How many of you have felt like there’s not enough time to teach all that you’re being asked to teach? It’s the daily plight of all teachers! Yet, by setting a lesson planning SMART goal, you will find that you CAN teach what needs to be taught without feeling like you’re dragging kids along with you.
Today, we’re going to focus on how to set lesson planning or curriculum planning goals using the SMART Goal process. Organization was addressed in a previous post, and student & family relationships will be addressed in our next post.
1. Identify your Professional Goal
Teaching goals can be found in 3 different categories:
- Organization (this also includes time management)
- Curriculum and Lesson Planning (this includes any type of assessment)
- Student and Family Relationships (this also includes classroom management)
Think about where you stand in each category.
Take a moment to rate yourself in each category. 1 being your weakest area and 3 your strongest.
Use either your 1 or 2 to narrow down your more specific goal.
2. Narrow it Down
After you’ve identified your weakest category, narrow it down to a specific task in that category.
Here are some components of each category; feel free to brainstorm your own! Your job, in reviewing this list, is to ask yourself, “Which component makes me anxious or is missing from my teaching practice? If I had that component, my teaching life would be more joyful and less stressful!”
Lesson Planning/Curriculum Management
-Lack of time to teach content
- Are you feeling overwhelmed by all you’re being asked to teach? Do you leave school feeling like time was wasted and that you’re even more behind?
-Bigger Picture Planning (Curriculum & Unit Plans)
- Do you feel like each week you’re planning for just the next day without the bigger picture in mind? Do you feel like some lessons are redundant while others aren’t given the right amount of time to complete in a class period?
-Assessing for Understanding
- Does it feel like your students know most of the material before it’s even been taught? Does it feel like you’re wasting your time and theirs? Do you find yourself surprised at the end of the unit test (students either did better or worse than you expected)?
3. Write a SMART goal
Use the specific task in step 2 to write your SMART goal. I would recommend narrowing it down even more to 1 class period.
For example, I am a teacher who feels like there’s too much math curriculum and not enough time to teach it. I’m having trouble sifting through what’s most important so that my students are successful in the next grade.
Specific-Specificity ensures that goals are met at a higher rate. Vague or too large goals are often forgotten about, especially if they seem too daunting to achieve within the school year.
I will pre-assess students before starting math lessons and use the data to determine what to teach.
Measurable–We’re now taking our goal and ensuring that we can reasonably measure our goal.
At the beginning of a unit, I will give students the end of the unit test to see what they already know. If a concept is mastered by all students, I will reinforce learning with practice and 5 min. mini lessons. If there’s 90% or less mastery, I will teach that concept and reinforce in small groups.
Achievable– Realistically think about how you can achieve this goal. Talk with colleagues or admin to help you identify blind spots or glitches in your goal. You want to walk away with something you CAN achieve! I’m starting with 4 out of 7 units that way I can practice my goal without feeling overwhelmed.
At the beginning of 4 out of 7 units, I will give students the end of the unit test to see what they already know. If a concept is mastered by all students, I will reinforce learning with practice and 5 min. mini lessons. If there’s 90% or less mastery, I will teach that concept and reinforce in small groups.
Relevant & Realistic-Why is this goal important to your teaching context? When you AND students know where they stand in your class, you’ll be able to intervene when necessary and build confidence where it might be lacking.
In order to focus on what’s most important and not waste time, at the beginning of 4 math units, I will give students the end of the unit test to see what they already know. If a concept is mastered by all students, I will reinforce learning with practice and 5 min. mini lessons. If there’s 90% or less mastery, I will teach that concept and reinforce in small groups.
Time Bound-When do you hope to achieve this goal? Think about the entire school year and what makes sense for your specific goal. If your course is only 1 semester, you might have to rewrite it for a new class the next semester. It’s okay to change goals mid-year if your teaching context changes.
In order to focus on what’s most important and not waste time, at the beginning of 4 math units (2 per semester), I will give students the end of the unit test to see what they already know. If a concept is mastered by all students, I will reinforce learning with practice and 5 min. mini lessons. If there’s 90% or less mastery, I will teach that concept and reinforce in small groups.
4. Accountability
After writing your SMART goal, be sure to share it with a colleague who also has their own SMART goal. I recommend meeting once a week at the start of your SMART goal to ensure you both feel supported in your goal. Then, as the year goes on, you can have twice a month check-ins.
Plan for celebrations and you meet each step of your SMART goal. Be sure to give yourself grace on days when things don’t go to plan. If you find that your SMART goal isn’t work, rewrite it so that it does work and can be achieved.
The time we spend in community and holding space for each other with our goals sets a beautiful foundation for our teaching. Teachers, students, and school communities thrive when everyone knows what they’re working towards and that they don’t have to do so alone.
Be sure to share your lesson planning/curriculum SMART goals with us or let us know if you’d like help in writing a lesson planning/curriculum SMART goal!