Q: “I’m an instructional coach working with some fantastic teachers who are technically doing everything right: They post learning targets and success criteria on their boards daily. But when I observe their classrooms, I see a disconnect. The targets feel like compliance rather than conviction. How do I help teachers move beyond just writing them up to truly understanding and leveraging these powerful tools to transform student learning?”
– Seeking deeper implementation
A: You’ve hit on one of the most common challenges instructional coaches face today. That gap between compliance and conviction is where the real magic of teaching happens – and where student learning transforms. The good news? You’re not alone in this struggle, and there are proven strategies to bridge this divide. New Kappan columnist Connie Hamilton does a session about learning targets where she addresses how merely putting a learning target and success criteria on the board doesn’t change student behaviors. If we want students to have clarity and buy-in, we must use the learning targets and success criteria throughout a lesson so that students internalize the objective. It took me a long time to realize this as a teacher because I was never actually taught how to write an aim, objective, or learning target when I first started teaching. It took a while before I saw the purpose and started adjusting what I was doing. From there, I could provide a target or two and then co-construct success criteria with students. This co-construction allowed students to know if they were successful throughout the lesson.
Start with the “Why” before the “What”
Before diving into techniques, let’s address the fundamental issue: Many teachers see learning targets and success criteria as another administrative requirement rather than instructional power tools. Begin your coaching conversations by exploring these essential questions:
- What happens in your classroom when students truly understand what they’re supposed to learn and how they’ll know they’ve learned it?
- How might clear targets change the way students approach their work?
- What would it feel like if every student could articulate exactly what they’re learning and why it matters?
These conversations help teachers reconnect with the purpose behind the practice. When they envision students becoming self-directed, confident learners, the targets transform from compliance items to empowerment tools.
Make It Personal and Practical
Teachers are more likely to embrace practices that save time and reduce stress. Show them how well-crafted learning targets and success criteria make teaching easier. Consider co-creating during planning sessions to model the behaviors you want to see them do. Instead of telling teachers what to write, sit with them during planning and ask, “What’s the one thing you want students to walk away understanding today?” Then, help them frame it in student-friendly language. From the work you do with teachers individually, develop a bank of high-impact targets. Work with your teachers to create a shared resource bank of effective learning targets and success criteria organized by subject and grade level. This reduces the daily burden while maintaining quality and consistency. Lastly, remind them to focus on the verbs. Help teachers analyze their targets. Are they using measurable, observable verbs? “Understand” is vague; “explain,” “compare,” or “create” are actionable. This small shift makes success criteria much easier to develop. They can consult Bloom’s Taxonomy for language around complexity.
From Display to Dialogue
The real power emerges when targets move from static displays to dynamic classroom conversations. Students need to understand and be a part of the conversation. It has been my experience that when learners are engaged with the why, what, and how of learning, they rise to the experience. Here’s how to make that happen:
- Implement the Three-Minute Target Talk: Train teachers to dedicate the first three minutes of class to discussing the target and success criteria. This means not just reading them but having students restate them in their own words and ask clarifying questions.
- Create student-friendly versions: Work with teachers to translate academic language into student vernacular. For example, a target that says, “analyze textual evidence to support claims” becomes “find proof in the text to back up your ideas.” As students become more adept at this, we can task them with rewording targets in a way that makes sense to them. This can be a do-now or bell-ringer activity.
- Build in reflection moments: Schedule brief pauses where students assess their progress against the success criteria. “Thumbs up if you’re confident, sideways if you’re getting there, down if you need help” provides instant feedback. Other checks for understanding can be found
Evidence Over Compliance
Shift the focus from “Did you post it?” to “How is it working?” During classroom observations, look for evidence that targets are living tools:
- Are students referring to them during work time?
- Are they using the success criteria to self-assess?
- Can they articulate what they’re learning and how they’ll know they’ve learned it?
Make sure to collect student voice as evidence to support that the targets are doing what we want them to. Have teachers occasionally ask students, “What are we learning today?” and “How will you know you’ve learned it well?” The answers reveal whether targets are truly guiding learning.
When we see these things happening, we must celebrate small wins. When you know a teacher effectively uses targets to redirect a lesson or help a struggling student, point it out! “I noticed how you used the success criteria to help Jamal understand what quality work looks like – that was powerful.” You can even ask them if wouldn’t mind sharing what’s working in the next PLC or staff meeting.
Build a Culture of Collective Efficacy
This isn’t about fixing individual teachers but building a community of practice. Consistency is key to building student efficacy in their own learning. One strategy we can use is creating peer observation opportunities.
Arrange for teachers to visit colleagues who are effectively using learning targets. The authentic examples often speak louder than coaching advice. Additionally, we can develop teacher-led workshops to support the initiative. As mentioned earlier, identify your “target rock stars” and have them lead mini sessions on their best practices. Peers often learn best from each other. And to this end, we can use video exemplars to set up microteaching opportunities for teachers. Record short clips of effective target implementation (with permission) for professional learning sessions. Seeing it in action makes abstract concepts concrete.
The Long Game: Sustainability Over Perfection
Remember that this is a journey, not a destination. Some days will be better than others, and that’s okay. The goal isn’t perfect implementation every day, but consistent growth over time. Most importantly, we want to ensure that teachers understand why we are asking them to engage with this practice and that they are trying. We also have to make sure that we provide feedback and support often. Additionally, providing examples and non-examples can help improve the efforts over time.
Final Action Step: Measure progress, not perfection
Track not whether every teacher has perfect daily targets, but whether more students can articulate what they’re learning and how they’ll know they’ve succeeded. That’s the objective metric that matters.
You’re asking the right questions at the right time. Your seeking deeper implementation rather than surface compliance tells me you’re the kind of coach teachers need. Keep believing in the transformative power of clarity and remember that our most critical learning target might be our own: to help every teacher see that these aren’t just words on a board, but the roadmap to student success.
If you have an issue that you want me to address, please email me at ssackstein@educatorsrising.org or fill out this form. You will be kept anonymous.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Starr Sackstein
Starr Sackstein is the Massachusetts state coordinator for PDK’s Educators Rising program, COO of Mastery Portfolio, an education consultant, instructional coach, and author. She was a high school English and journalism teacher and school district curriculum leader. She is the author of more than 15 educational books, including Hacking Assessment (Times 10, 2015), Making an Impact Outside of the Classroom (Routledge, 2024), and Actionable Assessment (Routledge, 2026).
Visit their website at: https://www.mssackstein.com/
