The key components of the SMARTER routines

Select critical outcomes: What is really critical and important for students to learn to truly understand this information? Goals and interests of learners should determine content.

Map critical content: How can the information be organized into chunks? Create a map to show how the information will be presented and it can serve as a road map for learning.

Analyze for learning difficulties: Consider difficulties in acquiring information, storing and retrieving information, expressing information and demonstrating competence. What might make this information difficult to learn (is it too abstract, is it relevant, is there prior knowledge, is it too complex)?

Reach enhancement decisions: What instructional tools can be used to reduce the level of difficulty (graphic, story, concrete aid, mnemonic, analogy, comparison to prior knowledge)?

Teach strategically: Provide informed and explicit instruction. Inform learners about the device, and why and how it will be used. Explicitly cue them that the device is being used, review what has been learned and how it has been learned. The use of the device in this CUE-DO-REVIEW manner creates the teaching routine.

Evaluate mastery: Determine if the material has been learned - don't wait for the test, do an on-the-spot reality test. Once this is done, either review or go on.

Revisit outcomes: If a learner has not mastered the critical content that has been selected, what does that say about the instruction? Was the device ineffective?¹⁰

When organization is not clear or is poorly structured, learners need to have the organization made more explicit for them.