Completed Teacher Work Sample
Post on 26-Mar-2016
215 Views
Preview:
DESCRIPTION
Transcript
Running Head: Teacher Work Sample 1
Katie Holmes
November 29, 2011
First Grade
Social Studies – Long Ago and Today
Louisiana State University
EDCI 4481
Teacher Work Sample 2
Table of Contents
Contextual Factors ………………………………………………………………............ 3
Learning Goals and Assessment ………………………………………………………… 8
Design for Instruction …………………………………………………………………...13
Instructional Decision Making ………………………………………………………….21
Analysis of Student Learning ……………………………………………………………23
Reflection and Self – Evaluation ………………………………………………………..33
Teacher Work Sample 3
Contextual Factors Community Factors
Northwestern Elementary School is located at 4200 Rollins Rd., Zachary, LA
70791, in East Baton Rouge parish. The city of Zachary has a total land area of 23.7
square miles. The population of Zachary, according to the 2010 census is 14, 960 people.
According to the 2010 census, the population is composed of 61.66% Caucasian, 35.42%
African American, 1.48% Hispanic or Latino, 1.33% 2 or more races, .83% Asian, .44%
other race, .31% Native American and .01% Pacific Islanders. The median age of the
Zachary population is 34.4 years old. The median household income is $72,517 with the
unemployment rate of 6.8%. The community of Zachary, according to the numbers is
stable in employment and income, which indicates the population of the school and
community, should not fluctuate throughout the year. The community around Zachary is
supportive of the school and participates in informational nights as well as donating items
to better the school, such as box tops or other materials.
District Factors
Zachary serves as its own school district, rather than serving all of East Baton
Rouge Parish. Zachary separated from the East Baton Rouge Parish school board in 2002.
Zachary school board serves six schools, 4,618 students pre –k through 12th grade. The
current expenditures of the Zachary school district are $8,030 per pupil. 60% of this
money goes to instruction, 34% on support services and 6% on other expenditures. The
school district has 15 students for every full – time teacher. The school board requires all
students in the school district to wear school uniforms. The Zachary school district has
Teacher Work Sample 4
been ranked as the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education as the top
school district in the state since 2005.
School Factors
Northwestern Elementary school has a total of 766 students, all being in
kindergarten or first. The race/ethnicity breakdown of the school population is 52.9%
Caucasian, 45.4% African American, 1% Hispanic, and .7% Asian. The school has 314
students who receive free lunch and 72 students who receive reduced lunch. The area
surrounding Northwestern elementary is supportive of the school. Many family members
volunteer in classrooms and around the school. The school has events that involve the
family and community, such as AR and Math night, as well as an open house at the
beginning of the year. Because the community surrounding the school is stable, the
classroom is stable and modifications for a fluctuating classroom population will not have
to be made. Because the surrounding community is safe and stable, it makes involving
the family and community in the education of the students at Northwestern Elementary
easier. This stable community and involvement of families and community positively
influences the education of the students at Northwestern Elementary.
Classroom Factors
The classroom is filled with brightly colored materials; it is rich in literature. The
classroom seems cluttered with materials necessary to meaningful instruction. The walls
of the classroom are covered with useful resources for the children, such as colors,
number/number line, coin amounts, their names, birthdays, months and days of the year,
word wall and many other things that the children can use to further their learning. Rather
than having all the desks be uniform, the desks are adjusted to the children’s personal
Teacher Work Sample 5
size. This allows the students to be comfortable in their desk and will allow them to give
their full attention to instruction. The classroom has four computers, an overhead
projector, a CD/tape player and a television and VCR. The classroom has nine stations
available to the children during station times.
Families are allowed to volunteer on any day during the school year, to help with
various activities, as well as attend and chaperone field trips. The families are invited to
participate in informational nights, such as math and AR night. The parents receive
weekly antics, so they are aware of what their child is learning for that week. The antics
give activities and skills so the families can practice skills and reinforce what the school
is teaching their child. Parents are also invited to eat lunch with their children; this shows
the child that their family is welcome and important at their school and vice versa.
The classroom rules are as follows: 1) Follow the teacher’s directions, 2) Keep
your hands, feet and objects to yourself, 3) Talk only with permission, 4) Stay in your
assigned area. The schedule in the classroom is very flexible, based on the children’s
understanding of a certain skill. The children attend ancillaries throughout the week,
including computer lab, guidance or library and music. Restroom breaks must be
scheduled due to a new school rule that children cannot walk down the hallway alone.
This interrupts instruction time and line activities must be planned so time is not wasted
standing in the hallway. The students are grouped in both reading and math levels. There
are four reading levels, each containing six children. The high group reads on levels 6 –
8. The low group reads on levels 1 -2 and the other two groups are on level. There are
only two math groups, a high and a low.
Teacher Work Sample 6
Student Characteristics
There are 24 children in the classroom, ranging from age 6 – 7. The class is made
up of 13 boys and 11 girls. 12 of the children are Caucasian and 12 of the children are
African American. Four of the students attend speech to help develop oral and receptive
language. Three children attend reading intervention, two of which are in tier II
intervention and one being in tier III. There is only one child with an IEP in the
classroom. Reading levels vary from students who are unable to identify letters to
students who can read independently.
The majority of the students in the class learn best when they are presented with
hands on activities and are allowed to move about the classroom. These children are
kinesthetic learners. There are a few students who prefer to work alone or sit at their desk
and work. Many of the students would prefer to draw a picture to describe their idea and
then attempt to write a sentence accompanying the picture. These students are visual
learners. 2 children in the class finish things very quickly and need other activities or
instruction to stay occupied, while a few students must be reminded of directions or
encouraged in order to finish the activity in a timely manner. The students come from
different educational experiences as well as different home situations. Their prior
knowledge is varied based on these two life components. The combination of these two
experiences must be taken into consideration when planning instruction and attending to
each individual child’s needs. The children’s interest will influence my plan for
instruction. If the students show certain interest in a particular time period in the past or
become interested in certain artifacts or ways of life, I will adjust the lesson plans to
Teacher Work Sample 7
include the students’ interests. Planning around the interest of the students will make the
lessons more meaningful and engaging for the students.
Instructional Implications
Because there is a mixture of learners in the classroom, I will try to incorporate
hands on activities and visual aids. Some students prefer to work in groups, while others
prefer to work alone, therefore opportunities for small group, whole group and
independent practice will be created. Instruction will be differentiated to accommodate
the various levels of development in the classroom. I will use preferential grouping or
partnering when students are working in groups, so that peer-to-peer help can be
implemented. Activities will be planned for students who finish quickly, so they do not
become bored. When planning instruction I will be sure to accommodate the
requirements for the IEP.
The parents and community at Northwestern are very involved and supportive, so
I will plan to involve and incorporate families and communities as much as possible. I
will do this by sending home activities the parents can work on with their children or
families can come to the classroom and participate in activities at the school. Technology
will be integrated into the unit because it is readily available in the classroom. The topic
of past, present and future will be a good way to learn about the individual student’s
lives, as well as their background.
Teacher Work Sample 8
Learning Goals and Assessments
Learning Goals:
LG1: Increase vocabulary to describe different periods in time. (i.e. past, present,
future)
LG2: Identify similarities and differences of life through time.
GLE’s: 1st grade Social Studies
1. Use words to describe time (past, present, future) (H-1A-E1) 2. Identify similarities and differences in families over time (e.g., structure, roles of
women, men, and children) (H-1A-E2)
The learning goals I have chosen are aligned with the Louisiana grade level
expectations for first grade social studies. The social studies benchmarks for history
and historical thinking skills are appropriate for the time long ago unit, because it
addresses all necessary skills first graders should learn regarding history. These
goals allow for differentiation and can be adjusted to accommodate all types of
learners. Pre – requisite knowledge is important in the outcome of these learning
goals because knowing and understanding what past and present means will affect
the way the students accomplish the goals. Assessing the prior knowledge of the
students based on these subjects and learning goals, will allow me to differentiate
instruction based on what skills that child needs the most help on.
The goals are relevant to the children’s lives because the children will be able
to use their personal experiences to better understand the concept of past and
present and how time changes life and the aspects of life. These learning goals will
prepare the students for history and social studies in later grades.
Assessments
Teacher Work Sample 9
Pre – Assessment
To determine what each child knows about the past, present and future, the
children will complete an activity in which they will determine which pictures are of
present day and which pictures are from the past. The children will sort through the
pictures and correctly place the pictures on a board indicating past or present. This
assessment will inform me of the children’s understanding of the words past and
present and determine if they can distinguish between past and present pictures
based on similarities and differences. Each correctly placed picture will be worth
one point. I will ask the students to explain their reasoning for placing the pictures
in their chosen areas. If the students recognize similarities and differences in the
pictures, the explanation will be worth one point. The students will give their
definition of past and present. If this is close to the dictionary definition, or shows
they have a clear understanding of the past and present. Students will receive 2
points for full understanding of the words, 1 point for understanding of either past
or present or 0 points for not understanding either of the words.
The students were given an option to write/draw their answer to the
questions asked during the assessment. This was one accommodation made to
differentiate the assessment plan. I conducted the assessments one at a time to
individual students so that I could observe the children sort and classify the pictures
and interview the children individually and get exact quotes and thoughts from each
student.
Teacher Work Sample 10
Formative Assessment:
The students will have daily journal topics to write about pertaining to life in
the past, present or comparing/contrasting the two. Students will also complete
open ended question sheets through out the lessons to assess what they are
learning. Students will participate in class discussions about different aspects of past
and present life and will be assessed through teacher observation.
Summative Assessment:
The students will be asked the same question as the pre – assessment. The
students will also complete the pre – assessment activity in which they sort and
classify pictures into past or present. I will compare the papers and number of
correctly identified pictures from pre and post assessments to determine if the
lessons were successful.
Teacher Work Sample 11
Learning Goal Assessment Format of Assessment
Adaptations
LG1: Increase vocabulary to describe different periods in time. (i.e. past, present, future) LG2: Identify similarities and differences of life throughout life.
Pre – assessment
Formative
Summative
The student will provide their own definition of the words past and present through and individual interview. Students will sort and classify 10 pictures on a chart identifying them as past or present. Students will receive 1 point for each correctly placed picture out of a possible 10 points.
Provide the student adequate answering time. Provide visuals of past and present times but do not identify which is which. Allow extended time and repeated directions based on individual needs of the child. Provide further explanation of the visuals.
Fully Understands Past/Present (2 points)
Somewhat Understands Past/Present (1 point)
Does Not Understand Past/Present (0 points)
Gives a reasonable definition of past and present
Gives a reasonable definition for either past or present
Gives an unreasonable definition of past and present
Past – Time that has already passed; time long ago Present – occurring at this time, currently happening
Teacher Work Sample 12
Visual of Pre – Assessment Picture board
Past Pictures Present Pictures
Teacher Work Sample 13
Design for Instruction
After reviewing the assessment results, I can tell the students do not have an
understanding of past and present. LG1 should be focused on before the students can
engage in activities for LG2. The beginning lessons will need to focus on the
understanding of LG1. The understanding of past, present and future will be necessary
before the students can understand LG2, similarities and differences of life throughout
time.
After reviewing the results of the pre – assessment for LG1, the children should
be placed in 2 separate groups for teaching instruction. The children who had a full
understanding of both past and present (score of 2 points) will have differentiated
instruction in which the activities focus on things and lifestyles of past and present rather
than the definition. The children who scored less than 2 points on the pre – assessment
will be in a group so they can build an understanding of the terms, past and present before
they participate in more advanced activities. This differentiation of instruction will
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23
Learning Goal 1
Points Earned
Possible points
Teacher Work Sample 14
provide each child with the skills they need to understand time long ago to the best of
their ability. The “high” group is small and therefore lessons can easily be adapted to
challenge them enough to keep them engaged.
After reviewing the pre – assessment results for learning goal 2, I noticed 15 of
the children scored 7 points or higher out of a possible 10 points. This group of children
was able to recognize items and pictures that belong in the past and present. The
remaining 9 children scored less than a 7 on the pre – assessment need more explanation
of why certain items are from the past and others are in the present. This could be caused
by their lack of understanding of the words past and present and these two groups need
differentiated instruction and activities. The students could have also guessed correctly,
rather than honestly knowing the answer. To be sure the students completely understand
the concept of past and present and the similarities and differences between the two, I
would not differentiate the instruction in groups to start off. I would teach the same
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23
Learning Goal 2
Points Earned
Possible points
Teacher Work Sample 15
activity to the entire class, or a few activities to get a better understanding on which
students truly understand and which students just happened to guess correctly.
Unit Overview
November 7 – Introduce past, present and future and the definitions (LG1)
• Read My Great Aunt Arizona discuss when the book was set and create a chart
discussing the differences in , transportation, communication, technology, school,
games/toys, way of life, means of food, and chores. (LG1 and LG2)
• Students will view different pictures and decide if the items are from the past or
present or what items from the past serve the same purpose as items from the
present (LG1 and LG2)
November 8 – Walking field trip around the community.
• Read the book Long Ago and Today, discuss how the town may have looked
different in the past and why (LG2)
• Show pictures of Zachary long ago have students discuss if some of the things we
saw today looked the same or how they have changed over time, jobs, buildings,
transportation etc. (LG2)
November 9 – Guest Speaker – discuss the past
• Write a journal entry of how their life would be was if they were children during
the same time period as the speaker (LG2)
• Introduce timeline to prepare for the lesson the following day. (LG1)
• Read Samuel Eaton’s Day and discuss the chores he did on a daily basis. Give
examples of chores, have students decide if the chores are past, present or both.
(LG1 and LG2)
Teacher Work Sample 16
November 10 – Making Timelines
• Discuss the important events of the students’ lives, which are from the past, what
is in the present. (LG1 and LG2)
• Children will construct their timeline using the sheet they have completed with
their parents. (LG1)
• Read Toys and games Then and Now and discuss timeline and toys from the past
and present (LG1 and LG2)
November 11 – Fun Friday Activity / sharing our timelines
• Sharing and discussing our timelines (LG1)
• Making Butter (LG2)
Technology: I will use the computer to show various pictures and websites to engage the
students in learning about past, present and future. The students also have time to use the
computer and websites during stations.
Stations: I changed the stations to make them more relevant to the theme of time long
ago.
Stations:
Art- Loom weaving
Writing – book making and pioneer dictionary
Computer – various past and present websites
Pocket chart – past, present and future definitions and past and present picture sort
Teacher Work Sample 17
Activities:
Introductory Lesson – Past, Present and Future
This activity will introduce the concept of past, present and future and the theme
for the week.
• Hold a class discussion of the meaning of past, present and future. Ask they
students their definition of the words. After explaining some of the words have
multiple definitions write the definition of past, present and future on sentence
strip and display them at the front of the classroom.
o Read My Great Aunt Arizona and discuss the transportation,
communication, games, technology and chores and way of life depicted in
the book.
o After reading complete a chart comparing the past and present
transportation, communication, technology, way of life, games/toys and
chores. Students will use their own experiences to compare their life to the
lives of the character in the path.
o As a follow up activity the hula hoops will be set up with various pictures
and objects in each. Allowing the higher students to compare items from
the past and present and decide which items serve the same purpose
differentiated the activity. The lower students will go to labeled hoops that
have only two objects or pictures and record which item would be used in
the past. The students will have an opportunity to do the higher or lower
activity with the help of another student.
§ The recording sheets are different for each group
Teacher Work Sample 18
Guest Speaker
This activity will give the children a chance to learn about the past from the guest
speakers experience through their life in the past. This will give the students an
understanding that these people had a very different childhood than the students are
living now. The writing activity after the speakers will show what the students have
learned.
• Two guest speakers will inform the children of how their life was in the past. The
students had 2 days of learning of past and present prior to the speakers coming.
They were able to look at artifacts from the past and ask questions to gain more
knowledge of what life was like in the past.
o Following the speakers the students were asked to write a story of what
their life would be like if they were 7 years old during the same period as
our guest speakers and how their life would be different.
Butter Making activity
This activity will give the students a hands on way of understanding the hard
work it was to have to make your own food and the differences in the ways we get our
food today and the way people in the past obtained food.
• The students have seen various ways of making and obtaining food in the past. I
will allow the students to look and use a real butter churn. I will explain the
process of making butter, show a video of churning butter and explain we will be
making butter, but in a slightly different way. I will play a butter churning song
while the students “churn” their butter.
Teacher Work Sample 19
• Two students will share a glass jar with whipping cream in it, I will tell the
students we will shake the cream. I will ask the students to make a prediction of
what they think will happen after we shake the cream. After the butter is made,
we will eat the butter on the homemade biscuits we cooked the day before. After
eating, we will discuss that in the past people had to go through all the work we
just did if they wanted butter. They couldn’t just go to the store and buy some.
Did the students enjoy this activity, why or why not?
Technology: Computer and projector to display video
Use computer to listen to butter churning song
Timeline Activity
This activity will relate the concept of past and present to the children’s own
personal lives and give them an opportunity to see that everyone’s pasts and lives are
different and also allows the students to see how their pasts and present lives have
similarities and differences.
• Prior to creating the timeline, the students will have been exposed to different
timeline and will have read and discussed the purpose of a timeline. The students
completed a timeline sheet of important events with their families.
• After showing my own personal timeline I will discuss the important events of the
children’s lives and explain how we will be constructing the timelines. The
timelines will be numbered as well as the pictures.
Teacher Work Sample 20
• After completing the timelines, the students will be allowed to share the timelines
with the class if they choose to do so.
These activities are directly related to the learning goals I set for this unit of time long
ago. These activities were designed to accommodate all learning styles, including visual,
audio and kinesthetic. The activities also incorporated opportunities for group
collaboration and teamwork as well as individual activities. The activities were relevant
and relatable to the students’ lives and their community.
Teacher Work Sample 21
Instructional Decision Making
Our class took a walking field trip around Zachary. After the field trip I had
planned to discuss what we saw on the field trip and compare the town how it was in the
past to how the town looks in the present. While reading a book, that discusses the
differences between the past and present, one student expressed that he was confused
about how the town was different because some things from the past were still here
today, such as the historical village and the train depot. I realized the students didn’t
understand that some things and places from the past are carried over and used in the
present. After one student expressed this confusion others seemed to be confused by it
also. Because of this confusion we discussed that some things are still here from the past,
but they are used in a different way.
I showed the students pictures of the train depot from the past and read what it
was used for from a book about Zachary in the past. After discussing what it was used for
the in the past, we discussed what we saw in the train depot early that day and what it is
used for today. I explained that even though some buildings are still here from the past,
they are used for different things and can change in different ways. I think this visual aid
and discussion helped the students better understand the similarities and differences of
past and present and that things from the past are still used today, but maybe in different
ways. This change in instruction helped the students reach learning goal 2, understanding
similarities and differences of life through out time. One child’s question brought about a
teachable moment in which, I think the entire class benefitted. The change in instruction
was just a change in what we were discussing and the materials used.
Teacher Work Sample 22
While creating their individual timelines, a few of the lower students were
confused on the order in which the events should be placed on the timeline. To address
this situation, I gathered the class and we reviewed chronological order of events, past
and present and I showed my timeline as an example. We discussed as a class what
happened first, being born or the first day of school and other events in the same manner.
After discussing which came first, we talked about the years that accompanied the event
and that the smaller numbers were the first events.
This review of the main ideas enforced learning goal 1, past and present
vocabulary, and learning goal 2, similarities and differences by relating the 2 goals to
their own personal lives. The connection to the students’ personal lives made it more
understandable, than just thinking of the past as events that have already passed and
present as happening today, but that they each have their own past and present and
everyone’s is different. The students’ were also able to realize different events in the past
could be happening at the same time as well as different events in the present.
During the presentation of the students’ timelines I had planned to break the
presentation of timelines into sections so the students would not get restless, but they
were so engaged they asked to continue presenting until everyone had finished. I took
advantage of their interest and gave the students the option to read their events from their
timelines, or discuss the picture that accompanied the event. This slight change in plans
was lead by the students’ positive response to the presentation of their timelines. I think
this improved their progress toward the learning goals, because they were able to explain
their past and present and similarities and differences between the past and present in
their own words. This also gave the children a chance to teach and learn from their peers.
Teacher Work Sample 23
Analysis of Student Learning
Whole Class
The following table and graph shows the progress the students made in regards to
learning goal 1, increase vocabulary to describe different periods in time. (i.e. past,
present, future). The students received 2 points if they correctly defined both past
and present, 1 point if they correctly defined either past or present, and 0 points if
they could not correctly define past or present. The table and the graph show that
19 of the 24 students met the full criterion at the post assessment, after instruction
they were able to define both past and present. 19 students reaching full criterion is
a vast improvement to the 4 students who were able to define the terms during the
pre – assessment. 1 student did not improve from pre to post assessment and the
remainder of the class improved from pre – post assessment, but did not meet the
full criterion of explaining both past and present. The graph and table show the
progress of each individual student towards learning goal 1. Overall, the table and
graph proves the class reached learning goal 1 and could correctly define past and
present.
Teacher Work Sample 24
Learning Goal 1 Student Pre- Assessment Post Assessment
1 2 2 2 1 2 3 2 2 4 1 2 5 0 2 6 2 2 7 0 2 8 0 2 9 0 0 10 0 2 11 0 2 12 1 2 13 1 2 14 1 2 15 0 1 16 1 2 17 0 1 18 0 2 19 0 2 20 0 2 21 1 2 22 2 2 23 0 2 24 0 2
Teacher Work Sample 25
The table and graph below show the students’ progress towards learning goal 2,
identify similarities and differences of life through time. The students received 10
points if they were able to correctly place various pictures in the past or present.
The student received 1 point for each correctly placed picture. 22 of the students
met full criterion of correctly placing all 10 pictures during the post assessment. The
remaining 2 students improved from their pre – assessment score but missed
reaching full criterion by 1 point. The graph and table shows evidence that the class
reached learning goal 2 and was able to distinguish between items and events in the
past and present using knowledge of the similarities and differences between the
two time periods.
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23
Learning Goal 1
Points Earned-‐ Pre
Points Earned Post
Teacher Work Sample 26
Learning Goal 2 Student Pre- Assessment Post Assessment
1 7 10 2 6 10 3 7 10 4 9 10 5 7 10 6 9 9 7 5 10 8 6 10 9 6 10 10 8 10 11 6 10 12 8 10 13 0 10 14 8 10 15 5 10 16 9 10 17 7 10 18 9 10 19 8 10 20 5 10 21 8 9 22 9 10 23 3 10 24 7 10
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23
Learning Goal 2
Pre Assessment
Post Assessment
Teacher Work Sample 27
Subgroups
I chose to analyze the progress of students toward learning goal 2. The analysis is
based on students’ performance level of high versus low-level students. The level of high
and low is based on the student’s pre – assessment scores. Low-level students are
students who scored 5 points or less on the pre – assessment. The table and graph below
depict the high and low groups’ progress toward learning goal 2. After analyzing the
results of both subgroups, I realized that overall, the low group showed more
improvement as a whole. The high group, showed significant improvement as well, but
some of the students who scored high on the pre – assessment scored the same on the
post assessment or improved by only 1 point. When you look at the high group graph, it
appears that some students performed worse on the post assessment, whereas the low
group graph shows complete improvement of all students. Both subgroups improved
from pre to post assessment towards reaching learning goal 2.
Student Low Pre - Assessment Low Post Assessment
7 5 10
13 0 10
15 5 10
20 5 10
23 3 10
Teacher Work Sample 28
Student High Pre - Assessment High Post Assessment 1 7 10 2 6 10 3 7 10 4 9 10 5 7 10 6 9 9 8 6 10 9 6 10 10 8 10 11 6 10 12 8 10 14 8 10 16 9 10 17 7 10 18 9 10 19 8 10 21 8 9 22 9 10 24 7 10
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
1 2 3 4 5
Low Pre and Post
Low pre
Low Post
Teacher Work Sample 29
Individuals
I chose 2 students, student 8 and student 22, who performed very differently
based on assessments through out the unit. Student 22 is a high student and met the full
criterion on both the pre and post assessments for both learning goals. Student 8 correctly
identified 6 out of the 10 pictures during the pre – assessment for leaning goal 2. He
received 0 points during his assessment for learning goal 1. Student 8 improved
significantly from pre to post assessment for learning goal 2. Student 8 met full criterion
for learning goal 2. Student 8 showed no improvement from pre to post assessment
regarding learning goal 1.
During the pre – assessment I took notes on the students’ definition of past and
present and their rationalization of why they placed certain pictures in the past and certain
pictures in the present. This was helpful in understanding how that student learns, what
they know and gave them an opportunity to explain their thinking. From observing
Student 8 during the pre – assessment I realized he focused more on the pictures, which
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
High Pre and Post
High Pre
High Post
Teacher Work Sample 30
he placed the majority of correctly, but could not explain why he put the pictures where
he did. He also struggled to provide a definition of what he thought past and present
meant. This was important because it showed me he is a visual learner, but that he needed
an opportunity to practice oral language and expressing his thoughts and explaining his
thinking. Student 22 was knowledgeable on the subject of past and present and was able
to identify the pictures correctly and explain why he did so. Realizing he had basically
reached the 2 learning goals, I knew I needed to think of ways to challenge him while still
including him in the classroom unit and activities.
I administered a formative assessment after an activity, discussing past and
present. The students were asked to go to different areas and identify which item was
from the past (Low group) or identify which items served the same purpose in the past
and present (high group). After this activity I asked Student 8 to explain how he knew
which items were from the past, this gave him an opportunity to verbalize his thinking.
Student 8 received the assessment for the lower group because he needed to understand
the basic concept of past and present before applying it to critical thinking skills, which is
what the high group assessment was. I gave different assessments based on the students’
pre – assessment scores. Student 22 took the assessment for the high group in which he
found different items from the past and present that served the same purpose. This
activity, while still addressing both learning goals required more critical thinking than
simply identifying the item from the past. Making this assessment different allowed me to
see each student’s level and decide if future activities needed to be simplified or made
more challenging.
Teacher Work Sample 31
Student 8 showed improvement from pre – assessment to formative and post
assessment for learning goal 2, recognizing similarities and differences between past and
present, this was probably due to the fact that most activities had pictures accompanied
with them. Student 8 did not show improvement from pre to post assessment for learning
goal 1, which may be due to the fact that he had to verbalize the meaning or explain an
example of past or present. Although the 2 learning goals were related and it is assumed
that if a student can place pictures in past and present categories that they know the
meaning of past and present; this was not the case with student 8, but I think it was due in
large part to the way the information was communicated.
Student 22 started out meeting full criterion during pre – assessment and
continued on this path during post assessment. He showed full understanding at the
beginning of the unit as well as the end of the unit. During post assessment he was able to
explain the difference in past and present better than in the pre – assessment.
Teacher Work Sample 32
Examples of student work
Student 22 – Post assessment Student 8 – Post assessment
Student 8 – Formative assessment Student 22 – Formative Assessment
Teacher Work Sample 33
Reflection and Self – Evaluation
The students in my class were the most successful in understanding Learning
Goal 2. The majority of the students correctly placed 5 or more pictures during the pre –
assessment. I believe the students performed better on this learning goal because they had
an idea of what past and present meant, but struggled to verbalize the meaning of the
words. Another explanation of the success with learning goal 2 is, the students guessed
correctly, or made their own criteria for sorting the pictures, such as sorting the pictures
based on what they would like to receive as a present and the left over pictures were
placed in the past because there was nowhere else to place them.
The post assessment showed improvement from the pre – assessment, only 2
students did not reach full criterion, but still showed improvement. I believe instruction
and planning contributed to this improvement in achieving learning goal 2. During my
past and present unit, we had many discussions in which the students and I gave
examples of events and items from the past and present. I also brought in many artifacts
to show, as well as pictures of items and we, as a class would identify if these items were
from the past or present. The guest speakers that came to speak to the class brought
various artifacts and discussed the use and time the items were from. There were many
opportunities provided to see and experience similarities and differences between the past
and present. We also created graphs and charts comparing the past and present. The
walking field trip contributed to the success of learning goal 2 because the students were
able to experience past life in present day.
The less successful learning goal was learning goal 1. All the students improved
from pre – assessment to post assessment with the exclusion of one student. I think
Teacher Work Sample 34
overall this learning goal was just more difficult for the students to express their
understanding. I taught specific definitions of the words and we reviewed them multiple
times a day, but I also allowed the students to give alternate meanings for past and
present as long as the meanings made sense in defining the words. I do no think the pre
and post assessment were an accurate description of the students understanding of past
and present because the students obviously did well on learning goal 1, and without an
understanding of past and present the improvements would not have been so great from
pre to post assessment. I think the way in which I assessed their knowledge of learning
goal 1 could have been improved to make the assessment more hands on so they would
not have to depend on their ability to explain the meaning of a word. I asked certain
students to give examples of the past and present if their definitions were difficult to
understand; I think doing this gave me a better idea of their understanding. In the future I
would make the assessment more individualized so that I can better assess students’
learning who struggle with oral communication.
During my Teacher Work Sample I learned, I need to focus most on improving
classroom management skills and parental involvement. I need to make a bigger deal of
getting their attention before giving instruction. I need to use an authoritative voice that is
also kind in order to get the students’ attention. I learned during my Teacher Work
Sample that misbehavior can be prevented if clear expectations are set before starting an
activity and that if I do not get their attention, then I am to blame for misbehavior or
misunderstanding. Classroom management is important for successful instruction.
Parental involvement is an area in which I need improvement also. I realized
during this time that not all parents are easy to communicate with. As a student teacher I
Teacher Work Sample 35
feel it is more difficult to communicate with parents. Sending notes home does not
always work, because parents do not respond, phones and email is not always accessible
to families and home and school visits are sometimes inconvenient for families. Although
parental involvement is difficult at times, as an improvement I will plan to ask each
parent the most convenient way to contact them, I feel that letting the parents dictate
how we communicate may encourage more free – flowing communication. I have learned
multiple ways of communicating with parents, and that parents respond positively to
feedback on their child that is positive. I plan to improve parental involvement by trying
to form relationships with the parents of my students early in the semester so they will be
more likely to communicate. Overall I believe the unit and instruction were successful,
but I did identify some areas in which I need to improve.
top related