How to Set SMART Goals | Goal Setting for Students

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---TRANSCRIPT---
Thanks for stopping by, this is 2 Minute Classroom and today we are talking about setting goals using the SMART method.

Goal setting is a great activity anytime but is especially popular around New Years', at the start of the school year, and the beginning of a sports season. I would love to hear some of your goals in the comments and I’ll put some of mine in the description below.

SMART is an acronym that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

We’ll go through each of these using the example goal of “doing well on your next exam” - A common goal for students.

The first step is to make the goal specific. “Doing well on your next exam” is not specific. Try to answer the questions of what, when, and why.

Let’s specify your what as scoring at least 90% on your next science exam.

For the when it will be whenever the exam is, let’s say it’s in 4 weeks.

The why is very important as this is your motivation for the goal and something you can look back on if you get discouraged.

It could be to improve your grade in the course, to score higher than a friend, or because you want to get into a great university. Whatever will motivate you to keep working on the goal.

So now we have a much more specific goal “Score at least 90% on the next science exam four weeks from now to help you get into a great university.”

This goal is looking great, but we are not done yet.

The next step is to make sure the goal is measurable. That means there are some metrics attached to the goal to let you know if you reach your goal or not.

Looking back at our goal we see that it is to score at least 90%. This is very measurable and once you’ve taken the test and received a score you will know whether or not you hit the goal.

This is also why “Doing well on your next exam” is a poor goal - it is not measurable and there is no clear way to define success or failure.

The next step is to check whether the goal is achievable or not. In this step you want to break the goal down and answer the question of “how” you will achieve this goal. What do you need to do in the next four weeks to get at least 90% on the exam.

Some examples may include taking notes in class, spending 30 minutes three nights per week studying for the exam, and partnering with a friend a week before the exam to review notes and go through a study guide.

The point is you need a plan. Break the goal down into smaller goals that all feed up to the main goal. This will give you a clear path to success.

The fourth step is to ensure the goal is relevant.

This step is more of a gut check to see if it fits well in your life right now. Ask yourself the following questions: Does this align with my long-term objectives? Does it keep me on track for other goals in your life? Will focusing on this goal pull me away from other, more important goals?

After thinking through this step you should feel confident your goal is relevant and be even more motivated to achieve it.

Scoring at least 90% on your next science exam is relevant because it will give you confidence in school and feed into larger goals around future education and career.

The last step is to make the goal time-bound.

A time-bound deadline acts as a target and helps you work backward and set smaller steps to get there. If you set a fitness goal to be able to do 100 consecutive pushups but don’t set a deadline to reach that goal then it probably won't happen.

Hitting a certain score on an exam is time-bound by default because there is a specific date for the exam which allows us to break the goal into smaller steps leading up to the exam.

And here is a bonus tip. If you truly want to reach your goals then you have to write them down and look at them often. I recommend keeping a daily/weekly planner to track your progress. I’ve put some excellent planner recommendations in the description that will help make your goals a reality.

[yeahally]

all the students were forced to watch this but some watched in ultra speed ;)

[williamshea]

Thank you for this video! My class was really inspired by this to write SMART goals for their school year!

[Mrs.Hicks_ELA]

I stumbled across your video when I was searching for SMART goals for tweens. I am using your video in a Play Posit so the students have to stop and reflect on what you say. Thank you so much! I subscribed to your channel so I can find more great videos for my students. (Why reinvent the wheel is my theory)

[tiffaniklewis]

Thank you for teaching us so much! My class loved it. Best part of the year! <3

[Akka]

6 year old was set homework regarding goal setting and I had no idea where to start and how to even set a goal properly and this was so helpful in explaining to him (and me) how to set a goal in writing.

[sherlockvids]

Great video! Clear, Brief, and Impactful. Good explanations for each. The animations helped hold attention and improve learning. Great job!

[kathysmith]

I use this video in my classroom to help motivate my students to make goals for each Benchmark during the school year. The students are very into making their goals.

[aquanettamisco]

BRCC in the building!!! I definitely didn’t see this in my text book, so this actually helps out a lot.

[kimberlycook]

Thank you for sharing this video. I am going to apply it to my next class.

[Tulutulu]

Thank you for sharing this...I love the goals you have set for 2021. Great inspiration for me to be specific about my goals and write them down using the SMART process.

[olivegodwin]

Thank you. I needed to understand what I was reading. I’m really a VAK learning from the VARK learning techniques.

[wrsunfired]

Thx so much for this video, I am a student at a college. My teacher made me watch this lol, but I liked it. It was very clear and interesting. Thank u for not making learning boring.You earned my sub.Hope you are doing well during this hard time (the virus). Have a great day sir !

[acreamdairymilk]

Currently in class rn watching this lol

[carrotcake]

This is gonna help me in the future, thank you!

[mykeitatrammell]

I showed this video to my class of college freshmen. Awesome content! :)

[mathieujourdain]

thank you for this video i I'm french and i don't have a very good english level but i understand clearly it's very interristing !! The video help me for my Buissness plan

[runnerslife]

Great video mate - my goal is to run 100km trail race in September 2024. Recently completed a 75km race.
Have broken the goal down using your simple steps and will remember to look at the goal regularly as training becomes more difficult.

[geoffreykitching]

My class really liked this video and found it useful. Thank you!

[sethdavis]

Hey guys, I noticed no one in the comment section actually shared a goal like the guy requested. My student in my resource room has happily volunteered to share their goals in this comment section. Student number 1... their name is Andre the Great- Andre's goal is to be the greatest wrestler of all time. Since this is a SMART Goal. In 6 months from now, Andre will learn 5 new moves and come up with 3 catch phrases. He will practice wrestling 3 days a week for an hour each day.

[tarkeshwartiwari]

I archive my goals now I am a class topper with a percenf of 99.7
Great inspiration sir