Chapter 2. Setting Goals and Choosing a Career Path

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Chapter 2

Setting Goals

and Choosing a Career Path

Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

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WHY ARE YOU HERE?

On the worksheet respond to the following questions: (You will turn this in later)

1. What GPA do you plan to achieve this semester? (Unlike High School the highest GPA you can earn is a 4.0).

2. What is the highest level of education (associates, bachelors, masters, doctoral or other professional) you plan to achieve?

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WHAT ARE “GOALS”?

• Things we hope to accomplish

• Could be both long-term and short-term

• For example: 4.0 GPA (long-term); meet with

professor during weekly hours to review concepts not understood (short-term)

• Could really be never ending

• Dr. Johnson’s goal: Travel the world (long-term);

plan international trip once every two years

(short-term)

• Many more….. (i.e. loose weight, become a millionaire….)

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WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS?

Take the next 4 minutes and discuss your goals

with a partner

Some things to consider:

• Long-standing goals (goals you have had

forever)

• Long term goals

• Short term goals

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The Power of Long and

Short Term Goals

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Long Term Goals

Takes time (6 months or more)

• For example:

• Graduate from college with a 4.0

GPA

• Gaining employment in the career

of your choice,

• Earning a doctorate degree

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Short Term Goals

Can be accomplished in short

period of time; Specific

• For example:

• To earn a 85% or better on the

Sociology paper that is due next

week.

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The power of long and

short term goals

• Substantial body of knowledge that shows us that

goals are connected to success (Locke & Lathan,

2002).

• True for both personal and career aspects of your

life.

• Setting short and long term goals can increase

more motivation and effort. This results in

increased achievement.

• Goal setting is important in academia, where there

is a strong connection between goal setting and

academic achievement (Moeller, Thieler, & Wu,

2012)

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Exploring the Research

_{Morisano, Hirsh, Peterson, Pihl & Shore (2010)}

Research Question:

Does a goal setting

intervention help

students stay in

college and perform

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The Study

Morisano, Hirsh, Peterson, Pihl & Shore (2010)

85 college students who were struggling

academically

Goal setting intervention

(2 ½ hours) Generic intervention

GPA, Survey questions about withdrawal rates

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May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

The Results

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The Results

Goal group less likely to drop classes

Goal group had

fewer negative emotions

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The So What Factor

Learning

about goals

is valuable!

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Benefits of Goal Setting

• Increased academic achievement

• More positive emotions

• Improved well-being

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Goal Setting in Action

• Take a look back at your goals from earlier

• Give context (depth) to them by adding the

short term goals you will accomplish to reach

your long-term

• Example:

• I want to graduate from UCF and gain a great job in my career interest (long-term goal).

• I will earn a highly competitive GPA (3.0 or better) each semester, I will utilize career services to help me create an amazing resume, I will apply for jobs and internships for each summer break (short-term goals)

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GOALS INTO ACTION

• LONG TERM

GOALS:

• Earn a 4.0 GPA >>>>>>

• SHORT TERM

GOALS:

• Earn an A on the first test

• Meet with professor when preparing to start research

• Meet with professor during office hours

• Meet with librarian on locating resources on student success

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The ABCS of Setting and

Implementing Effective Goals

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The ABCS of Effective Goal Setting

and Implementation (p. 51)

Component or

characteristic Description

A Aim high Challenging goals are best! The higher you aim, the higher you will achieve. B Believe in yourself Self-efficacy is important. If you believe

in your ability, you will be more likely to put forth the effort needed.

C Care and commit Being motivated matters! Believing your goal is important and being committed to achieving it leads to more success.

S Specify and self-reflect Having a specific goal is connected to successful outcomes. This allows for easier monitoring and reflection.

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AIM HIGH:

Challenging Goals ARE THE

BEST!

• Set realistic but

challenging (more

difficult goals).

• You are more likely to

achieve more when you

set challenging goals

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Go Ahead Challenge

Yourself

Reynolds & Baird (2010)

• What happens when

we do not meet our

goal(s)?

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BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

SELF-EFFICACY

• Belief in your ability to successfully complete a task

• Have you ever self-doubted yourself (i.e. I do not belong in college?)

• Students who have low self-efficacy set less challenging goals

• Self-efficacy enables students to continue to work and persist regardless of difficulties or failures

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CARE AND COMMIT:

Motivation Matters!

• Goodman et al. (2011) found that intrinsic motivation is the best predictor of academic success.

• Intrinsic motivation refers to factors within a person such as interest that encourage the person to start or

continue doing a task (Deci & Ryan, 1985)

• Choose goals you care about and you are more likely to achieve them. • Examples?

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SPECIFY

• “Do Your Best” Goals

DO NOT

Work (Locke

and Latham, 2002)

• “I will do my best on Dr. Johnson’s

midterm exam”

• Set specific academic (or other goals) like “I

will earn a 4.0 GPA this semester” will lead

to higher levels of achievement

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SELF REFLECT

How are you Doing?

• “Check up” on

yourself

• Monitor progress

made thus far

• Make

adjustments as

needed

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Celebrating Progress

and Achievement

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GOALS INTO ACTION

• LONG TERM GOAL:

• Graduate from UCF as a highly competitive UCF Knight >>>>>>

• SHORT TERM GOALS:

• Earn a minimum GPA of 3.50 each semester

• Apply and participate in high-impact internships, jobs, research

experiences

• Connect with Faculty member

• Apply for SLS 1501 Peer Mentor Position

• Volunteer and join at least two organizations

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ABCS Framework (p. 51)

Aim High

Believe in Yourself

Care and Commit

Specify and Self-Reflect

On your worksheet: Discuss one long term goal you have

and two short term goals you will complete to meet your long

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