Writing SMART Instructional Objectives

An instructional objective is the destination of a lesson. A weak objective leaves the destination vague. A strong objective makes the destination clear, measurable, and reachable in the time available.

The SMART framework is the standard tool for writing strong objectives.

Why SMART matters

A teacher who writes an objective like “students will know about the cities of Pakistan” has not really set a destination. The word “know” is too soft. How will the teacher check whether students know? How many cities should they know? What does “know” even mean: name them, locate them on a map, describe their economies?

The result is fuzzy teaching. The teacher delivers content. Students receive content. At the end, no one can tell whether the lesson worked.

A SMART objective fixes this. It names a specific behavior, sets a measurable expectation, fits the lesson’s time, and gives the teacher a clear way to check the outcome.

Specific

The first letter is Specific. The objective names exactly what the student will be able to do.

Compare:

• Weak: “Students will understand the parts of a plant.”
• Specific: “Students will be able to label the leaf, stem, and root in a plant diagram.”

The weak version uses “understand”, which has no clear meaning. The specific version names a precise behavior (label) and the precise content (leaf, stem, root, in a plant diagram).

A specific objective also names quantities when possible. “List five industrial cities of Pakistan” is specific because of the five. “List industrial cities” is less specific because the student might list one or twenty.

Measurable

The second letter is Measurable. The teacher must be able to check whether each student met the objective.

Compare:

• Not measurable: “Students will appreciate poetry.”
• Measurable: “Students will be able to identify the rhyme scheme of a given short poem.”

The first cannot be measured. How does a teacher know that a student appreciates poetry? Does an annoyed student who can identify the meter “appreciate” it more than a quiet one who cannot? The objective gives no way to tell.

The second is clear. Either the student identified the rhyme scheme or they did not. The teacher reads each student’s answer and knows.

Example: “Students will be able to know the difference between cities” cannot be measured. The fix: “Students will be able to list five differences between rural and urban life”. The list is countable. The teacher checks the list.

Achievable

The third letter is Achievable. The objective must be reachable in the lesson’s available time.

A 40-minute lesson cannot deliver a research project, a deep argument, or a complex skill. The objective must respect the time available.

Compare:

• Not achievable in 40 minutes: “Students will be able to write a five-paragraph argumentative essay on environmental policy.”
• Achievable in 40 minutes: “Students will be able to write a topic sentence and supporting sentence for a paragraph about an environmental issue.”

The first is a unit-level objective, not a lesson-level one. The second fits inside one period.

A common error: teachers borrow objectives from textbook chapter goals or syllabus headings. These are usually unit goals, not lesson objectives. A teacher must break them down into lesson-sized pieces.

Realistic

The fourth letter is Realistic. The objective must fit the students’ actual level and resources.

Compare:

• Not realistic for Class 3 students: “Students will solve quadratic equations.”
• Realistic for Class 3: “Students will solve five single-digit addition problems with carrying.”

A realistic objective considers prior knowledge, language ability, and physical resources. A teacher who plans an objective requiring internet research for a class with no internet has set an unrealistic objective. A teacher who plans an objective in advanced English for a class new to the language has set an unrealistic objective.

The teacher’s earlier work on prior knowledge and student characteristics feeds into this letter. The objective fits the actual students, not idealized students.

Flashcard

What is the difference between Achievable and Realistic in SMART?

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Answer

Time vs context

Achievable: can the objective be reached in the lesson’s available time?

Realistic: does the objective fit the students’ actual prior knowledge, language ability, and resources?

A goal can be achievable in 40 minutes but unrealistic for the class. Both letters must be checked.

Timely

The fifth letter is Timely. The objective is bound to the lesson period.

The standard phrase that makes this clear: “By the end of the lesson, students will be able to..”

That phrase does several things at once. It announces the time frame. It sets the destination. It tells the student what to expect. It reminds the teacher to check at the end.

University course slides often begin with “By the end of the lecture, you will have..” for exactly this reason. The phrase forces clear, time-bound outcomes.

A teacher writing instructional objectives should use this phrase or its equivalent for every lesson. The format becomes a habit. The clarity follows.

The standard format

Putting all five letters together, the standard format for an instructional objective is:

The verb names the observable behavior. The content names what the behavior is performed on.

Examples:

1. By the end of the lesson, students will be able to list five industrial cities of Pakistan.
2. By the end of the lesson, students will be able to label the three parts of a plant: leaf, stem, and root.
3. By the end of the lesson, students will be able to identify nouns in a given short text.
4. By the end of the lesson, students will be able to solve five single-digit addition problems with carrying.
5. By the end of the lesson, students will be able to describe two effects of pollution on rivers.

Each follows the format. Each is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.

Bad verbs and good verbs

The choice of verb is critical. Some verbs work. Others do not.

Bad verbs (vague, unmeasurable):

1. Know
2. Understand
3. Appreciate
4. Be aware of
5. Realize
6. Grasp

What does “know” mean? What does “understand” mean? Each can be interpreted ten ways. None can be observed or measured.

Good verbs (specific, observable):

1. List, name, label
2. Identify, recognize, distinguish
3. Define, describe, explain
4. Solve, calculate, compute
5. Compare, contrast, classify
6. Demonstrate, perform, construct

Each of these names something the teacher can see the student doing. The student either lists or does not list. The student either solves or does not. The behavior is observable.

A teacher writing objectives should keep a list of good verbs nearby and avoid the bad ones. Over time, the habit becomes automatic.

Why minimum standards matter

A subtle but important point about objectives: they set a minimum standard for the lesson. By the end, every student should be able to perform the named behavior.

Example: “Students will be able to list five industrial cities of Pakistan”. The number five is not random. It sets the floor. A student who lists three has not met the objective. A student who lists seven has exceeded it. Both are useful information for the teacher. Without the number, neither would be visible.

Minimum standards also protect equity. Without them, the strong students far exceed and the weak students lag, with no one noticing. With them, the teacher can see exactly which students are below the floor and provide more support.

A teacher writing an objective should include numbers when possible. Five cities. Three differences. Two parts of a plant. Each number is a check the teacher can make.

Flashcard

Why do good instructional objectives include numbers when possible?

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Answer

Numbers set a clear minimum standard

“List industrial cities” lets one student list two and another list seven, with no clear floor.

“List five industrial cities” sets a clear minimum. The teacher knows exactly who met the objective and who fell short.

Equity work depends on knowing this floor.