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# SMART criteria

After the exam, it is very important to review your learning style and set up new goals to make yourself better. You may check your exam paper and see which part went wrong, and think about how to improve it.

The [SMART criteria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria), or [SMART goals](https://blog.summitlearning.org/2019/01/tips-goal-setting-habits/), are a set of guidelines to make sure your goals are appropriate. Here we explain each criterion and provide a sample goal on learning to solve a system of linear equations.

**==S==pecific** – What do I want to accomplish?

- Learn how to solve a system of linear equations.

**==M==easurable** – How will I measure the achievement of my goal?

- In the end, I should be able to solve _any_ given system of linear equations.

:::info

Notice that for mathematics, you "know" something means you can handle "any" problems of the same type.
:::

**==A==chievable** – What are the specific steps to reach my goal?

- Read the article *[How to solve a system of linear equations?](https://hackmd.io/@jephianlin/HkM6o-cAh)* and watch the relevant videos on [Learning resources](https://hackmd.io/@jephianlin/2023FMath103A-resources).
- Make a question on my own every day and practice it.
- Make sure to double check if my answer is correct.

**==R==elevant** – How does this goal relate to my long-term goals and interests?

- Solving a system of linear equations is a fundamental skill in mathematics.
- It is the same as finding the kernel.
- It can be used to determine if a vector is in a span or not.
- It can be used to determine if a set of vectors is linearly independent.

**==T==ime-bound** – When do I want to complete my goal?

- I will run this plan for one week.

*This note can be found at Course website > Learning resources.*