Goal-setting can be a powerful focusing activity for helping students to become conscious of what they hope to accomplish and encouraging them to accept responsibility for their learning. In this SET, students generate and prioritise a list of their learning goals at the beginning of the academic term, a unit of study, or a specific learning activity.

Identifying what they want to learn can also help students organise their time and resources so that they can better recognise and resist distractions. It also provides students with a framework against which to measure progress, giving them guidance on how to get back on track if they have strayed.