SMART Goals = Positive Habits

written by John Strong, Niagara County Community College

The first of the year seems to always come with the hope of something better in the New Year, a resolution of some sort or another. A new diet, a new workout, a new chance to break an old habit and other similar sentiments are as common place as the ball dropping in Time Square.

"It's a human quality to want to reduce your pain and increase your pleasure." Becker-Phelps said of the top three resolutions (1st lose weight, 2nd exercise, 3rd quit smoking, save more, spend less, and be an overall better person were all tied). "I think they're often culturally determined: If you look at us as a culture we certainly have an obesity problem, and we value youth, young bodies, and the physical appearance of health."¹

In light of this common trending one might imagine that individuals would see the 'writing on the wall' and begin to improve throughout the year, or simply set better goals, more attainable ones, leading to greater rates of success.

Perhaps SMARTer goals are the answer. SMART stands for goals that are:

• Specific,
• Measurable,
• Attainable,
• Results-oriented,
• and Time-bound.

While the acronym SMART has been used in the Business world for decades (some point to the seminal work "The Practice of Management" by Peter Drucker as one of the first published allusions to SMART objectives), Anne Conzemius and Jan O'Neil (2001, 2002 & 2006)² provided an educational context for the idea (some might say among others).

As a Personal Trainer educator I can assure you that goal-setting is a fundamentally important aspect of a Trainer's education. Moreover, recognition of health-based goals over aesthetic-based goals is taught as paramount to a client's longevity. My wife, an elementary school physical educator and past pelinks4u contributor, instructs her students annually on the importance of setting SMART individual goals; as do many other physical educators around the nation.

So what happens? What happens to our students between leaving a school setting and entering the pragmatic world of work and bills and responsibility that they forget how to set SMART goals? Is it possible that our verbal instruction as physical educators is not heard or perhaps misunderstood? Or is it in fact more likely that our students can hear, and even temporarily understand a concept, but not internalize the information and never truly learn it?

Setting goals should begin at an early age and continue throughout the K-12 experience. It is important to note that the ability to set goals proficiently is only mastered through utilizing the skill repeatedly. Therefore, students should get multiple opportunities both inside and outside of the school setting in order to pursue mastery of this vital lifelong skill.

Currently, in New York State Physical Education, we are guided by three State Standards. State Standard 1 is reminiscent of NASPE Standards 1 and 2, while the second state standard can be likened to NASPE 5 and 6. Our third State Standard³ is about utilizing community resources in order to better prepare for lifetime fitness. The benefit of this goal is that it provides opportunities for students to further deepen their understanding of the positive goal setting techniques they learn during scheduled instructional time.

While I don't plan on taking this opportunity to advocate for an augmented edition of the NASPE Standards, I would simply like to bring to light a possible shift in practical focus. If one of our professional goals is to deepen the process of students internalizing the skill of functional goal setting, then it might be good for all of us to provide multiple opportunities in multiple settings in order to allow this to happen. Further, recent studies in both curriculum and assessment point to the fact that students retain knowledge better when provided with numerous application opportunities, and are better assessed in their depth of knowledge when asked application questions rather than rote memorization questions.

Some examples of utilizing resource management in your curriculum will populate the rest of my article. Confer with peers and decide for yourself, and your department, which will best suit the needs of your students. Perhaps this year your New Year's resolution will be to accommodate the learning of students in such a way that their New Year's resolutions will be positively impacted for decades to come.

Setting SMART Goals in PE

In this example the student has a desire to increase his cardiovascular fitness. The student has scored a 40 on his Pacer Test (the cardiovascular fitness assessment portion of the Fitness Gram) and has set a goal that is Specific - improvement of his cardiovascular fitness through running. As professionals we should all be aware that cardiovascular improvements in swimming will not equally support cardiovascular improvements in running (Termin, B., & Pendergast, D. R, 2000).⁴ This follows the Principle of Specificity.

Remember that we not only have to support the components of fitness (muscular strength, muscular endurance, cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, and body composition), but we must train them using the FITT principles (Frequency, Intensity, Time, and Type). The goal is Measurable - he endeavors to score a 44 his next Pacer Test, a 10% improvement. It is Attainable - based on the overload principle, this student can expect to make improvements between 2% and 5% on a weekly basis with the correct amount of activity (Time) utilizing the appropriate pace (Intensity). Additionally he has avoided the trap of selecting an unattainable goal like a 20% or 30% gain and in so doing losing confidence in future attempts at improvement.

The goal is also Results-oriented - this student is striving to achieve a 10% gain by focusing on 44. Finally, that goal that has been set is Time-based - the student will have the opportunity to re-test in the Pacer at the end of his unit in P.E. class in one month's time. I will use this student (let's call him Sam to personalize it a bit) as an example for the next three 'outside of school assignment' suggestions.

Setting a Goal with a Family Member

This example can be done as an interview and follow up action session. Initially Sam is instructed to explain to his family what he has learned in school about goal setting, and share his goal with his family. Next, Sam is urged to interview family members about what goals they might be interested in setting in the short term. Then Sam matches his goal with the family member whose goal is closest to mirroring his own (we'll suppose he chose his mother). Together, Sam and his mother produce a plan based on information he garnered during regular physical education class to help them make progress toward their goal. Finally, Sam and his mother pursue their goal outside of class time in an agreed upon fashion, and reports back at the end of the unit to see how they fared.

Selecting a Membership

This activity can be completed by Sam, in his community, in pursuit of the activity of his choice. Quite simply, he will initially be asked to explore options in his community that would allow him to attain his SMART goal of improved cardiovascular fitness. Some examples might include joining the YMCA, a local fitness center, a youth basketball or track team, or some other form of affiliation that may not otherwise be accessible.

The community entity of Sam's choosing would be required to fulfill the predetermined needs of the programming set out by his teacher (Overload Principles using FITT). Next, Sam would have to determine how best to accumulate the allotted hours dictated by his programming to accomplish his specified goal. Local businesses might find that teaming up with the school to present a 'free/trial month' for participating K-12 students could benefit their bottom line in the long term. An individual who has had a positive experience in any environment is far more likely to re-enter that environment than someone who is completely uninitiated. This logic, presented sensibly by the local physical educator to community business, may allow them to fashion long-term partnerships that benefit everyone involved.

Find a Free Connection

The final option I'm going to suggest would encourage Sam to find a free resource in his community that would allow him greater access to his SMART goal. Similar to 'Selecting a Membership,' Sam would seek out community partnerships that were free of charge. Some examples could be the following:

• Jogging at a local park.
• Track with a friend.
• Play soccer in a designated safe environment with classmates outside of school time.
• Connect with an activity group that shares a common interest with Sam, like a local in-line skating or skate boarding group.
• Participate in a lead-up program for a culminating activity, like a Run for the Cure or a Mini Triathlon.
• Or, a myriad of other options discussed with Sam in class, or as part of a homework assignment given by the school physical educator.

Physical educators I know often express a reluctance to give homework to their students. Reasons include everything from empathy regarding the amount of work they are already expected to complete, to not believing students will take it seriously. Perhaps the assignments listed above will provide an opportunity for teachers with that same reluctance to draw a connection with their in-class information to outside work. By doing this, they may find that 'homework' is simply a practical application of the in-class education that serves to deepen their student's habits of setting SMART goals. When finding resources in the community becomes a regular habit for your students, lifelong activity will surely follow.

references

¹Sarah LeTrent, The psychology of resolutions, CNN, January 3, 2012 at http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/03/living/resolution-psychology/index.html

² Conzemius, A. and O'Neill, J. (2001) Building Shared Responsibility for Student Learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Conzemius, A. and O'Neill, J. (2002) The Handbook for SMART School Teams. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.

Conzemius, A., O'Neill, J., Commodore, C. and Pulsfus, C. (2006). The Power of SMART Goals: Using Goals to Improve Student Learning. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree

³ http://www.p12.nysed.gov/ciai/pe/pea3.html

⁴ Termin, B., & Pendergast, D. R. Training using the Stroke Frequency- Velocity Relationship to Combine Biomechanical and Metabolic Paradigms. Journal of Swimming Research, (2000) 14, 9-17.

Biography: John Strong has been a full-time Instructor at Niagara County Community College in Sanborn, NY for the past seven years. His responsibilities include Physical Education Teacher Education, coordinating the Personal Training Certificate Program, and various posts in collegiate clubs and committees. John is a member of AAHPERD at the national, state, and zone levels and has presented at conferences for all three. He has coached at the middle and high school levels, and is currently involved in youth sport both as a coach and trainer for Youth Sports New York. John's related areas of interest include: Youth Sport, Sport Philosophy, and Sport Psychology.

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