Staff Room Activities

Purple setGoing for goals! – activites for the staff roomIntroductionThe following activities are designed to be carried out in the staff room to help adults totune in to the strands of the theme at an adult level, and to experience at first hand someoff the activities that the children will be engaging with at different stages.These activities are designed to help you as a staff group to think about the issues involvedin working with children on how we motivate ourselves, how to reach goals and how to bean effective learner.The key ideas and concepts behind the Going for goals! theme are:MotivationThis involves encouraging learners to be able to set a goal, break a long-term goal intosmall steps, be persistent through a range of strategies, realise when they have met theirgoal and review the effectiveness of what they have done.Knowing and understanding ourselves as a learnerIn order to remain well motivated we need to be self-aware in the area of learning. Thistheme provides several opportunities for children to consider how they learn best and theconditions they need for learning.This theme draws on the work of Howard Gardner on multiple intelligences to help childrento consider the question ‘How am I clever?’ (rather than the more usual question, ‘Howclever am I?’). It also provides an opportunity for children to consider their particularstrengths in learning by seeing, doing or talking and listening.Problem solving and making wise choicesThe problem-solving process is considered more fully in this theme as a way ofencouraging children to make choices about their actions.In Key Stage 2 children are provided with opportunities to help them make wise choices.The materials encourage children to think about practical aspects (for example usingprediction, considering probable likelihood of success), the effect their choice might haveon themselves and their own feelings, the feelings of other individuals involved and thevarious communities of people their choice will impact on.Solution-focused approachesThe materials use ideas from ‘solution-focused’ methodology to encourage children withgoal setting and planning to reach a goal.This theme’s core focus is on motivation and staff who are using the Excellence andEnjoyment: learning and teaching in the primary years materials (DfES 0518-2004 G) mightalso want to draw on the activities in the Conditions for Learning booklet (pp. 26–30) andLearning to Learn: progression in key aspects of learning booklet (pp. 46–49).1© Crown copyright 2005 Going for goals! Staffroom activitiesDfES 1350-2005Primary National Strategy