507 TWS 1-3
Mississippi Valley State University – Teacher Work Sample Folio
Work Sample Folio
Table of Contents
Contextual Factors…………………………………..Section 1
Learning Goals……………………………………….Section 2
Assessment Plan……………………………………...Section 3
Contextual Factors
STUDENT TEACHER ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT
(TIAI)
CLASS DESCRIPTION
Stephanie Pleasant Leflore County Elementary
5th Grade Social Studies 12:50 – 1:35
1. Age range of class:
The students’ ages range from 10 to 12 years of age. There are nine 10 year olds, three 11 year olds, and one 12-year-old.
2. Ability range (SPED, remedial, average, advanced/accelerated, or specify range in percentiles or grade equivalents):
The class is very diverse in ability range. Of the 13 students, 5 are on the remedial level, 6 are on the average level, and 2 are on the advanced level.
3. Socioeconomic and diversity description:
There are 4 girls and 9 boys. Of the 13 students, 10 are African- American and 3 students are Hispanic. Most of the students are from low socioeconomic settings. Of the 13 students, 6 are from middle-income families, and 7 are from low-income families.
4. Typical demeanor of students:
Most of the students are attentive and does well with staying focused during instructional time. Each student is required to submit a self- motto at the beginning of the school year and twice a month to reflect back on their motto to help them stay on task and in reach with their goals. This technique will allow me to know the goals of each student so I know what motivates them as a whole.
5. Typical interests and involvement of students:
Over half of the class is very active in extracurricular activities that was created in the community such as football band, dance, and cheerleading. As a result, I use hands-on activities as a re-enforcement after instructional time. This technique allows the students to take what they have learned and apply it to real life through hands-on activities.
6. Prior relevant materials studied (immediately before TIAI unit):
Prior to teaching the lesson on analyzing the development of the foundations of the American democracy, the students were taught how geography, economics, and politics have influenced the United States as a global community.
CONTEXTUAL FACTORS
The teacher uses information about the learning-teaching context and student
individual differences to set learning goals and plan instruction and assessment.
TASK
Complete the class description and provide a narrative describing additional relevant factors and how they may affect the teaching-learning process. Include any support and challenges that affect instruction and student learning
Knowledge of community, school, and classroom factors:
Leflore County Elementary School is located at 401 Lakeside Drive in Itta Bena, Mississippi, in Leflore County. As of 2020, the population was, 1749, with 90.16 percent African American, 8.74 percent white, and two or more races 1.10 percent. Itta Bena is currently declining at a rate of -1.69% annually and its population has decreased by -14.64% since the most recent census, which recorded a population of 2,049 in 2010. The Greenwood Leflore Consolidated School District (GLCSD) consists of 12 schools. This district serves the towns of Itta Bena and Greenwood and the surrounding towns of Sidon, Morgan City, and Schlater, Ms. There are 3,914 students enrolled in this district with 49% being female and 51% being male. As of 2020-2021 Leflore County Elementary School (LCES) which is the school I am currently employed is graded an F school which places them on Academic Watch for the following school year. LCES has provided ways parents can stay involved in their child/children learning process. They have created a website that has the school calendar and events posted, links to school information through Canvas, provided laptops and home based programs to assist with continuation of learning at home. This allows parents to view the notes posted by the teachers each week and help them to be prepared for each school day.
Although the pandemic shifted the traditional way of learning, there were advantages in allowing virtual learning to be an option used for teaching. Now, students have the opportunity to be taught virtually or in person. The virtual option does provide relief to those parents who fear sending their child to school during the pandemic. Although this option is presented to parents of the GLCSD, procedures are in place to prevent failure by allowing students to only miss three days of virtual. If students continue to be absent from virtual learning, they must report back to the school in person. Parent participation is extremely low at LCES. Previously, we have offered incentives for students, an option to visit the PBIS store, dress out of uniforms, provided tokens of appreciation to the parents that attended meetings, and many other methods to try to get more involvement from parents.
The classroom environment has mostly been comfortable for our students even throughout the issue with air conditioning. LCES serves Pre-Kindergarten-6th grades and is relatively small with an enrollment of 300 students. The building is old and could use several upgrades to the bathrooms and classrooms. Despite the old building, the inside is kid-friendly with color bulletin boards and doors for a welcome invite for our students and visitors. Due to CDC guidelines, classrooms have been arranged to meet the Covid-19 guidelines. Initially desks were spaced 6 feet apart so space was limited. It has now been changed to 3 feet apart which gives more room and opportunity for more students to be in the classrooms. Technology is available in each classroom, promethean boards and laptops are used daily. Routines and schedules have been created to keep an orderly and safe school environment. Each teacher has provided and posted rules and expectations of the classroom
Lesson plans are posted outside of the classrooms and updated each week to reflect what instruction will be taught during that week. Due to the pandemic, scores were tremendously low in Reading and Math on state assessments. English Language Learners, Special Education and Language and Speech students are all pulled from each classroom daily to receive one on one instruction. Some students have special accommodations we must adhere to which are followed using Individual Educational Plans (IEP) and 504 plans. We currently have 30 students receiving services through the Multi-tiered System of Support (MTSS). These students receive interventions up to four times weekly for no more than an hour. The reason these students are receiving these services is due to failure of a grade, failure on state testing, to prevent failing, or referral by parent or teacher. To provide the necessary services for all students, teachers must differentiate instruction and monitor students closely to ensure the needs of each student is met.
Knowledge of students’ varied approaches to learning:
A learning styles inventory was issued at the beginning of the year to ensure that the units are prepared in the best form to accommodate all learning styles. It is vital for students to learn in a comfortable environment and is able to comprehend. This is an advantage to the students because they are able to perceive the units in many different customs to ensure they grasp it in one way or the other. There were more visual learners than aural learners so I incorporated more hands-on activities into my lesson plans.
Knowledge of students’ skills and prior learning:
Preceding this unit, the students were taught how geography, economics, and history have influenced the political development of the United States, how the interaction of the different branches of American government and how the Constitution and Bill of Rights embodies the principles of American democracy. The previous unit introduced the students’ to what is being taught in the current unit. We will further explore the federal system by explaining the separation of powers through checks and balances.
Implications for instructional planning and assessment:
Students are offered many programs and opportunities to excel in the classrooms and any endeavors that they may have. LCES has after school tutoring if needed for students who are struggling academically or need the extra help, gifted programs that serve as an enrichment for students who are more advanced in some areas, remediation for students taking standardized tests, and open house that allow parents to establish a relationship with the teachers and keep them updated on their child/ children learning process.
There are 13 students in which 5 are on the remedial level, 6 are on the average level, and 2 are on the advanced level. For instructional purposes, they are sectioned off into four groups of five. All of the remedial level students are placed in one group so they are able to work at a slower pace than the other groups and help to not be repetitive in instruction if they are separated. All of the advanced students are placed in one group to help ensure that no child feels that their behind in the unit. The advanced group usually finishes faster than the other groups but an enrichment worksheet pertaining to the unit is issued to help them stay focused on the task at hand. The remaining 10 students are separated into two groups and these groups help to identify whether the unit was successfully taught or if there is additional instruction required. The unit is always taught through lecture and direct instruction but the learning styles test that was issued to the students help to identify whether additional preparation should be made for lecture. There were 8 kinesthetic learners, 5 visual learners and 7 auditory learners. This information concluded that the use of PowerPoint lectures, group projects, and hands-on activities in addition to the automatic lectures and direct instruction were the best solution to ensure that every student’s learning style is being met.
SECTION 2 LEARNING GOALS
LEARNING GOALS
The teacher sets significant, challenging, varied, and appropriate learning goals.
TASK
Provide and justify the learning goals for the unit.
PROMPT
In your response, address the following:
1. List the learning goals (not the activities) that will guide the planning, delivery, and assessment of your unit. These goals should define what you expect students to know and be able to do at the end of the unit. The goals should be significant (reflect the big ideas or structure of the discipline), challenging, varied, and appropriate. Number or code each learning goal so you can reference it later.
1. Show how the goals are aligned with local, state, or national standards.
1. Label the levels of your learning goals.
1. Discuss why your learning goals are appropriate in terms of development, pre-requisite knowledge, skills, and other student need.
Learning Goals
Learning Goal #1 : Students will obtain basic knowledge of the U.S. Constitution. With at least 70% accuracy, the student will identify parts of the U.S. constitution that
were taken from the Virginia Plan and New Jersey Plan when presented with a copy of
the constitution.
DOK Level 1
Learning Goal #2 : Students will identify and compare the three branches of government DOK Level 2
Learning Goal #3: Students will be able to distinguish how each branch of government is separate in its powers to the other branches of government. DOK2
Discuss why your learning goals are appropriate in terms of developing perquisite knowledge, skills, and other students’ needs.
· In learning goal number one, students will learn about the constitution and its importance to history. In doing so, students will be able to name the different functions of the constitution and be able to recite The Preamble to promote patriotism and citizenship of their country. This will ensure that each student is knowledgeable of their civil rights.
· In learning goal number two, students will identify the three different branches of government and be able to distinguish the major differences in each. This will be done through direct instruction to prepare them for the group project that will be assigned for the week. This will ensure that each student has the basic knowledge of the subject to help impact the overall achievement of the group project.
· In learning goal number three, students will be divided into three groups which each of them will be representing one of the branches of government. This will give the students a chance to get more involved with the subject by taking what was previously taught and re applying it in a hands-on approach.
Show how the goals are aligned with local, state, or national standards:
Learning goal #1: 1a/e
1. Explain how geography, economics, and history have influenced the political development of the United States. (C, H, G, E)
a. Trace the historical development of the United States political system
e. Describe the American economic system of capitalism and how it impacts the American way of life.
Learning goal #2: 1d
1. Explain how geography, economics, and history have influenced the political development of the United States. (C, H, G, E)
d. Describe the interaction of the different branches of American government on American society.
Learning goal #3: 1d/2b
1. Explain how geography, economics, and history have influenced the political development of the United States. (C, H, G, E)
Analyze the United States federal form of government. (C, H)
Identify the structure of the United States federal system according to the Constitution and its amendments (e.g., separation of powers, checks and balances, judicial review, etc.).
SECTION 3 ASSESSMENT PLAN
ASSESSMENT PLAN
The teacher uses multiple assessment modes and approaches aligned with learning goals to assess student learning before, during, and after instruction.
TASK
Explain your assessment plan to monitor student progress toward learning goals. Use multiple assessment modes and approaches aligned with learning goals to assess student learning before, during, and after instruction. These assessments should authentically measure student learning and may include performance-based tasks, paper-and-pencil tasks, or personal communication. Describe why your assessments are appropriate for measuring learning.
PROMPT
In your response, address the following:
1. Provide an overview of the assessment plan. For each learning goal, include assessments used to judge student performance, the format of each assessment, and adaptations of the assessments for the individual needs of students based on pre-assessment and contextual factors. State how you will keep a record of individual progress on each objective of this unit.
1. Describe the pre- and post-assessments that are aligned with your learning goals. List the pre-assessment procedure planned for this specific unit. Describe how you will conduct a summative evaluation. Clearly explain how you will evaluate or score pre-and post-assessments, including criteria you will use to determine if the students’ performance meets the learning goals.
Provide an overview of the assessment plan:
Throughout the unit, many forms of assessments will be used to determine the effectiveness and knowledge retention of the students. Within the teachings of the lesson, informal and formal assessments will be used to maintain student progression throughout the lesson. This information is evident in the independent practice, guided practice, culmination, and follow-up. During independent and guided practice students will be observed and monitored during teaching. Various questioning techniques and observations will be used to complete these assessments.
My learning goals are based on the overall achievement level of my students and the pace of their learning. Majority of the learning goals are self-formulated around the state curriculum to fit the learning styles and meet the needs of the students. This was determined through teacher evaluation of the assessment.
In learning goal number one, students will learn about the constitution and its importance to history. In doing so, students will be able to name the different functions of the constitution and be able to recite The Preamble to promote patriotism and citizenship of their country. In learning goal number two, students will identify the three different branches of government and be able to distinguish the major differences in each. This will be done through direct instruction to prepare them for the group project that will be assigned for the week. This will ensure that each student has the basic knowledge of the subject to help impact the overall achievement of the group project. In learning goal number three, students will be divided into five groups where each of them will be representing one of the branches of government. This will give the students a chance to get more involved with the subject by taking what was previously taught and reapplying it in a hands-on approach. These three learning goals were evaluated based on the group project that was evaluated by a rubric.
The groups were divided according to their academic level. The advanced students were placed in a group together, the average level students were placed in a group together, and the remedial level students were grouped together. This gave me a chance to serve as a facilitator to ensure that each child were able to understand the assignment. Furthermore, this benefits my remedial level students by allowing me more time to get them on the same level as the mass majority of the class. Learning goals one through three also gave the students a chance to interact with one another on different levels.
The evaluation of my learning goals varied according to the assessment. I incorporated different methods of evaluation because it will give me more ways to critically determine whether the students’ needs were met and how well direct instruction, grouping, and higher order thinking worked for the entire class. For example, some of the students may be good test takers but can’t interact socially to master a group project. By allowing more than one way to evaluate benefited the students as well as me.
Describe the pre-and-post assessments that are aligned with your learning goals:
The purpose of the pretest is determining the knowledge level of the mass majority of the class. This will help me identify the needs of the students and to know what to incorporate in my lesson plan. A 16 question pretest designed around the upcoming subject was given to the students for instructional purposes only. The results showed that most students lacked the basic knowledge of the constitution and forced me to include level one of the depth of knowledge chart into my lesson plan and goals for the class. At the completion of the unit, a post test was given to the students that consist of the exact same questions as the pretest to help determine whether my teaching methods were effective or not. The results showed dramatic improvement in every academic level. Although the remedial level students’ scores didn’t rise as far, it still showed improvement.