much of high school education focuses on numbers instead of individual learning that students seem to be an obstacle for teachers to get good results and show how successful they are as educators.  However, when we help the students know that their personal learning should be the goal, we are better able to emphasize personal growth and a stronger motivation to do the work. When you have the right motivation, you get the right results.

22.       Self-monitoring. The old cliché goes: “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” The same is true for students. You can give information and facts and a wealth of knowledge to students in the classroom, but if they don’t have the motivation to learn it or the self-sufficiency to learn it, all of that knowledge is just floating around the classroom. Often times, the metaphorical horse needs to be taught to take care of himself.  Self-monitoring is the process by which students can track their own progress without having to have constant guidance. It takes a lot of practice to reach a point where students take initiative to keep track of their work, and most of this practice happens in college. Wouldn’t it be so much easier for students to learn this sort of self-control in middle school?

33.       Self-instruction. This is a tricky subject. For all of these ideas, planning has been the focus of the research done in the article. Helping students learn how to lay out a proper plan to guide them through the process of whatever activity they are working on is a huge step. However, this part of the process is probably the most difficult. Students are still learning to learn at this point. They are learning to read, learning to write, and learning how to synthesize information and remember it. It takes a lot of practice. When they are told that they are expected to learn information on their own, they may feel incredibly overwhelmed. However, this is a process that merits much attention; it’s not just a writing thing, or a learning thing, or a school thing. Learning how to learn on your own, how to come up with ideas, how to make sense of other people’s ideas is a skill needed for navigating the world, and the sooner students learn it, the better.