Atomic Teaching Habit #8: Transform Your Classroom with Goal Setting

“Begin with the end in mind.” – Stephen Covey

Road Trips and Teaching Have One Thing in Common: A Destination

I’m planning a summer family road trip that will begin in the next few days. My wife and I are still picking a final destination and plotting out some stops along the way. This is a brave undertaking with three young children and the potential for thousands of miles to travel.

We would rather board a plane, but the whole Real ID situation caught us off guard, so we’re going old school, Clark Griswold style. But before we leave, we need a clear destination. There will probably be 500 stops and unplanned events. My wife and I once added about 2 hours to a road trip searching every gas station we could find to fill a buffalo pretzel craving, which is the great thing about road trips. But all of our trips always have a goal, and we always make it.

Teaching Without Goals Is Like Driving Without a Map

Teaching is no different than my family road trip. Every teacher needs a goal for the course, the unit, and the daily lesson. Goals keep us focused, allow us to track progress, and ultimately help us lead students to achieve their goals.

Too often, though, the goal becomes just “making it to the end.” We’re asked to open the textbook to page one and get as far as we can by June. Or, the daily grind becomes about filling minutes with busy work, not true learning. I’ve been there. I understand survival mode. But survival is not the goal. Thriving is the goal. Winning is the goal. I personally love to win. I hate to just make it to the next day.

An Intentional Goal Transforms the Classroom

The Atomic Teaching Habit that can transform your practice is simple: Set a clear goal. This is the eighth goal that I’ve presented in the Atomic Teaching Habits series. If you’ve missed the other goals, you can check them out here: Atomic Teaching Habits
The goal cannot be just in your head. State it. Share it. Return to it.

Your goal should never be survival. You and your students can thrive. You should set and communicate one goal:

• for the course
• for the unit
• for the lesson

These should be student-centered learning goals that help everyone understand where they’re going and why.

Let’s Go Back to the Road Trip

Imagine I told my wife and kids to pack, we’re leaving on a two-week road trip. When they ask where we’re going, I tell them I have no idea. I just know I’ve got gas money and a couple of weeks off. Now, my wife is spontaneous, but not that spontaneous. This trip would no doubt be a disaster. A class or class period without a clear goal is also headed for disaster territory.

Now, instead, imagine this: We sit down together and choose a destination, say, a beach in Florida. Then we ask the kids what stops they’d like to make along the way based on the things that they want to do. Together, we design a shared journey.

This is no different than teaching.

A road trip with no destination goes nowhere. A class with no clear goal drifts into meaningless activity with the sole goal of filling time.

“We Will…” — A Simple, Powerful Goal Setting Formula

Try this:

In this class, we will…

That’s it. This is not the objective statements that I was taught in teacher education classes 25 year ago of “The students will be able to…” This is a we statement because you are part of the journey.

Use this for:

Course goals → In this class, we will…

Unit goals → In this unit, we will…

Daily goals → Today, we will…

Each We Statement is simple, student-centered, and clear.

Daily Learning Goals: The Real Power Move

The daily goal is the most powerful habit of all. Each class period should begin with:

“Today, we will…”

Say it out loud. Write it on the board. Make it visible.
And then at the end of class, return to it to see if you arrived at the goal together. The people in your car need to know where they’re going. It helps to have the destination in mind.

✅ Did we reach our goal today?

If yes, celebrate it. If not, adjust. This reflection becomes your built-in feedback loop and an ongoing form of student assessment.

This practice helps students leave class knowing:

• What they were learning
• Why it mattered
• Whether or not they accomplished it

No more blank stares when asked, “What did you do in school today?”

Why This Is an Atomic Habit

This daily habit helps:

• Improve lesson planning
• Increase student engagement
• Clarify learning outcomes
• Build classroom culture
• Promote metacognition and student reflection

You clearly communicate the goal, and then you work together to achieve it. It’s simple, but powerful, and too often forgotten. I cannot state enough how important it is to communicate the goal to everyone in the room all the time. It has to be upfront and drive the action from start to finish!

Your Atomic Teaching Habit Challenge

Can you begin your class with?

“Today, we will…”

I know that you can. And I know that this is a powerful Atomic Teaching Habit that can transform educational spaces.

State it. Revisit it. Make it the mission. Then at the end of class, check in. You’ll quickly see how this small change leads to more focused instruction, clearer learning, and stronger student connection.

I hope you consider adopting this atomic habit. It is a daily practice that can transform your classroom and your students’ experience.

Let’s Connect

Have you used daily goals before? Thinking about starting now?

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Drop a comment below and share your experience. And don’t forget to subscribe to my blog if you enjoy the content to get the next post straight to your inbox!