Goals for Student Teaching:

Student Teaching Goals:

For my student teaching experience, I have set a variety of goals for myself to help aid in my educational growth as a teacher and enhance my teaching effectiveness.

As I am embarking on this adventure of student teaching, I have some specific goals I have set for myself during the completion of this experience, some goals are strictly related to my Art Education experience and some are related to my Special Education experience, and then other goals I have set work both with my Art and Special Education experiences. These goals will be utilized and hopefully fulfilled through both my Art Education Student Teaching at Havre High School and my Special Education Student Teaching at Middle School. These goals can be related to both student teaching experiences and I certainly do plan to meet each and every one of these goals, and hopefully exceed my own personal expectations of this experience as well.

1.) In preparing for instruction and preparing my lessons, I would like to ensure that I am continually differentiating instruction and thoroughly addressing the needs of my students across their personal achievement levels.

•   I want to ensure that each and every one of my students that I am going to be working with whether they are a part of my Art Education experience or my Special Education experience, that they have adequate support and encouragement to help them succeed within the classroom, and to help ensure their confidence overall through their school work. 

2.) Within my establishment of the learning environment in the classroom, I would like to also ensure a positive classroom environment and maintain positive but authoritative relationships with my students. 

•   With this goal, I plan on showing my students respect within the classroom. By doing this, I plan on de-emphasizing the potential for negative influence or negative comments made and continually acknowledge the positive in both student behavior and performance. Encouraging a positive environment within the classroom can help ensure that they feel not only comfortable within the classroom and with their assignments but also confident with their personal performance in the classroom as well. 

3.) During times of instruction, when asking my students questions related to an assignment or lecture, I want to ensure that they are being given ample enough time to not only think about the question but construct an answer as well.

•   This is a goal I have developed after my first four weeks of teaching. Some constructive criticism I have received from my cooperating teacher and university supervisor is to be sure to remember to allow my students to have enough time to really think about the questions I am asking them and to not move forward too quickly before they have even had the opportunity to answer, or to not be too quick to just answer the question for them before giving them enough time to answer it themselves. My cooperating teacher has suggested using a method she has used for many years of teaching, counting to 5 before moving forward. I plan to utilize this strategy as I continue my student teaching to help fulfill this goal.

4.) A personal goal I have set for myself through both my Art and Special Education teaching experiences is to progressively become involved in both school and community activities. I want to help ensure my colleagues and students that I am invested in the school and community that I am very invested in this experience and grateful to be a part of the school district I am working with as well.

•   With this goal, I am working with the high school’s Art Club and will begin helping with homecoming preparations and participating in New Teacher welcome socials, and different in-service opportunities and staff meetings. I know that it is essential to actively be a part of a school district in a multitude of ways, and I want to make sure that I am showing my students, colleagues and supervisors that I

5.) My final goal for now is to maintain an appropriate balance between having a personal and professional relationship with my students in both Art Education and Special Education.

•   As an educator, I know how important it is for your students to be able to not only feel comfortable with you and your classroom but it is also equally important to remain as an autoreactive figure for your students as well. I certainly want my students to feel comfortable with me and to enjoy coming to my classroom, but I also need to remember that I can’t be their friend, I am their teacher first and foremost and that because of this, sometimes you have to be what they may consider to be “the bad guy” or a “strict and old school teacher” but by maintaining appropriate professional and personal relationships with my students I can find an appropriate balance for that. Finding that balance can not only help ensure their success within my classroom but my success as their teacher.

As I continue with this experience, I know that these goals will change in different ways or that I will add more to them, and as that comes about I plan on making adjustments to them. But I will still continue to have this original goals I have set for myself on my blog and adjust them as needed. I also know and understand that as I begin each new year of teaching with new students that these goals will change greatly as well, and some will remain just the same, but I wouldn’t be human or a good educator if I wasn’t willing to admit that the goals will need adjustment as I trudge along on this journey, and as an educator, especially a new educator I owe it to my current and future students to work on achieving these goals to help ensure their success and my own as well.