This article is written to introduce you to a sequential process for setting your goals to achieve your personal objective such as continuing your education, or to upgrade your skills. In your mind, setting goals should not be much of a problem, if you know which direction you're shooting for, just as long as they are SMART ones. I will begin by defining a goal and identifying reasons for setting goals. A goal can be defined as a statement of a desired future a person wishes to achieve.
There could be a lot of reasons for setting goals. Identifying your own reasons for setting goals is just as important as the goal itself. Perhaps you have a course in mind that you would like to enroll in, or you are in a middle of your course and you want to improve your grades because your graduation depends on it. Whatever your reasons are is your course of action.
Remember to set your own specific standard so that you can easily achieve and evaluate your goals, by not setting them too high or too low, but somewhere in the middle. I will then describe a process based on the acronym SMART how you might want to develop and implement your goal using this framework. S.M.A.R.T. means Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Limited.
Are your goals specific? Set specific goals. Your educational goal needs to be specific to achieve the desired results you want. Don't be vague about your goals. You see, if your goals are not well defined, it will only produce incomplete results and you will not be happy. Developing your specific goal will help you organize the things that you have to do in a logical manner and to stay on track. Goals will also help you develop a better understanding of your own learning experience, purpose and expectations. It will also help to use your time and energy more efficiently.
Are they Measurable? Set your goals that are measurable with specific actions. Your goal should be such that you know when you are advancing and by how much and see more tangible results. For example, your goal of being a better basketball player is not measurable, but after five minutes of warm-up at the school gym, you will correctly dribble a basketball with one hand for 20 seconds would be measurable. You should be able to see exactly how you are measuring up in your learning journey using your goals.
Are they Attainable? Set attainable goals. Is it possible to achieve your learning in the time frame available for your learning given the knowledge and expertise that you bring to the classroom? It should be possible for you to achieve this objective in the session. Here's another example, it may be possible for a group of mechanics to disassemble and correctly reassemble a water pump following 30 minutes of instruction; however, it may require more time for third year nursing students to achieve the same competence.
Are they Realistic? Set realistic goals. Is it realistic to achieve this objective? Realistic can also mean Attainable. For example, if a nurse is teaching a group of adults about diabetes, it may not be realistic to expect them to to explain the pathophysiology of diabetic ketoacidosis, but it would be realistic to expect that third year nursing students could achieve the objective. Whereas, it would be realistic for the adults that they can describe the signs and symptoms of high blood sugar levels.
Are they Time-Limited? Set your time-limit.This period defines the time it should take for your learning to take place with a starting and ending point. You could also set your benchmarks at which progress can be assessed. For goals that have outcome goals, establishing a clear deadline for them adds an element of urgency and motivation toward its achievement so you don't procrastinate with your class projects and assignments. The time-limit you select should be realistic. Losing twenty pounds in twenty weeks is realistic, whereas losing those pounds in five weeks is not only unrealistic but there could be health complications in future. Using SMART goals will provide you a framework to improve your educational goal setting. SMART can be used as a way of evaluating your educational goal. I wish you good learning.
Robert Sissenah is the new owner of the Adult Basic Education (ABE) - About Learn-Eh! Visit his website at http://www.cybersenior.ca |
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