Teaching goals are the fourth and final teaching philosophy statement component that we will be examining. An important follow-up after you articulate how you go about collecting evidence of the impact of your teaching is sharing how you have used or will use that evidence to refine your philosophy for future teaching goals. For example, if your summative student feedback for a course suggests that you did not incorporate enough variety in terms of the types of assessments you used, one goal you might want to set for yourself would be to include a few different types of assessments in the course the next time its offered.
Another way in which you might get ideas for which goals you’d like to set for yourself can be through comparing your teaching beliefs and teaching methods. Perhaps you indicate that you highly value the case study methodology, but you rarely use it in the lessons you develop. One goal for yourself could be to include more case studies in your lessons in the future.
The goals you set for yourself can be short term, as in the example about case studies, intermediate term, as in the example about assessments, or long term. An example of a long-term goal may be securing full time employment as a tenured track professor.
The goals you set should demonstrate that you approach your teaching with a growth mindset – that you are eager to continue to grow and develop as an instructor. In this vein, you may wish to be specific about how you plan to do this. For example, will you:
- Join a particular community of practice, working group, or society?
- Attend a specific conference?
- Read specific scholarship on teaching and learning?
- Take a particular online module, workshop, course, or program?
- Earn a specific micorcredential, certificate, diploma, or degree?
As in the case with writing a teaching philosophy statement, establishing teaching goals is an iterative process. You should continuously revisit the goals that you set so you can evaluate your progress, revise, and set new goals accordingly.
Pause for Reflection
What is one short-term goal/aspiration you have as an educator? What is one long-term goal/aspiration you have as an educator? Answer these questions, and more (Kenny et al., 2021), in the Teaching Goals section of the Crafting a Teaching Philosophy Statement: Worksheet.
References
Kenny, N., Aparicio-Ting, F., Beattie, T., Berenson, C., Grant, K., Jeffs, C., Lindstrom, G., Nowell, L., & Usman, F. (2021). Teaching Philosophies and Teaching Dossiers Guide: Including Leadership, Mentorship, Supervision, and EDI. Calgary, AB: Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning Guide Series.