MAKING DECISION AND GOAL SETTING

FAMILY IS THE SMALLEST GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT ARE RELATED BY BLOOD, MARRIAGE OR ADOPTION

Subject: 

SOCIAL STUDIES

Term:

FIRST TERM

Week:

WEEK 10

Class:

JSS 3 / BASIC 9

Topic:

MAKING DECISION AND GOAL SETTING

 

Previous lesson: 

The pupils have previous knowledge of

that was taught as a topic in the previous lesson

 

Behavioural objectives:

At the end of the lesson, the learners will be able to

• say the meaning of family
• mention members of extended family
• explain the roles of extended family members in child development
• point out how each member of the extended famiy is important

 

 

Instructional Materials:

• Wall charts
• Pictures
• Related Online Video
• Flash Cards

 

 

Methods of Teaching:

• Class Discussion
• Group Discussion
• Asking Questions
• Explanation
• Role Modelling
• Role Delegation

 

Reference Materials:

• Scheme of Work
• Online Information
• Textbooks
• Workbooks
• 9 Year Basic Education Curriculum
• Workbooks

 

Content: 

 

 

 

Topic:

 

Topic: Making decisions

Content:

• Meaning of decision making
• Reasons for decision making
• Factors influencing decision making
• Steps for making decision

Meaning of decision making

Decision-making is regarded as the cognitive process resulting in the selection of a belief or a course of action among several alternative possibilities. Every decision-making process produces a final choice, which may or may not prompt action.

Decision-making is the process of identifying and choosing alternatives based on the values, preferences and beliefs of the decision-maker.

Decision-making can be regarded as a problem-solving activity terminated by a solution deemed to be optimal, or at least satisfactory. It is therefore a process which can be more or less rational or irrational and can be based on explicit or tacit knowledge and beliefs.

A major part of decision-making involves the analysis of a finite set of alternatives described in terms of evaluative criteria. Then the task might be to rank these alternatives in terms of how attractive they are to the decision-maker(s) when all the criteria are considered simultaneously. Another task might be to find the best alternative or to determine the relative total priority of each alternative (for instance, if alternatives represent projects competing for funds) when all the criteria are considered simultaneously. Solving such problems is the focus of multiple-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). This area of decision-making, although very old, has attracted the interest of many researchers and practitioners and is still highly debated as there are many MCDA methods which may yield very different results when they are applied on exactly the same data. This leads to the formulation of a decision-making paradox.

Logical decision-making is an important part of all science-based professions, where specialists apply their knowledge in a given area to make informed decisions. For example, medical decision-making often involves a diagnosis and the selection of appropriate treatment. But naturalistic decision-making research shows that in situations with higher time pressure, higher stakes, or increased ambiguities, experts may use intuitive decision-making rather than structured approaches.

Reasons for decision making:

Making good decisions is a quality that will help you to lead the life you want. Good decision-makers are sought after in the workplace and can use their skills to excel in their career.

“The decisions we make affect our destiny,” Robbie sums it up. “Therefore, understanding how to make effective decisions is very important.”

But he warns that, as people assume more responsibilities in the world of work, they sometimes find decision-making harder.

“Often as people rise within an organisation, they believe they need to lengthily analyse all of their decisions,” he says. “This creates a bottle neck: it’s vital that people trust themselves and don’t only rely on external data.”

No matter how important or world-changing a decision is, it has to be made at some point!

And it’s not only at work that decision-making plays a major role; every choice you make at home sets your personal life in a different direction.

Making Decisions Makes All the Difference, the one thing that you truly control in life is your own decisions. Make sure that you exercise your ability to choose otherwise, life will make those choices for you.

 

Here are 10 Reasons You Need to Make a Decision Today:

1. You May Not Get Another Chance – Sometimes opportunity only knocks once. Don’t let an option pass you by because you don’t make a timely decision.
2. You Can Change Your Mind – Don’t let the fear of making a wrong choice paralyze you. There are very, very few decisions in life that are not changeable. Your degree, your job, where you live, even your relationships. You can choose again.
3. It’s Not That Important – As well, there are very few decisions in life that are truly that important. Don’t let perceived importance scare you from choosing.
4. Not Making A Choice is a Choice – When you don’t choose for yourself, life will choose for you. Ironically, too many people make their decisions by not choosing.
5. A Good Decision Beats a Perfect One – To re-phrase a famous quote, a good decision now always beats a perfect one later. Don’t wait to make a choice that may pass you by.
6. Choosing is a Privilege – It is the one thing that you control in your life. Make sure you choose your own path.
7. Other People’s Decisions Are Not Your Own – Make your own choices. Live your own life. Otherwise, you will look back and realize that you are living someone else’s life and priorities.
8. Inaction Leads to a Boring Life – Some people choose not to make decisions because they think it is easier. They tell themselves that it is less stressful if they don’t choose. This may be true, but it is also boring. It is uneventful and lazy. Be bold in your decisions and live with the good and the bad.
9. There is Never a Perfect Time – Don’t wait for the right time. There isn’t one. There is never a perfect time… just time.
10. Today Always Beats Tomorrow – Today is the only day you have. Tomorrow is only a promise and may never come. Dream for tomorrow, but live for today. Make your choice and do it now.

Factors influencing decision making

The decision-maker’s environment can play a part in the decision-making process. For example, environmental complexity is a factor that influences cognitive function. A complex environment is an environment with a large number of different possible states which come and go over time. Studies done have shown that more complex environments correlate with higher cognitive function, which means that a decision can be influenced by the location. One experiment measured complexity in a room by the number of small objects and appliances present; a simple room had less of those things. Cognitive function was greatly affected by the higher measure of environmental complexity making it easier to think about the situation and make a better decision.

Steps for making decision

A variety of researchers have formulated similar prescriptive steps aimed at improving decision-making.

 

GOFER

In the 1980s, psychologist Leon Mann and colleagues developed a decision-making process called GOFER, which they taught to adolescents, as summarized in the book Teaching Decision Making To Adolescents. The process was based on extensive earlier research conducted with psychologist Irving Janis. GOFER is an acronym for five decision-making steps.

1. Goals clarification: Survey values and objectives.
2. Options generation: Consider a wide range of alternative actions.
3. Facts-finding: Search for information.
4. Consideration of Effects: Weigh the positive and negative consequences of the options.
5. Review and implementation: Plan how to implement the options and implement them.

DECIDE

In 2008, Kristina Guo published the DECIDE model of decision-making, which has six parts:

1. Define the problem
2. Establish or Enumerate all the criteria (constraints)
3. Consider or Collect all the alternatives
4. Identify the best alternative
5. Develop and implement a plan of action
6. Evaluate and monitor the solution and examine feedback when necessary

Other

In 2007, Pam Brown of Singleton Hospital in Swansea, Wales, divided the decision-making process into seven steps.

1. Outline your goal and outcome.
2. Gather data.
3. Develop alternatives (i.e., brainstorming).
4. List pros and cons of each alternative.
5. Make the decision.
6. Immediately take action to implement it.
7. Learn from and reflect on the decision.

Assessment

• Name some steps in decision making
• State five reasons why you need to make decisions

 

Topic: Goal Setting

Content:

• Meaning of Goal setting
• Types of goal
• Importance of goal setting
• Tips for goal setting and achieving goals
• Stumbling block/obstacles to goal setting

Meaning of Goal Setting

Goal setting is the process of deciding what you want to accomplish and devising a plan to achieve the result you desire. For entrepreneurs, goal setting is an important part of business planning.

This goal setting definition emphasizes that goal setting is a three part process. For effective goal setting, you need to do more than just decide what you want to do; you also have to work at accomplishing whatever goal you have set for yourself  – which means you have to create a plan so your work gets you where you want to go.

People know what they want to do and they’re perfectly willing to work on it but they often have trouble creating a plan to get there

Goal setting involves the development of an action plan designed to motivate and guide a person or group toward a goal. Goal setting can be guided by goal-setting criteria (or rules) such as SMART criteria. Goal setting is a major component of personal-development and management literature.

Studies by Edwin A. Locke and his colleagues have shown that more specific and ambitious goals lead to more performance improvement than easy or general goals. As long as the person accepts the goal, has the ability to attain it, and does not have conflicting goals, there is a positive linear relationship between goal difficulty and task performance.

So for successful goal setting, the first thing you have to do is close the gap between the end result you want and where you are now with a plan.

Types of goals

Generally, goals are categorized as either long-term or short-term.

Long-term goals consist of plans you make for your future, typically over a year down the road.  These typically consist of family, lifestyle, career, and retirement goals.  Long-term goals are achieved over time as a person completes the stages of their life.  People set long-term goals for themselves by envisioning what they want to be doing and where they want to be five to twenty years from the present.  Then they use short-term goals to get there.

Examples of long-term goals

• Become a Mechanical Engineer
• Get a Master’s Degree
• Buy a house
• Run a marathon
• Own my own company
• Retire at age 55

Short-term goals are ones that a person will achieve in the near future, typically in less than one year. Short-term goals are often, but not always, steppingstones on the way to achieving long-term goals. These types of goals are considered enabling goals because accomplishment of these goals will “enable” you to achieve an even greater goal.

Enabling goals usually consist of such topics as education, short-term jobs or projects, as well as valuable work experience. Each of these often contributes directly to the long-term goals a person sets for himself or herself.

Examples of short-term goals

• Lose five pounds
• Paint my living room
• Get an “A” in Biology
• Get a 3.2 GPA or above this semester
• Build a deck
• Get a job for the summer

Importance of goal setting

Goals are what take us forward in life; they are the oxygen to our dreams. They are the first steps to every journey we take and are also our last. It’s very important that you realize the significance and importance of goal-setting and apply this knowledge in your life.

According to Wikipedia the exact definition of a goal is: A desired result a person or a system envisions, plans and commits to achieve a personal or organizational desired end-point in some sort of assumed development. Many people endeavor to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. In other words, any planning you do for the future regardless of what it is, is a goal. So the next time you are planning on doing the weekly chores or decide on watching that really cool action movie after work, always keep in mind that these small tasks account as goals and while seemingly insignificant you are goal setting.

5 Reasons Why Goal Setting Is Important:

1. Goals Give You Focus

Imagine having to shoot an arrow without being given a target. Where would you aim? And say you did aim at some random thing (out of sheer perplexity). Why would you aim there? And what would the purpose be? Get the idea. This is a literal example of what life is like without a goal or target in mind. It’s pointless and a waste of energy and effort.  You can have all the potential in the world but without focus your abilities and talent are useless. Just like how sunlight can’t burn through anything without a magnifying glass focusing it, you can’t achieve anything unless a goal is focusing your effort. Because at the end of the day goals are what give you direction in life. By setting goals for yourself you give yourself a target to shoot for. This sense of direction is what allows your mind to focus on a target and rather than waste energy shooting aimlessly, allows you to hit your target and reach your goal.

2. Goals Allow You To Measure Progress

By setting goals for yourself you are able to measure your progress because you always have a fixed endpoint or benchmark to compare with. Take this scenario for example: David makes a goal to write a book with a minimum of 300 pages. He starts writing every day and works really hard but along the way, he loses track of how many more pages he has written and how much more he needs to write. So rather than panicking David simply counts the number of pages he has already written and he instantly determines his progress and knows how much further he needs to go.

3. Goals Keep You Locked In And Undistracted

By setting goals you give yourself mental boundaries. When you have a certain end point in mind you automatically stay away from certain distractions and stay focused towards the goal. This process happens automatically and subtly but according to research does happen. To get a better idea, imagine this. Your best friend is moving to Switzerland and his flight takes off at 9:00 PM. You leave right after work at 8:30 PM to see him off and you know it’s a 20-minute walk to get to the airport. So you make it a goal to reach the airport in 15 minutes by jogging so that you can have more time to say your goodbyes. Would you get distracted by “anything” along the way? Would you stop for a break or a snack? Would you stop by your house before going to the airport? I bet you answered no for each question and at the end of the day, this is what a goal gives you. FOCUS.  No matter who you meet along the way or what you see (assuming nothing is out of the ordinary) your goal allows you to stay locked in. You subconsciously keep away from distractions and your focus remains only on the goal. And by the way if you didn’t know yet this is how you become successful, you set a goal, you lock it in and then give it your 100%.

4. Goals Help You Overcome Procrastination

When you set a goal for yourself you make yourself accountable to finish the task. This is in complete contrast with when you do things based off a whim and it doesn’t matter whether you complete them or not. Goals tend to stick in your mind and if not completed they give you a “Shoot! I was supposed to do _____ today!” reminder. These reminders in the back of your head help you to overcome procrastination and laziness. (*But keep in mind that long-term goals actually promote procrastination. Most people aren’t good with deadliness 3 month away. So whenever you’re given a long term goal, break it down into several short-term goals so you can complete a chunk of the larger long term goal every week or even every day.)

5. Goals Give You Motivation

The root of all the motivation or inspiration you have ever felt in your entire life are goals. Goal setting provides you the foundation for your drive. By making a goal you give yourself a concrete endpoint to aim for and get excited about. It gives you something to focus on and put 100% of your effort into and this focus is what develops motivation. Goals are simply tools to focus your energy in positive directions, these can be changed as your priorities change, new ones added, and others dropped.

Tips for goal setting and achieving goals

The easiest way to set yourself up for goal setting success is to use a formula for setting goals that incorporates a strategy for accomplishing the goal. Another way of ensuring that you have a good shot at actually accomplishing the goals you set is to make sure that the goals you set follow the SMART acronym and are:

• Specific – For example, I want to increase my business revenue by 30% this year.
• Measurable – “Complete developing class notes” or “increase grade-point” are measurable goals, “working harder” or “increasing my personal satisfaction” are vague and difficult to measure.  Putting your goals in writing helps to keep you focused and see how much progress you’ve made towards your goals at the end of the defined time period.
• Attainable – A goal should be challenging but attainable. If your business is a lumber yard, overtaking Home Depot in sales is not a reasonable goal!
• Relevant – Goals should be aligned with your long term plans. If your long term plan is for your business to attain NGN200,000 a year in sales your short-term goals should directly relate to achieving this.
• Time-Bound – Without a specific time frame for your goals they can’t be properly measured. A goal should contain a time limit (e.g. “by the end of the year I want to increase sales by 20%”).

Stumbling block/obstacles to goal setting

What follows are some common stumbling blocks that prevent us from attaining the success we desire. When calling a timeout, look to see if you are:

1. Lacking clarity about what you want. Your mind is a goal-seeking mechanism and responds best to specific targets and pictures. Vague wishes about having a “more fulfilling” job or earning “more money” aren’t effective. Decide, precisely, what will fulfill you and exactly how much money you want to earn.
2. Trying to achieve too much at once. Having too many goals is the other extreme. If you try to tackle five major projects at once, you’ll probably fail to succeed at any of them. Spreading yourself out scatters your energy and diminishes your power. Concentrate on one major goal at a time; laserlike focus is a necessary element for success.
3. Not taking enough action. Most significant achievements take considerable effort. You can’t just sit back and hope that success comes to you.
4. Stubbornly sticking with a losing strategy. Let’s assume that you are trying to market your product or service and you’ve implemented Plan A. After three months, Plan A is yielding very disappointing results, with no signs of improvement. Examine why Plan A isn’t working and develop a new plan. This sounds obvious, and yet many people stick with unsuccessful strategies.
5. Not taking advantage of the knowledge of qualified people. While “trial and error” sometimes works, you’ll waste a lot of time and resources in the process. Instead, you can get back on course quickly by seeking help or advice from someone who has achieved what you want to achieve. Remember to ask qualified individuals — not a friend or relative who knows little or nothing about solving your particular problem.
6. Hampered by limiting beliefs. If you are dominated by negative thoughts, you can’t possibly produce positive results on a consistent basis. Who controls what you think about? You do. As motivational speaker Brian Tracy urges, you must develop the mindset that you are unstoppable!
7. Lacking positive inputs. To sustain your positive beliefs, you need frequent positive reinforcement. Read inspiring literature, listen to motivational audio programs, and surround yourself with enthusiastic, upbeat people. That’s the environment in which you will maintain optimism and perform at your best.
8. Refusing to confront the problem. You’ve waited five years and your problem hasn’t solved itself. Will you wait another five years, hoping that things will turn out differently? Things don’t change unless you change. It may be that you have to confront your situation head-on, even if this choice will cause some temporary pain and hardship. Your other option — do absolutely nothing and continue to live with your problem.
9. Trying to skip rungs on the ladder. In our excitement to reach bold objectives, we sometimes delude ourselves into believing that we won’t have to climb the ladder of success in increments. Instead, we think we can immediately soar to new heights. When this doesn’t happen, however, we get discouraged. You need to remember that, as ZigZiglar often says, “The elevator to success is out of order. You have to take the stairs.” So, be patient and set realistic intermediate goals. After all, success is achieved one step at a time.

Assessment

• State five reasons why goal setting is important
• Set some personal goals and work towards achieving them

 

 

 

Presentation

 

The topic is presented step by step

 

Step 1:

The class teacher revises the previous topics

 

Step 2.

He introduces the new topic

 

Step 3:

The class teacher allows the pupils to give their own examples and he corrects them when the needs arise

 

 

 

Evaluation:

 

 

1. How has your family influenced who you are today?

2. What role do family members play in your life?

3. How has your family shaped your values and beliefs?

4. What is your definition of family?

5. How has your family history affected your current relationships?

6. What is the meaning of family

7. Mention four members of the extended family

8.Explain four roles of extended family members in child development

9. point out how each member of the extended famiy is important

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion

The class teacher wraps up or concludes the lesson by giving out short notes to summarize the topic that he or she has just taught.

The class teacher also goes round to make sure that the notes are well copied or well written by the pupils.

He or she does the necessary corrections when and where the needs arise.