10 Professional Goals to Improve as a Teacher

As teachers, we want to do our best. We want to be the best in the classroom, the best at making connections. As well as, the best at making learning enjoyable. This means setting new goals to achieve, and not being afraid to make mistakes. Here are 10 Professional goals for teachers to help the avoid burnout:

Avoiding Teacher Burnout

To avoid burnout, I recommend spending an hour every morning writing down “10 Professional Goals to Improve as a Teacher”. These goals relates to both your work and your personal life, so that you don’t take them personally. It motivates you to be creative and not let one goal dominate your entire day. Instead, you’ll be able to take on the challenges that come your way, while making sure you balance your life. For example, you could write a goal of participating in a workshop on the topic, or you’d like to take on an internship abroad. Either way, you will see that the goals that come up on your list will change every few months.

Using Tech Tools

Recently I’ve come to recognize how powerful tools like Pinterest can be. It has given me management tips, favorite lesson plans, and great curriculum resources. Here are a few of my favorite Pinterest boards to check out:

Behavior Management, Curriculum, and Technology.

In my own classroom, I share information on my Pinterest boards. Sharing this is a great way to show parents that you’re invested in their child’s learning experience. Using new tech tools is a professional goal teachers should definitely add to the list of 10 Professional Goals to Improve as a Teacher.

Joining an Online Community of Teachers

For many teachers, being in a professional community is a great help to avoid burnout. Teachers can talk with others who share the same experiences. Joining an online group, like through Facebook is a way for Teachers to not only speak about their students’ learning but also to look out for their own health and well-being. You can plan to meet and chat once a week, to check-in and encourage each other. You can vent frustrations, talk about burnout, and find suggestions on what helped others like you. In these online professional groups, you’re working with other people to help make improvements.

Building Strong Relationships with Your Fellow Teachers

Fourthly, it’s common for teacher burnout to lead to unhappiness in the classroom. But building relationships with other teachers can help you get through these challenging times. A group of teachers can get you through sticky situations and inspire each other. You can share ideas, knowledge and most importantly, life stories with one another. You can get some advice from your friends, and you can build that bond between the other teachers at your school. We all have that one teacher who pushes us to excel and help us reach our goals.

Adding More Fun Activities to Your Lesson Plan

I know you’re probably thinking that it is hard to add more fun activities to your lesson plan, but I can assure you that this is definitely possible. Whether you do it at home or at school, trying new things can improve your student learning experience. Remember that fun doesn’t have to be costly. You can do something to add fun to your lesson in ways that are free, fun and yet very effective. These ideas include:

Introducing a quiz box
Rewards such as points and prizes,
Gymnastics boards (including a balance beam and obstacle course).
Entertainment such as silly string
Performing skits or stand-up comedy Anything that engages your students, because as they say, “Learning happens in common sense.”
You can also use social media and technology to create your own fun activities.

To discuss more about how learning happens through play, check out this article by one of our EduMEE teachers, Theresa Yankovoy.

Incorporating New Teaching Strategies to Avoid Burnout

The simplest way to improve as a teacher is to add new techniques or innovative approaches to your lesson plan. Here are a few techniques that I use regularly.

Enriching the curriculum through technology
Imagining how new teaching strategies can change learning
Changing expectations to make learning fun
Use more interactive, hands-on activities to engage students
Use cutting edge technology for every lesson
Create a syllabus that outlines the focus of the entire semester
Build a new process or strategy that is more engaging

EduMEE has wonderful teachers who use many of these strategies to offer interactive, hands-on, and engaging learning experiences that are enriched through the technology of Minecraft Education Edition and gaming.

Becoming a National Board Certified Teacher

A professional goal for teachers might be to become a National Board Certified Teacher, you must be:

An elementary teacher who is planning to teach an elementary general education course in the next two years IEP qualified
Currently teaching in a school
Eligible for certification by becoming a member of NBEA, an organization that promotes professional excellence for teachers in North America

NBEA member teachers that teach K-12 are required to renew their certification every two years. If you are already a National Board Certified Teacher, you do not need to renew your certification. Being a National Board Certified Teacher isn’t just a title, it’s a designation that has real meaning and will help you professionally advance as a teacher.

Working Abroad as an Exchange Teacher to Avoid Burnout

Many teachers have experience teaching abroad before entering the classroom, and this is a great professional goal for teachers. As a teacher you will be able to see other countries, cultures, and learn languages! Whether you live in the U.S. or abroad, working abroad as an exchange teacher is a rewarding way to improve your skills as a teacher. Select the number of countries that you want to go to, but you will most likely have to live there for at least one school year. Also, you can choose where you want to go. Choose a school, or select a certain town. You can be near mountains or in the desert. Go to a high school or a university. Live in a city or to a remote mountain village. Along with teaching, there are several ways you can earn extra income while you are living in a different country.

Attending Symposia, Retreats, Conferences, Seminars, Webinars and Other Events for Teachers

These events are excellent ways for teachers to take a break for themselves to learn new methods, improve teaching skills, find new opportunities, learn new technology, network and communicate with like-minded people, gain encouragement, and refresh your passion and love for teaching.

Inviting Parents of Your Students to Collaborate

Your students’ parents want to see you succeed as a teacher.

Ask them what they need, how they can support you, and what they want their child to get out of your classroom.
Be patient with yourself Set short-term goals to avoid burnout
Track your progress, using a variety of resources
Aim to complete new things every quarter
Even if you don’t do everything that you planned on doing, you will always be learning.