Goal Setting Skills Research Articles

Beyond standard rehabilitation programmes: Working with people with MS for adequate goal setting and rehabilitation treatment evaluation

Shared decision-making occurs when the decision is ‘preference sensitive’. It consists of identifying the different treatment options (choice talk), considering the advantages and disadvantages of each option (option talk), and then supporting making the decision in the light of an individual’s experiences and values (decision talk). It is most effective when working with an ‘activated patient’, that is, one who is prepared for the shared decision-making role. In rehabilitation, many decisions are preference sensitive. These decisions may be framed as ‘goal setting’. Skilled clinicians can support patients to learn goal setting skills until the person has the skills to maintain health supporting behaviours most of the time, only seeing a clinical team at times of change or crisis. The steps in goal setting can be summarised as building empathy, creating a contract, identifying priorities, summarising the conversation, articulating the goal, defining actions, building coping plans, and then reviewing progress. Working with people with MS can extend beyond working with individuals to a consideration of what people with MS want from services. This can result in the co-production and co-design of services, as well as the identification of research priorities as exemplified by the James Lind Alliance.

Comparative Effectiveness of Mental Contrasting and Self-regulation Strategies on Enhancing Goal Setting Skills of Secondary School Students in Urban Nigeria

Although there is plethora of studies on goal setting skills, there is paucity of experimental studies on this field. This study examined the comparative effectiveness of Mental Contrasting Therapy (MCT) and Self-Regulation Strategies (SRS) on enhancing goal setting skills of students in urban Nigeria. A group of 120 students (male=52, female=68) with age range of 14-17 years and mean age of ≥ 13.5 years were purposively drawn from secondary schools in urban Nigeria. Each of the intervention groups was exposed to 10 sessions of therapy designed to improve their goal setting skills. The control group served as comparison group. The result revealed a significant main effect of treatments on goal setting skills (F(2,105) =14.958, p<0.05) with the intervention groups demonstrating greater ability to utilize the acquired skills than the comparison group as evidenced on the mean score. The effect size reveals that treatment accounted for 22.2% (η2=0.222) change in the participants’ goal setting skills. Participants treated with SRS reported higher mean score at post-test (=69.09) when compared with their counterpart in MCT group (=66.93). Self-efficacy and gender have significant interactive effect with treatments F(4,105) = 6.375, p<0.05, η2=0.195 and F(2,105) =13.561, p<0.01, η2=0.205 respectively. The researchers concluded that though the two therapies were effective, SRS was more potent in enhancing goal setting skills of the participants.

Evaluation of an infused alcohol and drug prevention programme

PurposeAlcohol, tobacco, marijuana and other drugs use typically increases in prevalence and frequency during middle and late adolescence. School health instruction often focusses on providing facts and rarely provides tools for addressing the psychosocial risk factors needed to prevent substance use. The purpose of this paper is to report about the effectiveness of a prevention programme delivered in US high school health classes. The intervention augments typical instruction by providing teachers with activities that can be infused in their daily teaching.Design/methodology/approachIn total, 26 schools were randomly assigned to receive the intervention or serve as controls. Pupils were pretested near the beginning of the school year, posttest near the end of the school year and administered a final test near the beginning of the following school year. Teachers in treatment schools were provided with activities designed to target psychosocial variables known to mediate substance use onset and self-initiated cessation. These include normative beliefs, intentionality, lifestyle incongruence, beliefs about consequences of use, peer pressure resistance skills, decision-making skills, goal setting skills and stress management skills.FindingsHierarchical modelling analytic strategies revealed the intervention to have definable positive impacts on alcohol and cigarette use. Moreover, the intervention had strongest effects on alcohol and cigarette use among pupils who were identified at pretest as being lower-than-average risk.Originality/valueThis research provides support for providing teachers with a strategy for preventing alcohol, tobacco and other drugs that can be used in a flexible manner to augment the instruction they are already mandated to provide.

872-P: Impact of Psychosocial Factors and Nutrition Using a 12-Week Course on Diabetes Management for Veterans

U.S veterans are at considerable risk for complications from diabetes. It affects nearly 25 percent of VA's population. Many veterans report suffering from psychosocial complications particularly lack of management success and symptoms of depression. The Diabetes Empowerment Group (DEG), a 12-week interdisciplinary group for diabetes management. Curriculum includes values assessment, goal setting, biofeedback, problem solving, mindful eating, and other management skills. A registered dietician provides nutritional education and coaching each session. Based on feedback, program changes are implemented to each new group cycle for quality improvement (QI) purposes. Methods: Hemoglobin A1c levels for veterans were measured via on-site laboratory services. They completed Diabetes Empowerment Scale - Short Form and Patient Health Questionnaires-9 at the beginning and end of their respective group session cycles. Scores were used to determine whether group content impacted veterans' HbA1c, depressive symptoms and empowerment in managing their diabetes. Paired sample t-tests were utilized to compare pre- and post-session cycle values. Fifty-nine veterans completed lab work and QI measures. Mean HbA1c levels (t(58) = 2.55, p<0.01) and depressive symptoms scores (t(54) = 3.11, p<0.001) decreased from the beginning (M = 8.11, SD = 3.60; M = 11.31, SD = 43.55) of the group to the end (M = 7.74, SD = 1.97; M = 9.22, SD = 38.77). Mean empowerment scores increased (t(55) = -3.08, p<0.001 from the beginning (M = 3.56, SD = 0.58) of the group to the end (M = 4.02, SD = 1.24). These findings demonstrate the efficacy of DEG in helping veterans manage diabetes. We expect successive improvements toward a more integrative, standardized curriculum will result in increased empowerment and reduced HbA1c levels and depressive symptomatology. Future directions for QI include increasing access to care by initiating access by starting a new cycle of DEG every six weeks. Disclosure N. Farrell: None.

The Effect Of Crossfit On Self-talk And Goal Setting In At-risk Youth: A Pilot Study.

At-risk youth experience limited support, lack consistency, and depend on governmental programs and could benefit from structured programs. CrossFit participants are encouraged to discuss workout goals and strategies and are reminded about workout efficiency. PURPOSE: Examine the effects that CrossFit has on the use of self-talk and goal setting techniques. METHODS: Sixteen participants identified as at-risk (e.g. living in single-parent homes or in low-income environments) participated in a CrossFit program. Participants ranging from 11 to 14 years old completed 12 weeks of CrossFit for one hour, three days per week. Participants completed two Likert-type questionnaires (Goal Setting questionnaire and Self-talk questionnaire). Survey scores served as dependent variables. Paired samples t-tests were calculated to examine changes over time on both surveys. All statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS 25.0 (IBM, Armonk, NY). Significance level was set a priori at 0.05. RESULTS: 16 participants (84%) completed both pre and post Goal Setting surveys, while 10 (52%) completed both pre and post Self-Talk questionnaire surveys. Significant differences were found between scores for total score (Mean Pre: 14.4 + 2.9, Mean Post: 17.9 + 2.5; t(1,15)= 3.13, p= 0.007); question 2, “Once I set a goal, I don’t give up until I achieve it” (Mean Pre: 1.4 + .13, Mean Post: 2.2 + .24; t(1,15)= 2.42, p= 0.029) and question 6 “When I set a goal, I think about what I need to do to achieve that goal” (Mean Pre: 2.9 + .23; Mean Post: 3.7 + .70; t(1,15)= 2.82, p= 0.013) with scores improving after the intervention. No significant differences were found for the Self-Talk questionnaire (n=10), total score (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: This pilot study provides preliminary evidence that CrossFit for at-risk youth enhances goal setting skills. The introduction of CrossFit classes appears to create structure for goal setting as strategies/goals are discussed before workouts and accomplishments/results are recorded and reviewed. However, it does not appear that CrossFit increases self-talk which could be due to no formal instruction in the current format of CrossFit classes. Future investigations should include impacts of self-talk and goal setting with intentional training, a larger participant pool, and qualitative methods.

Educational Needs of Communication among Nursing Students

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore educational needs of communication, focusing on how nursing students evaluate their current communication skills and what students think is most crucial in communication competency. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study collected data from 276 nursing students at multiple universities from September to November 2016. Main analyses included descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, and one-way ANOVA with SPSS/WIN and R 3.2.3, as well as importance-performance analysis by Martilla and James. Results: There was a difference in the perceived importance of communication depending on field experience. Students who reported excellent communication skills compared to their peers had higher perceived communication importance than those who reported similar or inferior skills. The perceived need for dominant communication of goal setting skills was the highest. After confirming the list of priorities for Borich’s needs assessment, the education need for goal setting skills was the highest with 1.79. Conclusion: Our study findings emphasize that the highest need for education of nursing students was the dominant communication of goal setting skills. This is needed to develop an education program that can strengthen goal setting communication for nursing students with a special focus on dominant communication.

Development of a Scale of Goal-setting Skills for Upper-grade Elementary School Students

Development of a Scale of Goal-setting Skills for Upper-grade Elementary School Students

Проектные технологии в формировании педагогической культуры современного преподавателя иностранных языков

In the article, pedagogical design is presented as an activity aimed at the formation of the pedagogical culture of a modern teacher of foreign languages, including the design culture, provided by the formation of a complex of design skills: diagnostic skills, pedagogical goal-setting skills, reflective skills, constructive-meaningful and constructive-active skills. A feature of the considered design technologies is their innovative nature, which allows solving theoretical and practical pedagogical problems.

The Effect of a Resilience Enhancement Programme for Female Runaway Youths: A Quasi-Experimental Study

The effects of a resilience enhancement programme on resilience, depression, anxiety, and problem drinking among female runaway youths living in shelters were evaluated. Participants were 32 youths (16 experimental and 16 control participants), assessed at pre-test, post-test, and one-month follow-up. The programme incorporated five protective factors associated with resilience: self-esteem, self-regulation, relational skills, problem-solving skills, and goal-setting skills. There were significant group-by-time interaction effects for resilience, anxiety, and problem drinking at one-month follow-up. The preliminary results suggest that providing female runaway youths with this programme focusing on protective factors may enhance resilience and mitigate anxiety, and problem drinking.

Getting a Fresh Start

This article describes five skill cues that health educators can use to teach students goal setting in order to meet Standard 6 of the National Health Academic Standards, “Students will demonstrate the ability to use goal-setting skills to enhance health.”

Evaluation of Management Skills and Training among Horticultural Farmers in Botswana

This quantitative study aimed to determine the level of management skills and training among small scale horticultural farmers in Botswana. The study adopted an exploratory and descriptive survey research design. A valid and reliable questionnaire was used to collect data through a survey of forty (n=40) purposively sampled small scale horticultural farmers in Botswana. A six-point Likerts’ scale ranging from 0=No skill to 5=very high skill was used to measure the level of eight areas of farm management skills and training namely; planning and goal setting skills, accounting and financial management skills, communication skills, productivity management skills, product procurement and marketing skills, decision making skills, risk management skills, and technical skills. Mean and standard deviations for each of the farm management skills were calculated and, tested for their significance using a Chi Square test. Findings revealed that farmers had an overall high level of farm management skills and training. Communication skill was the only skill which the farmers had at a very high level. Farmers had high skills levels in the technical skills, product procurement and marketing management skills, planning and goal setting skills and, decision-making skills. Farmers had a low skill levels in risk management skills followed by accounting and financial management skills and, production and productivity management skills. Therefore, the farmers need to be adequately trained in skill areas of risk management, production and productivity management skills and, accounting and financial management. Specific and important recommendations include formulation and implementation of effective agricultural insurance policies; inculcate the adoption of appropriate farm technologies, leadership and cooperation skills among farmers and, training of farmers in the areas of scientific production techniques, plant protection and record keeping. To prioritize the areas for effective and time bound improvement in the farm management skills among horticultural farmers, further study can be conducted to determine the influence of socio-economic characteristics of farmers on the level of their farm management skills.

A Framework for Goal Setting Skills Integration in Curriculum

A Framework for Goal Setting Skills Integration in Curriculum

A Framework for the Integration of Goal Setting Skills in Electrical Technology Education Programme Curriculum

A Framework for the Integration of Goal Setting Skills in Electrical Technology Education Programme Curriculum

Effect of Motivational Models on Secondary School Students Achievement in Physics in Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue State

This study was conducted to examine the Effect of motivational Models on Secondary School Students, Achievement in Physics in Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue state. It explicitly focused on extrinsic and intrinsic motivation in relation to students’ performance in physics. A quasi-experimental research design was employed for the study, pre and post-Teacher Made Physics Achievement Test-TEMPAT was developed by the researcher and administered to a sample of 150 senior secondary school students in senior secondary class two (SS2). These students were drawn randomly from five different secondary schools in Makurdi Local Government of Benue State. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions. The data obtained were analyzed using t-test with a 0.05 level of significant, from the t-test analysis the results all showed a p-value of 0.0001, since the p-value is far lesser than the level of significant (p-value0.05), it revealed that the performance of students taught using intrinsic and extrinsic motivation was far better than those taught without any motivation. The results also indicated that there is no significant difference between the performance of male students to that of the female students, since both p-values (0.91 and 0.86) for intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are greater than the level of significant (p-values>0.05). As a result of this, the study recommends that physics lessons at secondary school level should be well planned in a creative way that motivational techniques such as praise, rewards, classroom activities, goal setting skills are use in delivering the lessons and that Government, school administrators and parents should ensure that competitions among students and guidance and counselling programs are encouraged, as it increases motivation of students.

Differential Programming Needs of College Students Preferring Web-Based Versus In-Person Physical Activity Programs

ABSTRACTCollege students report several barriers to exercise, highlighting a need for university-based programs that address these challenges. In contrast to in-person interventions, several web-based programs have been developed to enhance program engagement by increasing ease of access and lowering the necessary level of commitment to participate. Unfortunately, web-based programs continue to struggle with engagement and less-than-ideal outcomes. One explanation for this discrepancy is that different intervention modalities may attract students with distinctive activity patterns, motivators, barriers, and program needs. However, no studies have formally evaluated intervention modality preference (e.g., web-based or in-person) among college students. The current study sought to examine the relationship between intervention modality preference and physical activity programming needs. Undergraduate students (n = 157) enrolled in psychology courses at an urban university were asked to complete an online survey regarding current activity patterns and physical activity program preferences. Participants preferring web-based physical activity programs exercised less (p = .05), were less confident in their abilities to exercise (p = .01), were less likely to endorse the maintenance stage of change (p < .01) and perceived more barriers to exercising (p < .01) than those who preferred in-person programming. Findings suggest that students preferring web-based programming may require programs that enhance self-efficacy by fostering goal-setting and problem-solving skills. A user-centered design approach may enhance the engagement (and therefore effectiveness) of physical activity promotion programs for college students.

Elementary and Junior High School Teachers’ Promotion of Self-Determination in Taiwan

instruction is implemented by elementary and junior high school teachers; (b)examine the frequency with which the components of self-determination are taught; and (c)investigate whether teachers’ gender, class setting, and teaching experience affect their classroom practices regarding the promotion of self-determination. The participants were 1,039 teachers recruited from elementary and junior high schools nationwide in Taiwan using a random sampling method. The Teaching Self-Determination Scale (TSDS) was used to gauge the extent to which educators teach knowledge and skills related to self-determination. Descriptive statistics, analyses of variance (ANOVAs) and multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs) were employed to analyze data collected. Findings showed that more than half of the teachers surveyed reported having often or always provided instruction to promote students’ self-determination. The most frequently taught skills are related to Psychological Empowerment (self-advocacy skills, expecting positive outcomes), while the least frequently taught skills were primarily located in the domain of Self-Regulation (goal setting and problem solving skills). Furthermore, our findings showed that teachers’ gender, class setting, and teaching experience were factors attecting the extent to which teachers delivered instruction to promote self-determination. Female teachers exhibited higher levels of implementation with respect to self-determination instruction. Teachers in general education classrooms showed significantly higher levels of applied self-determination instruction, followed by resource room teachers and self-contained classroom teachers. Additionally, teachers with more teaching experiences more frequently employed instructional activities promoting self-determination. Suggestions and implications are provided.

Erratum to: Self-regulated learning microanalysis as a tool to inform professional development delivery in real-time

Elementary teachers in the United States are tasked with teaching all core subject matter and have training that involves many topics, which may limit the depth of their subject matter knowledge. Since they have low content knowledge, they often feel less confident about teaching technical subject matter, such as science (Bleicher Journal of Science Teacher Education 17:165–187, 2006). The problem of low confidence of elementary teachers for science instruction is exacerbated when they are expected to teach science using inquiry (Hanuscin et al. Science Education 95:145–167, 2010). Self-regulated learning microanalysis, which supports both instruction and assessment, can help teachers reflect on their learning processes. This technique may provide clues for teachers to improve strategies for learning and give information to professional development instructors to inform teacher professional development experiences. The purpose of this study was to examine self-regulatory learning cycles that fourteen elementary teachers experienced while engaged in learning about inquiry during a professional development. Results of this study showed that before the professional development, teachers reported low self-efficacy but high task value and perceived instrumentality for learning about inquiry. As the professional development progressed, teachers improved their goal setting skills, self-monitoring performance, and learning tactics. The self-regulated learning microanalysis revealed information not communicated in the professional development experience, which led to adaptation of the activities in real-time to meet the needs indicated on the self-regulated learning microanalysis reports. Measuring teacher learning processes allowed the professional development instructors to pinpoint difficulties and successes during the learning tasks, which aided in precise adaptation of experiences for teacher needs.

Teaching self-regulated learning strategies to low-achieving fourth-grade students to enhance their perseverance in mathematical problem solving

ABSTRACTThis study’s purpose was to determine the effect of instruction in self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies on low-achieving fourth-grade students’ perseverance in solving mathematics problems. This study was conducted with fourth-grade students who had been ability-grouped based on prior low achievement and testing data in math. Students were instructed in self-monitoring and goal setting. Students’ progress in perseverance was evaluated based on their self-reporting of goals, concentration, and confidence on an Experience Sampling Form (ESF). Student work samples were examined for attempts to understand the problem, strategy choice, and solution accuracy. In this article, we argue that perseverance can be supported and learned by teaching students goal-setting and self-monitoring skills. The trends and changes identify areas for further research as well as suggest a focus for continued instruction.

Effects of Goal-Setting Instruction on Academic Engagement for Students At Risk

Research indicates teachers feel teaching goal-setting is an effective way to enhance academic engagement. However, teachers ultimately feel unprepared to embed goal-setting instruction into academic content to support active student engagement. Given the importance teachers place on goal-setting skills, there is a need to identify strategies to support teachers embedding goal-setting instruction across the academic day. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of goal-setting instruction on academic engagement for middle school students at risk for academic failure. Results indicated a functional relation between goal-setting lessons and students’ active academic engagement. Limitations, suggestions for future research, and implications for practice are provided.

Requesting workplace accommodations: Impact of self-efficacy, outcome expectancy, and positive affect.

The purpose of this study was to examine the impacts of self-efficacy, outcome expectancy, and positive affect on intentions to request workplace accommodations among people with disabilities (PWDs). Seven-hundred and fourteen adults with disabilities participated in an online survey study. This study used structural equation modeling to examine the impact of self-efficacy, outcome expectancy, and positive affect on intentions to request workplace accommodations. The results showed that self-efficacy, outcome expectancy, and positive affect accounted for 55.1% of the variance in accommodation request intentions. Accommodation request is a complex process that involves cognitive and affective factors for individuals with disabilities. Rehabilitation professionals need to help PWDs boost their level of self-efficacy and outcome expectancy by engaging in accommodation request and goal-setting skills training. In addition, rehabilitation professionals should assist PWDs to recognize the significance of positive affect in the process of accommodation request. (PsycINFO Database Record