Integrated

Student Contextual Factors Analysis (Maximum of 30 Points)

1. Student Contextual Factors Analysis: The most effective curricula designs are those that are tailored to the individual needs of the learners they are meant to serve. Using the Understanding by Design process, the teacher candidates will identify and provide an in-depth written contextual factor analysis of the nature and needs of students in their classroom, including:

a. Differing levels of academic readiness, dis/ability needs, language proficiency, social and emotional development, cultural and environmental background, learning profiles, and interests, which will allow teacher candidates to tailor the learning experiences to all learners in the classroom. (CO 4,5, 8, 9).

If you are employed, please refer to the school, its community and the classroom that you are currently teaching in for the purpose of completing this assignment. If you are not employed, please refer to the school, its community and the classroom that you have been placed in for field experience for the purpose of completing this assignment.

Respond to the listed below prompts and/or questions. Records your responses within this document and submit it as it is currently formatted as a Microsoft Word document ( Do NOT submit it saved as a pdf file).

*Student Contextual Factors

The teacher candidate will gather information about the learning-teaching context and student individual difference to plan future instruction and assessment.

Note: Leave in all headings, prompts, and the questions. (Do not delete anything). No assignment will be graded, if the document is not followed and used as instructed.

I. Community, School System, School Factors (Refer here to your school’s website and other available resources/documents to learn about your school and the community the school is located in. Please cite those resources using the APA style)

A. Community

· Name and describe unique features of the community.

Gwinnett County is a suburb in Georgia that has diversities in terms of culture and ethnicity but is also highly attached to education. The community is also involved with active parent and community participation via different local activities. Among its characteristics is the Archer Academic Foundation that offers financial aid to schools and students within the Archer Cluster in terms of grants, scholarships, and educational events. The society appreciates volunteerism and interaction among families, schools, and the local organizations.

· Name and describe contributions of the community to the school.

The Archer community also makes a big contribution, with the Archer Academic Foundation that supports teacher grants and scholarships to students. Extracurricular programs, academic activities, community-based learning, and projects have the strong support of local businesses, families, and alumni. The community members are involved in volunteer programmes, fundraising, and mentorship programs which have direct impacts on Archer High school and students.

B. School System

· Name of school system _____ Gwinnett County Public Schools (GCPS)_____

· Number of students in the school system _ Approximately 180,000 students____

· Is this a Title I school system? __No________

C. School Factors

· Name of the school ______ Archer High School_______________

· Grades served in the school ____9th to 12th grade ______

· Number of students in the school __3,073 students ________

· Is this a Title I school? _No_____

· List and describe the unique features of the school. Archer High School is known to be a fully involved community service and student leadership school. The Archer Cluster Farmers Market program and the Gwinnett Clean and Beautiful are programs that encourage civic participation and sustainability. The school has a good STEM and AgSTEM curriculum, which promotes hands-on and inquiry learning. It sponsors numerous organizations such as The Kind Kids Club that encourages non-discrimination and healthy peer interactions.

· Special Education Services Delivery Model (school) (At least one must be checked, but check all, if applicable.)

· Collaboration/team ___✓_____

· Resource Room ____✓______

· Itinerant ___ X ____

· Self-contained _ X _____

II. Classroom Characteristics (Refer here to your particular classroom that you are currently teaching in and/or have been placed for the purpose of completing assignments for this class. You will use that classroom information combined with the content of your own designed Integrated Thematic Unit for the next assignment to develop a carefully sequenced lesson plan for the whole class or a larger group based on these classroom characteristics).

A. Classroom Organization (Check as many as apply.)

· _ X ___ Homogeneous

· _✓___ Heterogeneous

· __ X __ Self-Contained

· _✓___ Team Teaching

· _ X ___ Departmentalized

· _✓___ Co-teaching/ Co-lab

B. Resources (Check as many as apply.)

· _ X ___ Television

· _✓___ Classroom library

· _✓___ Computers in classroom ___10__number

· _✓___ Interactive whiteboard (e.g., SMART Board™, Promethean Board)

· List other resources (e.g. math and science manipulative materials) ____ Media center, classroom science and math manipulatives ____

III. Student Characteristics

A. Number of students

· Gender ___

Male: 1,581 (51.5%)

Female: 1,492 (48.5%)

· Age range __ Approximately 14–18 years old______

· Grade level(s) ____

Grade 9: 832 students

Grade 10: 778 students

Grade 11: 831 students

Grade 12: 632 students

B. Ethnicity ( number of students)

· __1,677 (54.6%)__ African-American

· __110 (3.6%)__ Asian-American

· __ 7 (0.2%)__ Native American

· __ 613 (19.9%)__ Hispanic

· _ 513 (16.7%)___ Caucasian

· __ 150 (4.9%)__ Multi-racial

C. Reading Achievement: ( number of students)

Identify sources of data (e.g. benchmarks, classroom assessment, portfolios, RTI, standardized tests): ______________________________________________________

· __ ✓____ Exceeds standards

· __✓____ Meets standards

· __✓____ Does not meet standards

· ___✓___ Students for whom no data are available

D. Mathematics Achievement (number of students):

Identify sources of data (e.g. benchmarks, classroom assessment, portfolios, RTI, standardized tests): ___________Benchmarks, RTI, standardized tests, classroom assessments___________________________________________

· __✓__ Exceeds standards

· __✓__ Meets standard

· __✓__ Does not meet standards

· __✓__ Students for whom no data are available

E. Language Proficiency ( number of students)

· __✓__ English language

· __✓__ English Language Learner (ELL)

· __X__ Sign language

· List languages other than English ______ Spanish________________

IV. Individual Differences

A. Students Identified and Receiving Services ( number of students)

· _No___ Title I

· __15__ Gifted

· _✓___ Early Intervention Program (EIP)

· __✓__ Safety Net

· __✓__ (ESOL)

· _✓___ Speech

· _✓___ Less-Proficient Learners

· _ X___ Other

B. Students with Individualized Education Programs (IEP) ( number of students)

· _ X___ Visual impairment/Blindness

· _✓____ Deaf / Hard of hearing

· _ X __ Deaf/Blind

· _✓____ Significant developmental delay

· _✓____ Emotional and Behavioral Disorder (EBD)

· _✓____ Specific learning disability (LD)

· _✓____ Intellectual disability

· __✓___ Other health impairment (OHI)

· __ X __ Orthopedic Impairment (OI)

· _✓____ Speech/language impairment

· _✓____ Autism

· _ X ___ Traumatic brain injury (TBI)

· __ X __ Other

C. Students with Other Education Plans ( number of students)

· _✓____ SST

· _✓____ 504

· __✓___ RTI

· __ X __ Other

V. Students’ Prior Knowledge Specific to the Content of the Integrated Thematic Unit (that you designed for this class)

List previous learning of content related to the Integrated Thematic Unit that you designed for this class

The students have already attended integrated learning units that have tied language arts and STEM principles. They have practiced the use of graphic organizers, comprehension plans and vocabulary-building methods.

· Georgia Standards of Excellence (GSE) or other related state’s standards, if you are not teaching in GA

Language Arts, Mathematics, and STEM-related standards have been addressed in prior coursework and assessments.

· Specific content strategy instruction previously implemented (e.g. use of base ten blocks, Comprehension strategies, summarizing strategies, and manipulatives like base ten blocks have been used to reinforce reading and math knowledge in the students.

· Other sources of content development (e.g., books, field trips, prior travel, prior experiences in and out of the classroom)

Experiential learning through field trips, previous STEM-focused classroom projects, and use of resources from the school’s media center.

Student Contextual Factors Written Analysis

VI. Instructional Implications

· Discuss specifically how these contextual factors of the community, classroom, and students will impact your lesson planning, instruction, assessment, and classroom management.

Instructional planning and assessment are all affected by the factors of the community, school, and the student. It can be argued that the teaching strategies are inclusive and culturally relevant because of the diversity of the Archer community. It will be differentiated to make sure that the instruction addresses the needs of gifted students, IEP, and English Language Learners.

· Describe how the students’ prior knowledge of the content of your Integrated Thematic Unit will impact your lesson planning, instruction, assessment, and classroom management.

The past experience of the students in integrated STEM and literacy instruction gives them a good background in creating the lesson plans that entail problem-solving, teamwork, and critical thinking. To represent student developments in various levels of abilities, assessments will involve both formative and summative to ensure that the students are assessed.

Reflect upon your Contextual Factors and think about how all students can participate in your instruction by responding to the following questions:

· How will the plan provide challenging expectations for all students?

The instruction will also consist of differentiated tasks that will be challenging to all students according to their levels of readiness and provide extension activities to the advanced students and a scaffold support to the students who need extra support.

· How will the plan meet the developmental needs of all students?

Scaffolded and paced lessons will be done on the basis of development levels. The lessons will be designed to support different learning styles and individual education plans by providing instructional supports within them.

· How will the plan reflect the social and cultural context of the learners?

The culturally relevant material and examples will be included in lessons to ensure inclusivity and engagement as there are multiple backgrounds of students in Archer.

· How will you plan for active student participation throughout lesson?

To ensure participation, students will participate through practical work, group work, collaborative projects, and interactive electronic materials.

· How will you plan for active student-to-student interactions?

The communication and cooperation of the students will be promoted by means of the group-based tasks, peer review, and cooperative problem-solving activities.

· How will you plan for active student-to-teacher interactions?

The regular check-in, individual conferences, and instructed engagement opportunities will facilitate the ongoing and significant interaction of teachers with students during lessons.

*Adapted from: VSU ECSE LessonPlanGuideline