From Goals to Grades: The Habit-Building Formula Every Student Teacher Needs

Nonkululeko Maringa

April 15, 2025

Success as a student teacher isn’t built overnight, it is built through building habits. As Covey (1989) explains. The simplest way to achieve any goal is to break it down into small, manageable steps. If your goal as a student teacher is to pass all your modules with higher grades at the end of semester, then you must set sufficient time to study every day.

As a student teacher, you will be most likely to achieve your academic success if you can normalize breaking down your goals into consistent and daily achievable habits. Below are four basic simple steps you can follow in building any good habit:

Building Habits for Academic Success

The 4-Step Habit Loop Explained

1. Cue – Trigger the Right Routine

The first step in building a better habit is “cue’’. A cue signals your brain that a reward is coming and it’s time to act. Your brain constantly scans for cues that signal a reward. For students, these cues can trigger habits that support academic success. For instance, students can create a designated study environment that serves as a cue for focused academic work. This could be a specific study area in your dorm room, library, or a chosen café. The environment itself signals to your brain that it’s time to study, helping you get into the right mindset more easily and promptly.

2. Craving – Fuel Your Motivation

The second step in forming a good habit is craving. Cravings are what drive habits. When you crave something, you’re not craving the action itself but the feeling it gives you. For example, as a student teacher, studying is not what you crave, but passing modules with higher grades is the ultimate reward. During this step, visualize success and build a strong desire to achieve your goals. This can be done by constantly visualizing the benefits of achieving their goals, such as improved grades and career opportunities, etc.

3. Response – Take Purposeful Action

The third step in forming a habit is the response. This is the actual behavior you engage in, whether it’s a thought or an action. Your ability to perform the behavior is crucial. A habit can only form if you have the capability to do it. Response as a habit building step for tertiary students can entail meeting deadlines for certain assessments. This can be done by creating a system for tracking deadlines, prioritizing tasks, and planning, which guarantees timely submission and completion.

4. Reward – Reinforce and Reflect

Lastly, the response leads to a reward, which is the aim of every habit. The cue is about recognizing the reward, the craving is about desiring the reward, and the response is about achieving the reward. We pursue rewards because they serve two main purposes: they fulfill our desires, and they educate us. As a tertiary student, you can set a specific academic goal such as reading a certain number of chapters daily or completing assignments ahead of deadlines. Then you can reward yourself with something enjoyable or motivating after achieving your goal such as a favorite treat or leisure time, each time you achieve a milestone. Regularly rewarding yourself, no matter how small the achievement, helps to establish a habit of completing tasks and acknowledging your accomplishments.