Academic and Career Goal Setting & MTSS
Did you ever ask yourself this question: Why doesn’t Johnny learn? If you asked Johnny why he doesn’t seem interested in learning, he might respond by saying, “What for? Give me a good reason or I’m out of here.” Well, now you’ve done it—you need to find a good reason, and quick!
Today this type of thought process goes on every day in schools. Kids need a reason to learn in order to stay the course.
Reason to Learn
Most kids like Johnny are actually looking for a reason to stay. In many cases, they don’t ever get their questions answered. Most likely, if a student like Johnny is behind, he will be picked up by RtI (Response to Intervention) or more recently, MTSS (Multi-Tiered System of Supports). MTSS is a term used to describe an evidence-based model of schooling that uses data-based problem solving to integrate academic and behavioral instruction and intervention (Florida’s MTSS Project).
The approach, for the most part, will be well thought out and interventions will be implemented. This approach in years past always seemed to work. But now it doesn’t. Why? Let’s go back to Johnny’s statement, “What for?” Times have changed and so have our students. We never attempted to answer his fundamental question. Johnny needs a solid reason before any intervention will work.
Connection to Interests
One of the most basic ways to answer the “What for?” question is to administer an age-appropriate interest assessment. For over 30 years, The Conover Company has been linking interests to academics to help establish a reason to learn. Our Interest Indicator is an age-appropriate interest test linked to hands-on activities or Work Samples, Learning Assessment Programs – which are academic assessments linked to different careers, and The Career Planner – these tools will help to create a career portfolio. Click here for information on MECA. With reading levels at around 4th grade and with full audio, these tools can reach even the younger and more limited students.
Once interests are identified, the next step is to help Johnny learn how to set and achieve his academic and career goals.
Goal Setting – Assessment and Skill Intervention
Personal Responsibility—Achieving Academic and Career Goals is a systematic, research-based assessment and skill-building system that teaches core skills related to academic and post-secondary goal setting and achievement. Included in the system are skills such as:
By assessing and teaching these skills, Personal Responsibility eliminates the procrastination-blame-victim thinking cycle of many at risk students and puts the emphasis where it belong—on the individual. Select the button below to learn more about our Personal Responsibility—Achieving Academic and Career Goals program.
