ABSTRACT
Goals give purpose to one’s life – long-term goals set a vision, while short-term goals motivate daily effort. How can students be expected to work hard and put forth their best effort if they do not understand the purpose, the goal they are working toward. With a focus on building autonomy in the classroom and mastery of the content, this chapter explores what motivates students to care about their education. How can teachers inspire students to seek to be better than who they were yesterday? Students must set improvement goals, demonstrate their best effort, articulate their limitations and strengths, and reflect on their growth.
