Going into student teaching with two or three clear goals gives you a way to tell, week by week, whether it is going well. This chapter is for teacher candidates about to start their placement: how to write SMART goals that come from your teaching philosophy, why you should tell people about them, and how to measure and celebrate your progress. It builds on Chapter 16 on your teaching philosophy, and there is more on the placement itself in the student teaching guide.
This is Chapter 17 of 51 from Road to Teaching (2025 edition). Read the whole book free, in order, at Read the Book.
By Dr. Eric Hougan
“When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing, then we truly live.”Greg Anderson
Student teaching is where the rubber meets the road. After years spent studying, practicing, and revising your pedagogy, it is now time to put it all to the test. However, as you begin, you may wonder to yourself, “How will I know if I am successful at student teaching?” A simple and practical way to measure this is by setting clear and quantifiable goals before you begin, monitoring your progress throughout your practicum, and celebrating your growth. Alternatively, entering this experience without a clear vision of where you are headed will potentially leave you, as one teacher candidate described it, “blindly muddling through student teaching”. Therefore, it is wise to think carefully about what you want to gain from this culminating experience before you step foot into the classroom.
Refer back to the education process of building a foundation of knowledge, applying that knowledge to teaching, and reflecting on how to improve. Goal setting is at the heart of this ongoing process of learning and professional growth. Every teacher (and student teacher) should be continually identifying areas in need of improvement to maintain a high level of efficacy in the classroom. The process is straightforward and cyclical: Set specific goals to meet that area of growth, work passionately to meet those goals, measure the results, and then begin again with another area in need of improvement. This process of goal setting, action, and evaluation should be evident in the educator’s work, from lesson planning to professional development plans.
How to Set Effective Goals
To begin setting your goals, first set aside time to review your education philosophy statement. Again, this philosophy statement should encompass your vision on how you will support your students and their learning, and for how you will manage your classroom. And, by extension, your student teaching goals should align with your philosophy. To illustrate this point, referring back to the previous sample philosophy statement, the Ohio State teacher candidate wrote:
My role as a teacher is to give children the tools with which to cultivate their own gardens of knowledge. To accomplish this goal, I will teach to the needs of each child so that all learners can feel capable and successful. I will present a curriculum that involves the interests of the children and makes learning relevant to life. I will incorporate themes, integrated units, projects, group work, individual work, and hands-on learning in order to make children active learners.
Examining this part of her philosophy, a potential supportive goal could be to boost student engagement. More specifically, the teacher could set a goal of implementing a hands-on, multidisciplinary unit that is based on the students’ interests during student teaching. When setting your student teaching goals, follow the SMART criteria to ensure they are:
- Specific: Clearly defined and focused
- Measurable: Include concrete criteria for tracking progress
- Achievable: Realistic given your current skills and the timeframe
- Relevant: Connected to your philosophy and professional growth needs
- Time-bound: Include deadlines and milestones
For example, instead of setting a vague goal like “improve classroom management,” a SMART goal might be: “By week six of student teaching, I will implement and consistently use three specific classroom management strategies (entrance routine, attention signal, and transition procedure) with 90% student compliance as measured by daily observation notes.”
Proclaim Your Goals
We all need encouragement and gentle reminders of what we are working towards. First, write down your goals (aim for 2-3) and describe how you will measure them. Second, post your goals where you will see them every day—inside your visor in your car, on your bed stand, or taped to a mirror. In this way, you get a daily reminder of your goals. Moreover, it is extremely refreshing to cross off goals from your list as you accomplish them. Over time, you will be proud to see all that you have achieved.
Last, but not least, communicate your goals to someone else. This person could be your cooperating teacher, your university supervisor, or a mentor. By putting your goals into the public domain, you are holding yourself accountable and you are more likely to follow-up and meet those goals.
Consider creating a goal-tracking system that works for your learning style. This might be a digital document, a physical journal, or even a vision board with visual representations of your goals. Some teacher candidates find it helpful to create weekly or bi-weekly check-ins with themselves to assess progress and make adjustments as needed.
Digital tools can also support your goal-setting process. Apps like Todoist, Any.do, or even simple calendar reminders can help you stay focused on your objectives. Many teacher candidates also benefit from sharing their goals on professional platforms or with peer support groups for additional accountability and encouragement.
Evaluate Your Effectiveness
Once you set goals that are measurable, challenging, attainable, and that support your philosophy, monitor and evaluate your progress in meeting those goals. Monitoring encompasses various qualitative and quantitative measures, such as observations, surveys, student work, testing, and performance evaluations.
Take the earlier example and imagine you are working towards the aforementioned goal of increasing student engagement. You formatively assess student engagement by having students regularly self-report engagement levels on exit slips. You further use observations and 1-1 conferences to assess the level of student engagement. With ongoing monitoring, you can assess the results and continue to adjust your teaching until you have reached the established goal.
Data collection doesn’t have to be overwhelming or time-consuming. Simple tools like:
- Student exit tickets with engagement rating scales
- Brief video recordings of yourself teaching for self-reflection
- Weekly reflection journals documenting progress
- Feedback from your cooperating teacher during informal conversations
- Student work samples that demonstrate growth over time
Remember that evaluation should be ongoing, not just a final assessment. Weekly mini-evaluations allow you to make course corrections and celebrate small wins along the way.
Celebrate Your Growth
As you diligently work towards your goals, keep in mind the brain’s natural tendency towards a negativity bias. It is human nature to focus more on the bad that happens to us while completely ignoring the good. Teachers can be especially susceptible to this mindset as each day in the classroom can bring on a new set of challenges that will continually test your beliefs about your strengths and abilities.
Therefore, for each goal you accomplish, take a moment to appreciate the hard work it took to get there. Give yourself time to relax, reflect, and celebrate each accomplishment. This practice of taking time to celebrate growth is an important part of self-care as it helps minimize your risk burning out. Celebration doesn’t have to be elaborate or expensive. It might be:
- Treating yourself to a favorite meal or coffee
- Sharing your success with a supportive friend or family member
- Taking time for a favorite hobby or relaxing activity
- Writing in your journal about what you learned through the process
- Creating a visual representation of your progress to look back on
Document your celebrations and reflections. Not only does this create a positive record of your growth, but it also provides material for future job interviews when you’re asked about professional development and goal achievement.
Remember that goal setting in student teaching isn’t just about proving your competence—it’s about developing the habits of continuous improvement that will serve you throughout your teaching career. The skills you develop in setting, pursuing, and evaluating goals during student teaching will become invaluable tools for your ongoing professional growth.
Set SMART goals aligned with your educational philosophy and share them publicly for accountability. This systematic approach to goal-setting will help you focus your efforts, measure your growth, and develop the habit of continuous improvement that defines excellent teachers.
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