Smart Goals

Goals are impacted by...

The students in your course
- All have differing backgrounds, learning experiences, interests and aptitudes
- All have differing expectations for the instructor and the course
The course design framework selected
The learning environment(s) in which the learning will occur
The course expectations inside and outside of class meetings
The teaching strategies and approaches utilized
The possible assessment tools and formats that will be employed

SMART Goals

Are the first step in designing a course (see diagram above)
Requires clearly articulating what the learners will be able to do (behavioral) by the completion of the course or learning experiences
Well-articulated goals increase learner motivation (Locke and Latham, 2002)
- They direct effort and attention
- High/moderately difficult goals elicit greater effort
- Increase persistence
- Greater use of task-relevant knowledge

SPECIFIC (see Bloom's Taxonomy – Revised and Digitalized)
MEASURABLE (behavioral and observable)
ATTAINABLE and realistic for the capabilities of the learners and within the allotted time span
RELEVANT and meaningful to the learners, course experiences and ultimate application of the learning
TIME-BOUND (e.g. by the end of the course)

Potential SMART Goals in the health sciences:

Dentistry
- By the completion of the course, the students will be able to sequence the steps/procedures for administering intravenous sedation and general anesthesia to an adult patient for oral surgeries
- By the completion of the course, the students will be able to administer in the appropriate sequence intravenous sedation and general anesthesia to an adult patient for oral surgeries
Medicine
- By the completion of the clinical, the students will be able to differentiate between written symptoms of diabetes and anemia for 5 patients of varying demographics
- By the completion of the clinical, the students will be able to differentiate between and accurately diagnose 5 patients with similar symptoms
Pharmacy
- By the completion of the clinical, the students will be able to accurately assess research resources and associated literature to identify specific evidence-based drug information to meet the needs of at least 3 patients of different demographics
- By the completion of the clinical, the students will be able to clearly and accurately explain specific evidence-based drug information to at least 3 different patients of varying demographics