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Setting measurable goals with your students

Setting goals with your students at the beginning of a lesson, topic, or unit of study is vital. Everyone works more effectively when they have goals in place. Establishing goals in the classroom helps set clear expectations around learning outcomes involved. They also communicate to students what they can expect to learn and understand in a particular timeframe.

Why the best goals are SMART goals

As the educator, you need to make sure the goals your students set for themselves are SMART — that is, specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-based. Otherwise, it can be tricky to track student learning progress or achievement. You can model this process for your students to help them. You could share a learning goal for the year or one about a hobby or skill you’re developing.

SMART goals are:

  • S
    Specific

    Define what you want to achieve with who, why, when, where, and what details.

  • M
    Measurable

    Articulate how you will know when a goal or progress is achieved.

  • A
    Attainable

    The best goals require stretch and focus to achieve but shouldn’t be out of reach.

  • R
    Realistic

    SMART goals should be relevant and meet a need.

  • T
    Timely

    A goal needs a realistic timeframe with a deadline in place.

Benefits of effective goal setting

Identify different student learning levels

Having students set goals for themselves can help you as the teacher. Use these goals to identify different learning levels and prepare differentiated learning activities and programs tailored specifically for your students.

Set clear expectations

Goal setting helps your students understand what’s expected of them for a particular task or topic and provides specific direction. It can be helpful to provide verbal and written information on expectations for your students, so they have something to refer back to.

Keep students focused and engaged

SMART goals with measurable steps along the way help students keep track of their progress and stay focused during a topic or unit of study. Having component goals within a larger goal allow students to tick off and acknowledge the progress they’re making. You can also support students through this progression by acknowledging their efforts.

SMART goal ideas for teachers

ClickView’s interactive video feature can help you and your students set and work towards SMART goals. Add an interactive layer of questions or problems to any video, have your students complete them, and you’ll receive an analytic summary of their understanding of a topic.

Learn more about interactive videos
ClickView Interactives

5 tips for effective classroom goal setting

  1. Prepare in advance

    Complete interactive video questions on a topic in advance and use the analytics to help set the goals for a specific lesson.

  2. Use analytics

    Share ClickView interactive analytics with students electronically or via a 1:1 conversation to reflect on their progress towards goals.

  3. Grab attention

    Play a small clip to hook students when introducing a new topic or learning area and preparing to set goals.

  4. Summarize progress

    Students can use the annotation tool for interactive video to summarize their goals, progress, and achievement.

  5. Access resources

    You can use the suggested lesson plans and other ClickView educational resources to help your class set its goals.

Achieve learning outcomes with effective teaching strategies

A ClickView subscription includes full access to the full ClickView library, including all supporting educational resources. Also included in your subscription is access to our training channel and webinars, to help you make the most of ClickView’s exciting features. We’re here to help you with effective SMART goal setting to achieve optimal student learning outcomes.

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Goals help you focus on behaviors

The process of setting goals and the way we think about them gives us insight into what we want and how we can go about achieving it. Goals can give us something to focus on, positively impacting our motivation as we learn. Discover educational resources to support you with setting goals

Make goals purposeful and meaningful

The loftier our goals, the more satisfying they can be when we achieve them. As an educator, you can encourage your students to think bigger and bolder with their goals, going beyond the learning environment to include their future aspirations. Use interactive videos to help students with goal setting

Set your goals with your strengths in mind

Knowing and working with our strengths can help us to feel more confident and engaged. Work with your students to help them identify their strengths, setting goals to extend these. As an educator, your goals can also play to your strengths, building skills in areas of natural competence, as well as in new areas. Access professional learning to help you set goals

Failure builds resilience

Normalize failure as part of the learning process. As you and your students face setbacks and obstacles, resilience develops. The decisions we make when we hit a roadblock are key. Take the time to help students overcome obstacles by brainstorming alternative pathways or ideas.

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