SMART Goals

Goals form part of the Recap at the Start of a driving lesson. They help keep the pupil and instructor focused on what is important in order to develop the pupil’s knowledge and ability.

A coaching conversation should take place in the early minutes of the lesson. The GROW model (Goals, Reality, Options and Way forward) provides a structure which helps identify the lesson goals.

It is important to differentiate between the lesson “theme” and lesson “goals”.

There are a variety of lesson themes listed on the Standards Check form (SCI) from which the pupil can choose. The first theme listed is Junctions. If the pupil wanted to practice more at T junctions, the instructor would need to help the pupil select which specific elements of T junctions needed further development. This would be based on the weak areas identified during the previous lesson; it could be mirror work, speed on approach or judgement of traffic on the major road, for instance. To improve these would be the goals of the lesson.

Goals should be clear and attainable by the pupil within the lesson time constraints. They should also be SMART, which is an acronym for:

• Specific — the ADI and pupil need to work as a team to focus on specific goals to be achieved during the lesson, i.e. signal in good time at every junction.
  
  
• Measurable — both pupil and ADI need to know when the goal has been achieved.
  
  
• Achievable — goals must be realistic and attainable if the pupil is to be successful.
  
  
• Relevant — goals should be important to the overall theme of improving performance at junctions, i.e. part of the MSM-PSL routine.
  
  
• Time-related can the goal be reached, or at least advanced, within the lesson time frame?