Explore and create: Exploratory Creation lab 
Preregistration Required
The purpose is for students and teachers to develop the skills of goal-setting and goal-creation in secondary school. Participants will learn how to help students use digital tools to set their goals and become more empowered learners.
The goal of this session is to have teachers, administrators, counselors, advisors, coaches, and other professionals that individually influence the progress of a student, fully experience the process of creating a digital vision board so that they can facilitate this activity within their classroom or learning environment. The participants will be able to complete their own digital vision board (Digiboard), understand how to use multiple technology tools to promote goal-setting to students, and be equipped with strategies to facilitate digital goal-setting activities within their learning environment.
Participants will be introduced to four technology tools and have the ability to experience the functionality and limitations of each tool. The tools that will be discussed and utilized are Genially, Canva, Thinglink, and Google Slides. These tools were chosen for the variety of functionality and capabilities to fit the needs of multiple school systems and age groups. The participants will have freedom of choice to use the technology tool that will best support their needs and students.
This activity has been used and is currently being implemented for students, K-12 educators, and corporate professionals. For students, the results have shown higher academic success in students through increased attendance and higher mathematics grades. For educators and corporate professionals, the results are showing an increase in career morale and life optimism. These results were discovered during the 2021-2022 school year and are currently being rendered throughout this school year as well.
This session will be a fully interactive session where the participants will go through the process of creating their personal digital vision board, Digiboard. The attendees will be able to collaborate with their peers throughout the session while using their devices to learn emerging technology and an innovative way of using that technology to promote student growth and achievement.
Introduction & Welcome (approximate time: 3 minutes)
We will begin this session with a personal introduction of the presenter including my background and a personal story that captures the truth about goal setting and student achievement. I will also have the attendees begin to set up their access accounts into the technology tools of choice.
Goals and Objective (approximate time: 3 minutes)
We will then clearly state what the attendees will get out of this session. The learners/ attendees will: learn how to use technology tools such as Genially, Thinglink, Canva, and Google Slides to help their students set goals and design a digital vision board (Digiboard); create their own Digiboard using one of the multiple tools discussed in the session; and obtain multiple techniques and resources to implement goal-setting exercises in the K-12 classroom. The attendees will have the opportunity to engage with one another in small groups and build upon their learning within their small groups.
What are Digiboards? An Overview (approximate time: 6 minutes)
We will discuss what Digiboards are and why they are important in the classroom.
Student Work & Gallery Samples (approximate time: 3 minutes)
We will display multiple examples of student work using the various technology tools within the classroom.
Lessons Learned and Best Practices (approximate time: 3 minutes)
We will briefly discuss the lessons learned during this process and the mistakes to avoid when bringing this activity into your classroom. We will also explain a few best practices while implementing them in your classroom for elementary, secondary, and college students.
Learners Hands-on Session (approximate time: 25 minutes)
Attendees will create their own digital vision board to experience the process personally using the technology tool of their choice using their personal laptop, tablet, or mobile device individually or within their small groups.
Share-out: Ideas to implement into our classroom (approximate time: 5 minutes)
We will share our creations and provide different ideas and ways that we can implement this in our classrooms at each grade level.
Final Takeaway (approximate time: 4 minutes)
I will provide the final takeaways for the attendees and information to contact me for future questions and ideas.
Attendee Questions (approximate time: 8 minutes)
I will answer questions from the attendees about this topic and the technology tools used within the session.
Attendees will be able to continue working on their Digiboard throughout the session and after the session has concluded. There will be an ongoing share drive for attendees to share their Digiboards and gain inspiration from others’ creations.
Below is a list of references and scholarly articles that supports the importance of goal setting and how it relates to academic achievement and intrinsic motivation. I have used these sources in addition to other resources to develop this presentation and program.
Saha, B., & Roy, S. (2019). Goal setting as a motivator for student performance: Evidence from lab experiments. Journal of higher education theory and practice., 19(3), 153-165.
McKenna, B., Finamore, D., Hewitt, E. V., Watson, L., Millam, L. A., & Reinhardt, M. (2018).
The effect of a multifactor orientation on student performance: Organizational skills, goal setting, orientation to classroom, and academic support. Online Learning, 22(4), 265-276.
Kleinert, W. L., Silva, M. R., Codding, R. S., Feinberg, A. B., & James, P. S. S. (2017, March). Enhancing classroom management using the classroom check-up consultation model with in-vivo coaching and goal setting components. School Psychology Forum (Vol. 11, No. 1).
Dotson, R. (2016). Goal setting to increase student academic performance. Journal of School Administration Research and Development, 1(1), 45-46.
France, P. E. (2019, November 11). What the SAMR Model May Be Missing. EdSurge. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2018-10-18-what-the-samr-model-may-be-missing
Martens, B. K., Hiralall, A. S., & Bradley, T. A. (1997). A note to teacher: Improving student
behavior through goal setting and feedback. School Psychology Quarterly, 12(1), 33.
Bonk, C. J., & Zhang, K. (2006). Introducing the R2D2 model: Online learning for the diverse learners of this world. Distance Education, 27(2), 249-264.
Morisano, D. (2013). Goal setting in the academic arena. New developments in goal setting and task performance (pp. 519-530). Routledge.
Burns, E. C., Martin, A. J., & Collie, R. J. (2019). Understanding the role of personal best (PB) goal setting in students’ declining engagement: A latent growth model. Journal of Educational Psychology, 111(4), 557.
Couros, G. (2015). The innovator’s mindset. San Diego, CA: Dave Burgess Consulting.
McLeod, S., & Shareski, D. (2019). Different schools for a different world. Solution Tree Press.
McLeod, S., & Graber, J. (2018). Harnessing Technology for Deeper Learning: Solutions for Creating the Learning Spaces Students Deserve. Solution Tree.
Grover, S. (2018, December 27). The 5th ‘C’ of 21st Century Skills? Try Computational Thinking (Not Coding). EdSurge. https://www.edsurge.com/news/2018-02-25-the-5th-c-of-21st-century-skills-try-computational-thinking-not-coding
VBSchools.(2017, July 14). Teach: Student Goal-Setting and Reflection. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiFWPd1PJZc
School motivation, goal orientation and academic performance in secondary education students. (2019b). PubMed Central (PMC). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6757190/
ISTE. (2016) ISTE Standards: Students. https://www.iste.org/standards/iste-standards-for-students
4 Shifts Protocol. (2020, July 15). Dangerously Irrelevant | @mcleod. http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/resources/4-shifts-protocol
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