When you’re setting goals for yourself as a teaching assistant it’s important to keep in mind 2 things: what the teacher you’re working with needs and what the students you’re helping to teach require.

It’s important that you get to know the teacher you’ll be working with and their needs around the classroom. Try asking what you could to help them out in a way that suits them (and you!), so that you can work better together.

Some teachers or schools might want a more active teaching assistant that participates heavily in lessons, while others might opt for a more hands-off approach where you’ll only be handling specific tasks. Whatever the case, it’s important to know where you’re needed before you start setting goals for yourself. Try asking yourself what can you achieve in your role with your current responsibilities. What tasks can you do to help deliver learning in the classroom?

You should have some idea of what each of the students in your class requires and how you can best help them to learn as you spend time with them in the classroom. When you’re setting your goals try to centre your students and what they need to progress. Can you think of any particular students that require more help? Is anyone struggling with the work they’re set? Having an answer to questions like this can help to inform your goal setting and what you need to focus on. 

Now that you know the basic principles of SMART goals and what you should be keeping in mind when you’re setting your own SMART goals, we’re going to go over a few examples to give you a better idea of how you can get started.