Goal-driven learning (GDL) is an active and strategic process in which the learner develops a learning goal and then proceeds to identify and satisfy her information and skill needs after considering her prior knowledge, capabilities, and opportunities for learning in her environment.
At SU we believe that people learn best when they are exposed to new information and skills in the context of using them. GDL agrees squarely with our educational philosophy.
Goal-driven learning (GDL) is a “learn by doing” style of learning. In GDL, there is typically no homework, labs, tests, or exams. Instead, a SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based) goal is set at the beginning of the course, and the student completes that goal and provides concrete evidence of completion.
Students taking GDL courses have to be self-driven and motivated and must be self-starters.
How it works
Goal (Guiding Aspiration) – The student comes up with a SMART goal to learn something that will help her accomplish her ministry goals. For example, a student may want to learn Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, etc., because that is a helpful skill in her ministry environment. A SMART goal will be determined, such as the type of designs that the student will be able to do. This process will be supervised by an academic coordinator. In this case, specific kinds of graphic design works will be picked out as examples of the kind and quality of work the student wants to be able to do.
Reality Assessment (Reality Gap) – The student will clearly describe and rate her current skills and abilities and note the gap between where they are now and where they need to be to accomplish their guiding aspiration.
Options of where to play—The student will devise many different ways (options) to learn and develop the skills needed to achieve her goal.
Way to win – The student will consider how to overcome the obstacles in their chosen where-to-play option to win or achieve their guiding aspiration.
Target Capabilities (Team Capabilities). The students will discover the capabilities they must have in place to win where they want to play.
The student will describe the paradigm shift and growth mindset that she needs to develop to be effective at accomplishing the goal in the short and long term.
Helpful Management Systems. The student will think of the resources and structures they will need to manage their must-have capabilities to win the way they want, where they want, so they can overcome their reality gap and achieve their guiding aspiration.
A 3-credit-hour online course at SU requires students to commit 15-20 hours per week to their studies.
In general, of the total hours allocated for each 3-credit-hour GDL course, 40% of the hours may be spent on didactics, and 60% will be spent actually doing and producing something useful that achieves the student’s goals. E.g. in the case of a student who wants to learn graphic design: 40% of the time may be spent watching videos or reading articles and book chapters and practicing how to design images, brochures, flyers, posters, magazines, etc. The other 60% of the hours would be spent actually designing images that will be used by a nonprofit of their choosing.
Are you interested in taking a goal-directed course at SU? Contact our admissions office and let us know you would like to take a GDL course. We will match you with an advisor who will help you through the process.
