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Year 11
OCR

Goal setting and the SMART principle

I can set and evaluate effective goals using the SMART target method.

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Year 11
OCR

Goal setting and the SMART principle

I can set and evaluate effective goals using the SMART target method.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Goal setting is an important strategy for increasing motivation and focus and the opportunity to assess progress.
  2. SMART targets help set specific, measurable, achievable, recorded and timed goals.
  3. SMART targets should be evaluated for their effectiveness and adjusted where necessary.

Keywords

  • Specific - A goal should be relevant to the sport or activity or component of fitness aiming to be improved.

  • Measurable - being clear about what is going to be achieved with a quantitative measure

  • Achievable - ensuring a goal is challenging, yet possible

  • Recorded - ensuring a goal is written down and progress is logged

  • Timed - stating when a goal will be achieved by

Common misconception

It is common to see variants on the SMART acronym, for example R = realistic, from other exam boards or sources. Some sources may extend the acronym to SMARTER.

Ensure it is understood that with the OCR exam board, SMART only ever refers to Specific, Measurable, Achieveable, Recorded and Timed.


To help you plan your year 11 physical education lesson on: Goal setting and the SMART principle, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Prior to delivering the slide deck pupils could discuss their experience and understanding of goal setting and share their opinions on its value.
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This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
Which of these terms are commonly used when you set yourself something you want to achieve?
Correct answer: goal setting
dream setting
idea setting
Correct answer: target setting
Q2.
Goals should...
be never-ending.
Correct answer: have an end point.
always be completed in a week.
Q3.
Which of these acronyms is often associated with target setting?
SHAPE
SCARE
Correct answer: SMART
SCOUT
Q4.
These are key words associated with goal setting. Match the word to its definition.
Correct Answer:motivation,reason(s) for acting in a particular way
tick

reason(s) for acting in a particular way

Correct Answer:persistence,continuing something despite opposition or difficulty
tick

continuing something despite opposition or difficulty

Correct Answer:focus,something you pay particular attention to
tick

something you pay particular attention to

Correct Answer:progress,developing towards an improved condition
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developing towards an improved condition

Q5.
If you set yourself a goal which is too difficult, what is likely to happen?
You will want to persist with it.
Correct answer: You will lose motivation.
You will want to make it even more difficult.
You will feel good about it.
Q6.
Regularly reviewing your goals allows you to make necessary as you progress.
Correct Answer: adjustments, changes, adaptations, alterations

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
The SMART acronym stands for ...
Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timed
Specific, Measurable, Agreeable, Realistic, Timed
Correct answer: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Recorded, Timed
Specific, Motivating, Achievable, Recorded, Timed
Special, Measurable, Achievable, Recorded, Timed
Q2.
Which of the SMART criteria is this target missing: "I want to be able to complete a black run on the snowboard without falling over once."
Correct Answer: timed
Q3.
If a target is not specific, which of these is the most likely impact?
Correct answer: lack of focus
lack of peristence
lack of opportunity to assess progress
lack of motivation
Q4.
Which of these could be suitable to use when making a target measurable?
Correct answer: distance
Correct answer: time
Correct answer: percentage success
Correct answer: goals
Q5.
Put each of these in the correct order to match with the SMART acronym.
1 - A goal should be relevant to the sport/activity/component of fitness.
2 - Be clear about what is going to be achieved with a quantitative measure.
3 - Ensure a goal is challenging, yet possible
4 - Ensure the target is written down.
5 - State when a goal will be achieved by.
Q6.
Which of the SMART criteria is missing from this target: "I want to improve my first serve percentage this month. I will record this after each game."
Specific
Correct answer: Measurable
Achievable
Recorded
Timed