This lesson plan is designed to teach how to apply SMART objectives to training programmes for journalists and media managers.
It’s based on the article SMART objectives for media training which we recommend trainers read before adapting this lesson plan for your own purposes.
Lesson plan details
- Topic: Applying SMART objectives to media and communications training.
- Target audience: Media trainers, journalism educators, or communications professionals responsible for designing training programmes.
- Duration: One full day (8 hours, including breaks).
- Tone: Professional, collaborative, and practical.
Overall learning objectives
By the end of this programme, participants will be able to:
- Explain the importance of well-written learning objectives in programme design and evaluation.
- Define each element of the SMART acronym (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound).
- Analyse and critique existing training objectives, identifying weaknesses and strengths.
- Construct a complete, correctly formatted set of SMART objectives for a new media training module.
Timetable and activities programme
Morning session
9:00 – 9:30 (30 mins): Welcome, introductions, and context
- Activity/Topic: Trainer-led presentation. Icebreaker activity: Participants share the “worst” objective they have encountered in a training course. Discussion about the source article’s core concepts.
9:30 – 10:30 (60 mins): Deconstructing the S and M: Specific and measurable
- Activity/Topic: Interactive lecture. Focus on behavioural verbs (Bloom’s Taxonomy) for Specificity and quantitative/qualitative indicators for Measurability. Analysis of examples based on the source material.
10:30 – 10:45 (15 mins): Break
10:45 – 12:00 (75 mins): Activity 1: Writing specific and measurable objectives
- Activity/Topic: Small group work (3–4 people). Each group is assigned a vague objective (e.g., “understand social media”). They must convert it into 3-4 specific and measurable objectives. Groups present their work for peer critique.
12:00 – 13:00 (60 mins): Lunch
13:00 – 14:00 (60 mins): The remaining elements: A, R, and T
- Activity/Topic: Trainer-led discussion on ensuring objectives are Achievable (resource checks), Relevant (linking to job roles/skills gaps), and Time-bound (setting clear deadlines for demonstration). Discussion of the “Achievable” constraint in tight media training schedules.
14:00 – 15:30 (90 mins): Activity 2: Critiquing and refining
- Activity/Topic: Individual and paired work. Participants receive five examples of poorly written objectives. They must individually analyse each one, identifying which SMART elements are missing. They then pair up to refine and rewrite them into fully compliant SMART objectives.
15:30 – 15:45 (15 mins): Break
15:45 – 16:45 (60 mins): Putting it all together: Case study design
- Activity/Topic: Whole group discussion. Trainer introduces a media training scenario (e.g., “Training local reporters on data journalism”). The group collaboratively organises the high-level goals into a complete set of SMART learning objectives for the hypothetical course.
16:45 – 17:00 (15 mins): Conclusion, Q&A, and assignment handover
- Activity/Topic: Summary of key takeaways. Open Q&A session. Explanation and distribution of the final assignment brief.
Final assignment: SMART objective portfolio design
Task:
Participants must select two distinct media training topics (e.g., “mobile video editing” and “interview techniques for accountability journalism”). For each topic, you must submit a training objective portfolio that includes:
- A Goal Statement (100 words max): A broad statement of what the training aims to achieve.
- Three to five (3–5) SMART Learning Objectives: A comprehensive set of specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound learning objectives that detail what the participants will be able to do upon completion of the training.
- Evaluation Mechanism: For each of the 3–5 objectives, briefly outline the proposed method of evaluation (e.g., “Objective 1 will be measured by a successful completion of the five-question quiz immediately following the module”).
Submission requirements: The final document should be approximately 500–750 words in total.
Purpose: To demonstrate the practical ability to translate high-level training needs into actionable, measurable components for future programme design.
Related article
