Would you like to accomplish more during your studying time? Would you like to feel confident that you are making progress in your studies? Read on to find out how to set learning goals to maximize your study time.
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Goal-setting for study time
Creating goals for studying time enhances your effectiveness. Perhaps you’ve set goals like, “By the end of this two-hour period, I will read chapters three to five,” or “After 30 minutes, I will have reviewed my math notes for last week.” These types of goals are called “performance goals.” They focus on getting a certain amount of work done by a set time.
Another type of goal, a “learning goal”, focuses on learning accomplished in a set time frame. These types of goals sound more like, “By the end of this two-hour period, I will be able to define 10 core concepts outlined in chapters three to five,” or “After 30 minutes, I will be able to solve one math problem assigned from last week’s lecture.”
They focus on strengthening knowledge or understanding. They speak to mastering a skill. Setting learning goals maximizes your study time and helps you track your mastery of course content.
Setting learning goals
To set robust learning goals, you can draw on McCardle and colleagues’ (2017) framework known as the CAST goals due to the initials of its four components:
- Concepts – What is the specific course content you will master?
- Action – What specific actions will you take to engage with this course content, drawing on Bloom’s Taxonomy?
- Standard – What standard will you use to measure your mastery of this course content? (e.g. “By the end of this study session, I will be able to …”)
- Timeframe – What is the length of time you will need to learn the concept?
Setting learning goals focuses your attention on the result you aim to achieve during your study time. Focusing your attention on the result helps you monitor your mastery and reset goals as needed.
To learn more about each component of a CAST goal, read the article Goal-Setting and Planning.
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