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Maximize Goals and SMARTIE Steps

Maximize Goals and SMARTIE Steps (pdf)

We encourage you to set Maximize goals that align with your professional goals. Thus, on the Maximize platform, we provide goal statements for each feature of the 10 Maximize strategies, as well as SMARTIE steps that you can use to help make your goal more specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-limited, inclusive, and equitable. Below are the goals and SMARTIE steps for each strategy. When you set a goal on the platform, you can edit these statements to fit your needs.

  1. Gaining input about greetings from students and their families.
    • I will survey all caregivers to ask how the family greets each other and how each student would be most comfortable being greeted.
  2. Pronouncing each name correctly and confidently.
    • First, I will privately ask each student “How would you like me to say your name? It’s important to me to say it the way it’s meant to be said - the way you and your family say it.” Then, I will practice saying the names and addressing each student in this way. If the student is comfortable with it, I will correct other students in the classroom if they mispronounce a name.
  3. Offering multiple options to meet the needs of all students, including an “opt out” choice.
    • I will seek input from students on how they’d like to be greeted. Then, I will create a visual representation of the greeting options, including an ‘opt out’ or ‘pass’ choice. I will review it with the students, then place it near the door and start using it daily.
  4. Greeting all students at least once per day.
    • I will use a tracking sheet to confirm that I am greeting each student once per day. I will start with morning greetings and greet students at other times in the day as needed. I will make an extra effort to greet students with whom I need to develop a stronger relationship.
  5. Recognizing how feelings may impact greetings after a challenging interaction.
    • After having a challenging interaction with a student, I will intentionally use our next greeting to reset the tone for our interactions. I will be warm, welcoming, and refrain from making any negative references to our past interaction.

  1. Asking caregivers and students about student interests.
    • I will survey caregivers and students about individual student interests. I will use this information to make connections during check-ins, with all students.
  2. Enhancing depth and quality by showing curiosity and authenticity during check-ins.
    • I will ask questions about student interests, give students the space to express challenging emotions, and offer empathy. I will prioritize asking open-ended questions rather than yes/no questions to learn more about my students. When appropriate, I will validate the student during check-in by reciprocating and sharing back.
  3. Checking-in at least once or twice each week with all students.
    • I will use a tracking sheet to confirm that I do 1-minute check-in with each student each week. I will schedule specific times during the week to do check-ins. I will make an extra effort to check-in more than once with students with whom I need to develop a stronger relationship.

  1. Creating a structure where students can practice positive, collaborative, and inclusive behavior.
    • First, I will check-in with myself so that I am prepared and confident to lead Circles and effectively respond to students. I will designate a specific time and clear expectations for community circles. Then, I will plan sharing activities to facilitate student connections and an inclusive classroom culture.
  2. Focusing on helping students learn about each other and their families.
    • I will use community circles as an opportunity to have meaningful conversations about diversity, student strengths, and family culture emphasizing respect, connections, and curiosity. First, I will be intentional about learning from students’ backgrounds before opening discussions with the whole group. I will explore resources to learn more deeply about the traditions and customs of my students’ families to incorporate that knowledge into community circles (e.g., knowing a child is adopted prior to asking a question about family could help avoid any uncomfortability).
  3. Promoting social, emotional, and behavioral skill development.
    • I will infuse my school’s social emotional learning curriculum into my community circles. I will model and give students a chance to practice skills. As needed, I will hold additional circles to hold celebrations, problem solve challenges, or repair harm.

  1. Collaborating with students and families to create a set of classroom expectations that motivate behavior via community accountability rather than compliance with adult authority.
    • I will schedule time to have conversations with students about classroom values, beliefs, and goals. I will acknowledge differing perspectives and discuss what behaviors (and compromises) are needed to create a shared classroom vision. I will collaborate with my students to establish norms and procedures for how our class will hold each other accountable with compassion. This will be placed so that all students can see.
  2. Showing compassion and flexibility by recognizing that there may be multiple ways to meet expectations and scaffolding supports to meet students’ needs.
    • I will try to leverage student strengths to help them meet expectations. If I notice students struggling with expectations, I will seek to understand their point of view, ask what supports could be helpful, and offer supports to help them meet expectations.
  3. Communicating that all students have the potential to meet expectations given well-matched supports.
    • I will make statements focused on student strengths. I will hold high expectations for all students while also scaffolding supports to help them succeed. I will celebrate progress, no matter how small. I will encourage students to try new things, learn from mistakes, and provide opportunities for success.
  4. Reinforcing classroom expectations every day and strategically before activities begin.
    • I will reinforce expectations, starting in the morning during announcements, and throughout the day via a variety of methods (e.g., visual aids, modeling, choral responses, songs). I will also periodically evaluate established expectations and adjust, as needed (e.g., who are they working for / are not working for).
  5. Promoting the expectation that if classroom expectations are not met, class members will repair harm in appropriate ways.
    • Where harm has occurred, I will encourage students to share their perspectives and collaborate on a restorative solution. I will provide scripts or pictorial aids to guide their conversation.

  1. Providing different styles of praise to match student preferences and needs.
    • I will ask or survey students for their preferred style(s) of praise (e.g., specific feedback, verbal, nonverbal, physical contact, visual, choice-based, peer-to-peer praise) to create a more supportive and engaging learning environment.
  2. Ensuring that all students receive praise daily.
    • I will make a goal to praise every student in class at least once per day to ensure that each student feels valued and appreciated. I will use a tracking sheet to help me reach this goal.
  3. Prioritizing praise of behaviors that facilitate inclusivity and community building (not just behaviors aligned with compliance with adult authority).
    • I will praise students for inclusive behavior (e.g., sharing, apologizing, respectful listening) and model community-building skills (e.g., giving and receiving compliments; resolving conflicts peacefully; showing vulnerability, humility, and empathy for others).
  4. Gaining input from students and their families about strengths and/or what motivates them, to inform praise statements.
    • I will survey all caregivers to ask about their child's strengths and what motivates their child in order to inform the praise statements I use with that student. I will ask each student about what excites and motivates them to inform my praise statements with them.

  1. Responding to challenging behaviors using a range of effective strategies.
    • I will review resources on the Corrective Feedback Learn More pages and expand the ways in which I respond to disruptive behavior to focus on student skill development rather than punishment. 
  2. Ensuring that the class and all individual students receive specific praise more often than corrective feedback.
    • I will make it a goal to provide more praise than corrective feedback to each student (e.g., 3:1 ratio of praise-to-corrective feedback). I will survey my students about the extent to which they think successes are celebrated in the classroom and students feel motivated to do their best.
  3. Reducing the use of consequences that exclude students from the classroom environment.
    • I will prioritize the use of positive behavioral strategies that diffuse tense situations and prevent behaviors from escalating (e.g., offering a cool down space, showing empathy, providing a coping card, doing a check-in, offering praise for good choices). I will make it a goal to try multiple strategies within the classroom before sending students out of the classroom.
  4. Considering which students are or are not receiving feedback and whether patterns suggest a need for change in teacher practices.
    • I will collect data and/or ask a Maximize Team Member to help me identify patterns in the feedback I provide to my students. I will reflect on personal biases and complete self-reflection activities on the Maximize Platform to raise my awareness about potential biases.
  5. Obtaining information from all students involved in the interaction before responding.
    • I will listen actively to all students’ perspectives without interrupting or judging them. Then, I will use open-ended questions that encourage students to share their perspective respectfully and collaborate on a solution.
  6. Pausing to avoid responding harshly and/or to reduce the impact of bias on the response.
    • I will use pausing strategies (e.g., taking a deep breath, counting) and delay issuing a consequence until I am calm, or I have learned more about the situation. To reduce the impact of bias and promote a more constructive dialogue, I will use neutral I-statements, ask questions to gain perspective, and avoid blaming and/or accusing a student.

  1. Teaching prosocial skills in a way that honors diversity, strengths, and needs across and within students.
    • I will recognize and value my students’ diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. I will incorporate culturally relevant experiences, stories, and materials to make prosocial skills relatable and meaningful to students from different cultural backgrounds.
  2. Helping students use prosocial skills to create a welcoming and inclusive classroom community, where all students feel valued and respected.
    • I will go to the resources on the Teach Prosocial Skills Learn More pages. I will explicitly teach and model prosocial skills such as empathy, active listening, respect, and conflict resolution (e.g., during community circles). I will provide opportunities for students to practice and reinforce prosocial skills in classroom activities. 
  3. Teaching prosocial skills grounded in core values of empathy, compassion, and connection.
    • I will prioritize teaching prosocial skills to create a supportive and inclusive classroom environment. I will use Maximize resources to help me learn ways to model humility and curiosity. I will strive to create a safe space where students feel comfortable expressing their thoughts, emotions, and concerns.
  4. Teaching prosocial skills proactively and in response to challenging social interactions in the classroom.
    • After a challenging event where harm occurred, I will dedicate time to explicitly teach and model prosocial skills (e.g., empathy, active listening, cooperation, conflict resolution, and problem solving). Then, I will use role play, discussions, and interactive activities to help students practice prosocial skills in various contexts.

  1. Using language that respects and celebrates all identities (e.g., addressing the class as Scholars, Students, or Everyone rather than Boys and Girls; refer to their family, loved ones, grown-ups rather than Mom or Dad).
    • I will use Maximize resources to learn how my language can better celebrate all identities. I can start by using inclusive terms for family structures (e.g., guardians, caregivers) and gender-inclusive language (e.g., students, scholars, learners).
  2. Applying classroom routines with predictability while accounting for individual student needs.
    • I will strive to keep routines consistent across days and leverage student strengths to help them succeed with our routines. If I notice students struggling, I will seek to understand their point of view, ask what supports could be helpful, and offer supports (e.g., goal setting, motivators) to help them succeed with the routine.
  3. Providing visual depictions of routines with images representing the range of identities and cultures in the broader community.
    • I will provide visual representations of class routines and display them prominently in the classroom, allowing students to refer to them as needed. I will incorporate inclusive visuals that represent different identities, abilities, experiences, and family structures, ensuring they are respectful, accurate, and representative of students’ identities.

  1. Considering each student's strengths and needs when planning questions.
    • I will review resources on the Effective Questioning Learn More pages and explicitly plan questions for my lessons that account for all students’ abilities and interests. I will tailor questions to accommodate diverse learners and ensure the questions engage students’ background knowledge and build upon it.
  2. Using a variety of effective questions to promote engagement in learning among all students.
    • I will review resources on the Effective Questioning Learn More pages expand the ways in which I ask questions (e.g., open-ended, with visual aids) and the types of responses students can give to show their knowledge (e.g., choral, on white boards, with hand gestures, with kinesthetic manipulatives).
  3. Modeling for students how to effectively question each other.
    • I will encourage collaboration and incorporate questions that encourage students to discuss and share ideas with their peers in a respectful and curious way. I will promote and model diverse perspectives, active listening (e.g., maintaining eye contact, nodding, and paraphrasing responses), and foster reflection.

  1. Promoting diverse approaches to learning or solving a problem.
    • I will make explicit statements that communicate the value of diverse perspectives and approaches to solving a problem. I will offer learning opportunities (e.g., number talks) that allow students to find answers in diverse ways. I will encourage students to express their ideas without fear of judgment or criticism.
  2. Offering students choices across several learning activities each week.
    • I will identify specific learning activities in which I will strategically provide student choice (e.g., where to sit; topic of choice, order of task completion, level of challenge). I will provide clear instructions and guidelines for each choice.
  3. Depicting choice options in multiple formats.
    • I will consider the diverse needs and preferences of students when selecting and presenting choice options in multiple formats (e.g., visual, interactive, and digital). 
  4. Encouraging students to reflect on their choices to learn about their own strengths and needs.
    • I will guide students to reflect on their choices (e.g., "Did working with a peer help you today?; "Did sitting in a wiggle seat help or hurt your learning?"), empower them to take ownership of their learning, and recognize their strengths and needs. I will help students set meaningful goals, based on their reflections