Goals are essential for success. Goals are the foundation for strong coaching interactions and deep learning cycles. When teachers partner with coaches to set and meet measurable student-focused goals, coaching improves instruction.
Conversely, when there is no goal, we run the risk that our coaching will not have a lasting impact and measuring  the impact on students will harder to discern.
After years of studying the literature on goals and the development of the Impact Cycle, Jim Knight and the ICG Team developed a powerful framework – PEERS Goals – for setting goals in coaching cycles.
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Identify the Characteristics
The PEERS Checklist is a great way to ensure that you and your partner are working with the characteristics of clear, student-focused goal.
As you and your partner are creating a clear goal that will positively impact the lives of students’, you can think of the checklist as a framework to ensure clarity for the entire coaching cycle.
Start at the Beginning
The identify stage of the Impact Cycle is the beginning of a deep coaching cycle. During this stage, the teacher and the coach should have a clear picture of reality for what is happening in the classroom. That current picture of reality serves as a baseline for growth.
Now that you and your partner have a clear picture of reality, it is important to establish a goal – PEERS Goal – as the next part of the identify stage in order to have a sense of what we are striving for as it relates to student achievement, behavioral engagement, cognitive engagement, or emotional engagement.
As you and your partner get clear on the characteristics of a PEERS Goal using the checklist above, you might start to question the validity of the goal as it relates to the characteristics. Questioning the quality of the goal is a natural place to be and is a common experience. This means you are probably onto something worth pursuing.
You and your partner may decide quickly that the goal is a great goal worth pursuing and you know it immediately. And yet, there may be other times when you are unsure and questioning whether or not the goal we have is a PEERSÂ Goal. Again, a very natural place to be in the coaching cycle.
If you are experiencing some uncertainty, you and your partner can take the initial goal as it is written and use the template below to test your assumptions about the goal.
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Moving from Stuck to Starting
Getting unstuck during the goal setting stage can set all of our energy and focus into motion. By staring with your initial goal, testing your assumptions up against the PEERS characteristics, and getting clarity on exactly what will be different for students as a result of this coaching cycle can empower your partner and you throughout your work together.
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