Promoting Self-Determination for Students with Disabilities: A Goal-Setting Challenge App

Project Description

The purpose of this study is to empirically develop and test an interactive web application that will provide adolescents with high-incidence disabilities the knowledge and skills to effectively set and attain academic, behavior, and transition-related goals, leading to increased self-determination and goal attainment. The Goal-Setting Challenge (GSC) App will be developed and tested with high schools in North Carolina and Kansas. Building on the evidence-based Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI), the GSC App will be iteratively developed as an online web application for adolescents with high-incidence disabilities.

The GSC App will provide a technology-driven means to engage students in setting and attaining goals to enable attainment of academic, behavior, and transition-related goals. The GSC App will include three instructional phases aligned with the SDLMI delivered via web-based lessons:

Phase 1: Set a Goal -- focused on the process of setting short- and long-term goals

Phase 2: Make a Plan -- focused on the process of developing an action plan to achieve short- and long-term goals

Phase 3: Adjust Your Goal -- focused on the process of evaluating and adjusting progress towards reaching short- and long-term goals to support goal attainment