1.7 Setting Learning Goals
Gemma Smyth and Priya Sharma
Introduction
There are many ways to set goals, and each program placement typically has their own approach. As noted in the “self-directed learning” section, some programs have stylized learning agreements that guide both a supervising lawyer and student throughout a placement experience. Other placements rely on the student to set and reach their own goals without guidance. In other cases, there is no explicit requirement or expectation that goals are set.
To a certain degree, having unstructured experience can be excellent for learning. Other students find that having goals allows for reflection, time for re-evaluation, maximizing the learning experience, and consolidating experience for the future (eg, for job applications, portfolio development, etc.).
Goal setting can be a challenging exercise for students (more on this in the “self directed learning” section, above). Most students spend their time in higher education being told what to do and meeting goals set for them by others. Spending some time reflecting on this transition from being “acted upon” to being an actor in one’s own learning can be an uncomfortable transition.
Tools for Setting Goals
Goal setting is much more common in other professional disciplines. One of the most widely used in business is the concept of “SMART” Goals. Research on the impact of this approach is still developing (see, for example, K. Blaine Lawlor, “Smart Goals: How the Application of Smart Goals can Contribute to Achievement of Student Learning Outcomes”). Whether goal setting is empirically proven to be an effective means to improve learning is still under-studied. The “SMART Goal” approach has also been critiqued for ignoring the context of goal setting (whether this be business, social context, or other). For example, goals are never set in a vacuum. Whether a person has control over their work, their learning, their income, environment, and so on is highly influenced by income, power, race, gender, and other factors. This being said, we summarize the “SMART Goal” approach for consideration.
Setting SMART Personal and Professional Goals
SMART is an acronym:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
SMART is simply a way to guide goal-setting, which can sometimes be too broad, ambitious, opaque, or general to be of any real use to a student. After setting a goal, consider: is this specific enough to my particular context”; is it measurable (meaning, can you actually assess whether the goal has been met or not); is it achievable (eg, not “I will overhaul the social assistance program”, which is not achievable in one term); is it relevant to your specific placement; and, is it time-bound (eg, is it achievable in the time you have available).
Starting to Reflect on Personal Development Goals
- Setting personal goals should start with an internal reflection on your strengths, weaknesses, and your workplace context. These are objectives you set regarding your character, skills and capabilities such as improving your work ethic or building better workplace relationships.
- Students may wish to experiment with different assessments available online such as personality tests (https://www.16personalities.com), empathy tests https://psychology-tools.com/test/empathy-quotient, defense mechanisms or unconscious coping tests https://psychologia.co/defense-mechanisms/. Keep in mind these tests provide ways to think about yourself rather than provide a ‘diagnosis’. Many of these tests are not based on empirically supportable research. Social context makes a major difference in how people are able to function in any given environment.
