Evalguide - Ziele

Functional goals should be formulated to be as "smart" as possible. "Smart" can stand for different abbreviations (cf. Beywl & Schepp-Winter, 1999; Heiner, 1996; Platt, 2001), one of which can be as follows:

Specific – The goal must be valid for concretely specified persons, general conditions, etc.; the boundaries of the goal are specified.
Measurable – Qualities and, if necessary, quantities of goal achievement should be determinable, indicators can be derived from them.
Appropriate – Is it the 'right' goal? Is there a need for the planned procedures?
Realistic – The chances of achieving the goal are sufficiently good given the general conditions (resources, time, skills); external, uncontrollable factors do not stand in the way of achieving the goal.
Time-framed – A time frame is specified.

This is illustrated by two examples:

1. A goal which is not very smart: "All students will learn to work independently and flexibly."

Unspecific: The target group and the context are not described in detail.
Difficult to measure: What is meant exactly by 'independently' and 'flexibly'? How can the achievement of the learning goal be measured?
Appropriate? Especially in their first semesters, students will probably need guidance and structure.
Somewhat unrealistic: Whether all students will achieve this learning goal is somewhat questionable.
No time limits: No time-frame is given.

2. A smarter goal: "During the summer semester of 2006, the students of economics (BA) will spend at least one hour a week working on on online exercises in addition to timetabled statistics classes."

Specific: The target group is named, the context (statistics course) is specified.
Measurable: Conducting log-file analyses and/or surveys allows the time the students are spending on the exercises to be established.
Appropriate: If knowledge from the lectures is to be
deepened, completing the exercises available on-line outside the classroom is a necessity.
Realistic: Clarification is required as to whether, given the students' workload, an additional hour per week is reasonable or whether, given the difficulty and scope of the exercises, one hour is enough to complete them.
Time-framed: A time-frame is given.