Establishing routines wherein students continually face formative tasks can boost achievement tremendously. The frequent use of formative assessments such as the SWOT analysis technique is recommended when you, the CTE teacher, want to push your students further. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This strategy involves microteaching (.88 effect size), and strategies are designed to integrate new learning with prior knowledge (.93 effect size) (Hattie, 2009).
SWOT analysis strategies are best used to review for performance testing and can also be helpful when attempting to solve a problem. Students examine strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to gain a well-rounded understanding of any idea. Examination complete, they evaluate the given variables before taking the next step in their process.
The Strategy in Action
How it Works
- Divide students into groups. Or choose to keep the whole class together.
- Distribute a blank SWOT diagram each group. Or have students create a large version on the board or on chart paper. (Note: If you use a large diagram on the board, have students write their ideas on sticky notes. These allow you to move ideas between boxes. And as a bonus, they get students out of their seats.)
- Present students with a topic, video clip or written scenario. For example, you might show a video of an interaction with a customer.
- Say, “As a group, analyze the video through four different lenses: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Jot down ideas in each box as you go.” In the customer interaction example given, students would analyze the actions and words of the employee and gauge customer satisfaction. (Note: Don’t feel constrained to the exact terminology on the diagram. For example, if your situation does not include any threats, use the word “tweaks” instead. Leverage the tools available to help students brainstorm possible challenges.)
- Lead a group discussion of the positive and negative aspects of the topic. For a customer interaction, challenge students to suggest changes the worker could make.
For an added twist
Have student groups practice performance testing and record themselves on video. Then have groups trade videos and analyze each other’s actions using a SWOT analysis.
Final Thoughts
The SWOT Analysis is one formative tool that provides a lot of flexibility for use. You can use this as a pre-assessment, while reading or delivering content, or as a post-instruction tool. It works to emphasize collaboration, connections and synthesizing information. It also serves as an efficient tool for connecting new information to prior learning. The gist: The SWOT analysis will encourage your students to think critically; implement this strategy in your classroom today.
Sandra Adams is a teacher and instructional coach with the Career Academy, Fort Wayne Community Schools. She co-wrote the ACTE-supported bookBut I’m NOT a Reading Teacher!: Literacy Strategies for Career and Technical Educatorswith Gwendolyn Leininger. Email her.
REFERENCE
Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. London: Routledge.
FAQs
How to Use SWOT Analysis for Teachers
- Identify your strengths. Start by reflecting on your teaching experience and skills. ...
- Evaluate your weaknesses. Be honest with yourself and identify areas where you need improvement. ...
- Explore opportunities. ...
- Assess potential threats. ...
- Develop an action plan.
A SWOT analysis is the bedrock of your strategic plan
More specifically, your plan should include concrete steps to harness your company's strengths and target the opportunities identified in your analysis, says Feder.
Should it stay or should it go developing an enhanced SWOT framework for teaching strategy formulation? ›
Our fundamental conclusion is that SWOT analysis, when properly employed, continues to serve as a useful overarching framework that bridges pedagogical debates on how best to teach strategy formulation, and, as such, it remains a valuable and flexible method for training students in strategy formulation.
What is SWOT analysis in education examples? ›
A SWOT analysis is a way of understanding the Strengths and Weaknesses of your schools; the Opportunities that might be available; and the Threats that they might face. You can conduct a SWOT analysis with a variety of school stakeholders (parents, board members, staff and students etc.)
What is your SWOT as a teacher? ›
SWOT is an acronym that stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. This framework is very effective at identifying all of these factors in an organization or individual and its environment. What makes a SWOT for teachers such a great technique is that it analyzes both internal and external factors.
What is SWOT analysis and examples? ›
A SWOT analysis helps you identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for a specific project or your overall business plan. It's used for strategic planning and to stay ahead of market trends. Below, we describe each part of the SWOT framework and show you how to conduct your own.
How to present SWOT analysis in a strategic plan? ›
How to perform a SWOT analysis for solid strategic planning
- Step one: Identify internal and external factors. Internal factors (strengths and weaknesses) are within your direct control. ...
- Step two: Prioritize identified factors. ...
- Step three: Putting it all together. ...
- The end goal. ...
- The strategic plan.
Weaknesses
- Weak brand(s)
- Higher-than-average turnover.
- High levels of debt.
- Inadequate supply chain.
- Lack of capital.
- Inefficient systems, tools, processes.
- Poor customer experience, service, reviews.
A SWOT analysis focuses on Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Remember that the purpose of performing a SWOT is to reveal positive forces that work together and potential problems that need to be recognized and possibly addressed.
What is the main problem of SWOT as a framework for strategy analysis? ›
The main problem of SWOT as a framework for strategy analysis is that: Distinguishing opportunities from threats and strengths from weaknesses often difficult. It has now been superseded by more sophisticated analytical frameworks.
Disadvantages include:
- Some SWOT analysis users oversimplify the amount of data used for decisions – it's easy to use insufficient data.
- The risk of capturing too much data may lead to 'paralysis by analysis'.
- The data used may be based on assumptions that later prove to be unfounded.
SWOT Analysis helps you to identify your organization's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It guides you to build on what you do well, address what you're lacking, seize new openings, and minimize risks. Apply a SWOT Analysis to assess your organization's position before you decide on any new strategy.
What is the SWOT analysis method of teaching? ›
By using SWOT analysis in teaching learning process, we can analyze and identify the positive and negative internal (strength and weakness) and external (opportunities and threats) factors relevant to a situation to achieve our objectives or purpose.
How to use SWOT analysis to develop your learning program? ›
Here are five steps to effectively use the Learning and Development SWOT Analysis Template in ClickUp:
- Gather relevant information. ...
- Identify strengths. ...
- Identify weaknesses. ...
- Identify opportunities. ...
- Identify threats.
Potential teacher weaknesses could be:
Lack of experience in handling children. Poor communication, interpersonal, or public speaking skills. Difficulty comprehending complex student relationships and empathizing with others. Over-planning.
What is a SWOT analysis for educational goals? ›
The idea is to analyze yourself with respect to your academic strengths, academic weaknesses, opportunities for achieving your goals, and threats to achieving your goals. Be thoughtful and succinct in your responses. Your responses should be in sentence format.
What is a SWOT analysis for strategic choice? ›
SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, and so a SWOT analysis is a technique for assessing these four aspects of your business. SWOT Analysis is a tool that can help you to analyze what your company does best now, and to devise a successful strategy for the future.
Why is a SWOT analysis important in learning? ›
SWOT analysis for a student indicates the domains in which they are strong and the areas of improvement. A student can analyze what opportunities lie ahead of them through SWOT analysis and can also figure out what possible obstacles might arise.
