Week 2 - Coaching Peers to Develop Smart Goals


For this week's blog, I worked with two peers who had very similar goals. Both planned to use the Read&Write for Chrome extension tool to help students with their skills. Learning to use Google Read&Write supports the development of expressive language and written communication, both in person and in virtual learning environments. My own goal was a little broader since it involved multiple tools, but it was also about supporting students with learning disabilities using technology tools. We each gave feedback to each other, but for this blog, I will focus on one of the two.

Sarah's smart goal was: Students will use the word prediction and speech-to-text features in the Google Read&Write Chrome extension to assist in composing complete sentences during virtual writing assignments. Students will independently write a 5-sentence paragraph using the tool, with 80% accuracy in grammar and sentence structure within 8 weeks, as evaluated by a weekly writing rubric. 

Steps

1) The teacher will model the use of Read&Write to write a paragraph

2) The teacher will provide scaffolded practice and will evaluate the results using a weekly writing rubric

3) Students will activate the tool independently within 8 weeks.

Interestingly, all three of us had selected the Kolb Triple E Framework for our work, which has educators consider how much a technology tool will engage students, enhance learning, and extend it beyond the classroom. Our goals were focused on using technology to enhance the learning of students by providing individualized support with writing or learning via technology. This support may also engage students more in the learning as they become increasingly successful or meet fewer barriers. Teaching them to use the tools independently also means they can continue to use the tools outside school, so it also extends the learning.

This SMART goal relates to the following ISTE standards for students:

"Empowered Learner 1.1: Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving, and demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences. 1.1.b Customized Learning Environments: Students build networks and customize their learning environments in ways that support the learning process". (ISTE Standards for Students, 2024)

It also relates to this ISTE standard for educators: 
"2.5.a Accommodate Learner Differences
Educators use technology to create, adapt, and personalize learning experiences that foster independent learning and accommodate learner differences and needs." (ISTE Standards for Educators, 2024)

In the process of our collaboration, we employed a number of the ISTE standards for coaches but one that stands out to me is the following, since our collaboration focused on supporting accommodations for struggling learners:
4.4.c Collaborate to Accommodate Learner Needs
Coaches collaborate with educators to design accessible and active digital learning environments that accommodate learner variability. (ISTE Standards for Coaches, 2024)



REFERENCES

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). (2024). ISTE Standards for Educators. https://iste.org/standards/educators

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). (2024). ISTE Standards for Students. https://iste.org/standards/students

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). (2024). ISTE Standards for Coaches. https://iste.org/standards/coaches

Kolb, L. (2020). Triple E Framework. Retrieved from: https://www.tripleeframework.com/

Read&Write (literacy support tool) https://www.texthelp.com/products/read-and-write-education/ (image above is from that web page)





Comments

  1. Sarah KAugust 30, 2025 at 6:28 AM

    Very well written summary of our group collaboration! I appreciate how you connected the SMART goals not just to one but all three different levels of ISTE standards. I agree that it's interesting we all three had picked Kolb's Framework. I think that demonstrates why I picked it - it's flexible, easily adapted to many learning environments, while still being impactful.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amanda WalderAugust 31, 2025 at 8:01 AM

    I really liked reading about the SMART goal you and your peers developed, especially because it was so specific to supporting students with learning disabilities. I think the use of Google Read&Write is such a practical choice since the features like word prediction and speech-to-text can really lower the barriers for students who struggle with writing. What stood out to me most was how your plan included modeling, scaffolding, and then independent use within 8 weeks. It feels very realistic and teacher-friendly, while still pushing students toward independence.

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  3. Mr. FryAugust 31, 2025 at 2:28 PM

    I love read and write! Truly nothing makes students with reading struggles more included than this program. My favorite part of this is the use of your steps. Modeling is a great way to inspire students to use a feature because they get to see it in action. I would wonder what independently using looks like for your students? Having a clear vision of what success looks like makes measuring goals a lot easier!

    ReplyDelete
  4. J. Lawrence CarterAugust 31, 2025 at 9:01 PM

    I have never used Read&Write but your description of how it could be used would be something I would be interested in integrating. I have residents that utilize talk to text technology that this would really help them with possibly learning not only how to read but how to better express themselves through their writing.

    ReplyDelete

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