ABSTRACT
A goal is something a person wants or aspires to do for themselves or others. Educational goals are more than directions plus destinations. Teachers know that new learning goals must be connected to past experiences and knowledge. Edwin Locke's goal-setting theory affirms that having goals enhances performance. Inquiry goals need to be challenging, but too challenging, or they might cause avoidance or procrastination. Suitable goals are full of purpose, motivating, and enable students to take the first difficult steps, reflect on progress, and fit new knowledge and skills into their existing repertoires. Students and teachers from a junior high school in Brooklyn, NY, talk about student self-assessment in the classroom and how it can build confidence by comparing their work to a rubric. Initially, teachers can give feedback about progress, but gradually we can encourage students to evaluate their own trajectories toward the larger goal. Telling them they are wrong can be demotivating and counterproductive.
