AN EXAMPLE TWS 1 An Example of a Teacher Work Sample: A Unit on Perimeter and Area for 6th Grade Advanced Math Matthew R. Lavery University of Central Florida Comment [ML1]: This example of a TWS has been developed to demonstrate the Proficient level for all seven components. Comments have been added to show exactly how each indicator at the Proficient level has been met. AN EXAMPLE TWS 2 Contextual Factors This unit was developed for a sixth grade Advanced Math class on block scheduling at a Comment [ML2]: Indicator P1 - The Contextual Factors (CF) component doesn’t have any names in it. I need to make sure that I don’t use any names in the rest of the components as I develop them. large, diverse middle school in central Florida. The curriculum for the Advanced Math course is designed for students that perform at or above grade level in math. This school also offers sixth grade Honors Pre-Algebra I, the first half of a two-year program designed to prepare students to take Algebra I in the eighth grade. Most students that are high-achieving in math (i.e., that score a 5 or a high 4) are placed in this other course. Thus, the Advanced Math courses contain students who scored at achievement levels 3 and 4 on the fifth grade math FCAT. My supervising teacher teaches three Advanced Math sections, one section of Honors Pre-Algebra I, and two remedial math classes for students who have not passed the FCAT. This TWS will include the students for the three Advanced Math classes, since these classes will all receive the same pre and post assessment. The school serves about 1400 students from a diverse metropolitan area. The school serves a semi-urban area where many residents work in the tourist industry, or in a variety of related businesses providing goods and services. In the school, 51.7% of the students identify themselves as Hispanic; 27.4% as White, Non-Hispanic; 12.1% as Black, Non-Hispanic; 2.8% as Comment [ML3]: The information in this first paragraph is necessary to explain for which kind of class your TWS unit was prepared. It is described in the guidelines and directions in your syllabus. Comment [ML4]: Indicator P3 – Include the size of the school. Comment [ML5]: Indicator P2 – The description of the area need only give a sense of whether the area is Urban, Suburban, Rural, or mixed. The added detail in this example is helpful, but not necessary. Asian or Pacific Islander; 0.4% as Native American, and 5.6% as multiracial. At this school, 20.8% of the students are identified as ELLs, 13.6% of the students receive ESE services for a disability, and 67.9% of the students qualify for free or reduced price lunch. My classes are very similar to the demographics of the school. Based on the data available to the teacher through the grade book system, of the 65 students in these three classes, 32 are identified as Hispanic, 19 as White or Caucasian, 10 as Black or African-American, and 4 Comment [ML6]: Indicator P3 – This information can often be found on school or district web sites, or you can pull it from the various school accountability reports available at http://schoolgrades.fldoe.org/. AN EXAMPLE TWS 3 as Asian. Nine of these students are identified as ELLs currently receiving ESOL services, while 4 students receive ESE services, and one is in tier three of the Response to Intervention (RtI) process. The ELLs in these classes all function at intermediate or advanced levels of English language proficiency. Spanish is the first language for 6 of these ELLs, while two students were Comment [ML7]: Indicator P4 – Describe your class the way you described the school. How does it compare? Work with your supervising teacher to find access to this information. raised speaking Haitian Creole, and one student originally spoke Vietnamese. The IEPs of the four students receiving ESE services indicate the nature of their disabilities. Three students have language-related specific learning disabilities that hinder their reading comprehension and writing abilities. One has a mild Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) that affects his interaction with others and may cause him to feel overwhelmed and overstimulated in noisy or chaotic situations. The student in RtI is under evaluation for a suspected emotional behavioral disorder. My supervising teacher’s classroom is a portable classroom. The desks are arranged in Comment [ML8]: Indicator P5 – Describe the unique educational needs of individual learners in your class. The more details you can give in this part, the better. groups of four or five, with a projector and space for the teacher’s laptop computer in the center of the groups. Because this class is held in a portable, there is no wireless network to provide internet access to the computer that is connected to the projector. The room also has no computers for student use, but there are two separate work stations with two desks each and one desk by itself, where students can work in pairs or individually. There are also a variety of mathematics manipulatives in the room, and more available from the math department workroom. The arrangement of the desks and the available manipulatives will allow me to use some hands-on learning activities. With the projector and laptop always in the room, and with my supervising teacher’s wireless presentation remote, it should also be relatively easy for me to use presentations to give instructions, show visualizations of concepts. I will not be able to use any Comment [ML9]: Indicator P6 – Describe the physical characteristics of the classroom, including technology. Diagrams or photos could also be included if you like. Just make sure that photos don’t have any names or faces in them. AN EXAMPLE TWS 4 interactive online resources, though. The contextual factors of the class also suggest that I should offer images, visualizations, and non-linguistic representations of concepts whenever possible because of the language-related disabilities and ELLs in the classroom. Comment [ML10]: Indicator P7 – This is the first of two required instructional implications. This implication relates to contextual factors covered under Indicator P6. Comment [ML11]: Indicator P7 – The second instructional implication address the contextual factors covered by Indicator P5. The different indicators on the rubric can help you think about the different contextual factors that may affect your design for instruction. AN EXAMPLE TWS 5 Learning Goals The goals for this unit are based on the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards for sixth grade that relate to perimeter and area. All of the students in these classes performed at or Comment [ML12]: Browse through the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards at http://www.floridastandards.org/Standards/FLStanda rdSearch.aspx. above grade level on last year’s FCAT, so these standards should be appropriate for this group of students. Since the FCAT typically uses word problems, I will also use word problems in my classroom activities and assessments. In order to support the ELLs in the class, I will include clearly labeled visual aids or diagrams for each word problem. I may also have to support the students with language impairments and teach them specific strategies to deal with the word problems. The specific learning goals for this unit are as follows: 1. The student will understand and be able to explain the concept of π, list common estimates of π (3.14 and 22/7), and use these values to estimate and calculate the circumference and the area of circles (Next Generation Sunshine State Standards: MA.6.G.4.1). 2. The student will analyze composite, complex, irregular two-dimensional figures, including non-rectangular (such as triangular and/or semicircular) parts to develop methods to calculate the perimeter and area of those figures and evaluate the methods developed by others (Next Generation Sunshine State Standards: MA.6.G.4.2). 3. The student will develop methods to find a missing dimension of a plane figure given its area and some of the dimensions, and assess the accuracy of their methods and the methods of others (Next Generation Sunshine State Standards: MA.6.G.4.3). Comment [ML13]: Indicator P4: I make sure to relate how these learning goals are appropriate to my specific students. I won’t know if my goals are too easy or too tough until I administer my preassessment, but I have plenty of data in the Contextual Factors component to make a good estimate. Then, as I think about my plan, I’m going to discuss it with the one person that knows my students the best, my cooperating teacher. Comment [ML14]: Indicator P1: I have the right number of learning goals, but that’s not quite enough. My learning goals need to be measurable, too. Each of my goals contains something that I can evaluate (e.g., they must explain the concept of π, they can list or identify estimates of π to show that they know them, and use those values to calculate perimeter and area). If there’s a way that I can assess the learning goal and determine a student’s percent accuracy, then it’s measurable. Comment [ML15]: Notice that this learning goal contains several sub-skills. This is a goal for my unit, but I am not going to use this language for my lesson objectives. I may have one objective for students to describe the concept of π, another for them to list or identify common estimates of π, another to estimate circumference, another to calculate circumference, another to estimate area, and one to calculate area. This one goal covers six lesson objectives. Comment [ML16]: Indicator P3: Notice that this is not just the standard that I have copied and pasted into my TWS. I modified it to make the language more measurable and reflect what I plan to do. Comment [ML17]: Indicator P5: This goal incorporates higher-order thinking skills as indicated by the verbs used (analyze figures, develop methods, and evaluate) AN EXAMPLE TWS 6 For all of these goals, I will consider that a student has mastered the goal when she or he consistently demonstrates 80% accuracy on exercises, skills, and calculations related to that goal. Although each goal has several sub-skills that may be assessed separately, my pre and postassessments and any other assessment that is supposed to determine mastery will assess all parts of the goal as much as possible. These goals will also be assessed by applying the knowledge and skills taught as realistically as possible. Comment [ML18]: Indicator P2: This is a very clear description of what constitutes mastery on the learning goals. In this example of a TWS, mastery is holistic, applied, and 80% accurate. When I enter my pre/post assessment scores into the TWS GraphMaker, my Required Mastery Scores for each learning goal will be 80% of the points available for that learning goal, rounded up. Indicator P5: The verbs used in the learning goals above indicate higher-order thinking skills. This unit will definitely require my students to use multiple steps and complex thinking. This matches the standards, as the state has identified these benchmarks as moderate in complexity. For Learning Goal 1, see http://www.floridastandards.org/Standards/PublicPre viewBenchmark616.aspx, for Learning Goal 2, see http://www.floridastandards.org/Standards/PublicPre viewBenchmark617.aspx, for Learning Goal 3, see http://www.floridastandards.org/Standards/PublicPre viewBenchmark618.aspx. For a description of the different levels of cognitive complexity associated with the math standards, see http://floridastandards.org/textonly.aspx?ContentID= 21&UrlPath=/page21.aspx. AN EXAMPLE TWS 7 Assessment Plan My supervising teacher uses mini quizzes, with three or four questions, about once per week to assess the students on material they have studied recently and as part of their final grade. I will continue to use this system, since these students are accustomed to it, but I will also use informal questioning and some of the unit’s learning activities to help me assess the students’ understanding of the material. Class Meetings: Week before unit Description of Assessment: Pre-assessment (included at end of TWS) Learning Goals Assessed: 1, 2, 3 Day 2 Finding Pi activity 1 Day 3 Mini Quiz 1 (simple figures) 1, 2 Day 4 Campus Geometry 1, 2 Day 5 Mini Quiz 2 (composite figures & missing dimensions) 2, 3 Day 5 Perimeter & Area Unit Practice 1, 2, 3 Day 6 Post-assessment (included at end of TWS) 1, 2, 3 In order to properly accommodate for ELLs in this classroom I will be teaching specific academic vocabulary using simple definitions paired with non-linguistic representations of the terms. These instructional techniques will not assist these students on the pre-assessment, however. I will make sure to provide a copy of my Pre/Post assessment to the ESOL Compliance Specialist for help in translating key portions of the instructions and of items into the native languages of my ELLs. I plan to have these translated portions available to assist these students, if needed. I will also allow all students to ask me to read parts of the assessment for them. This will allow me to simply read the assessment as written for any student that does not require accommodation, and to paraphrase or explain further for those students that are having trouble with the language. I also plan to allow my ELL students and my students with language related Comment [ML19]: Indicator P3: The Assessment Plan discusses both formal and informal methods of assessment that have been clearly planned in advance. The table details the plan pretty effectively. Comment [ML20]: Indicator P5: The overall Assessment Plan is linked to the learning goals to show that I have consciously linked my assessment activities to specific learning goals. AN EXAMPLE TWS 8 disabilities to explain their answers orally, as needed. The student with ASD and the student in RtI also get extended time and/or an alternate assessment location on request. Comment [ML21]: Indicator P4: Assessment accommodations for all unique learners identified in the Contextual Factors component are discussed in the Assessment Plan. Perimeter & Area Unit Assessment Student Name: Block: Answer Key Date: Answer the questions below. Use the blank space or the back of this sheet to write out any work that you do. Be sure to put your final answer in the blank provided. The Radigans are putting tile in their family room, pictured to the right. They want to have enough tile to cover the floor, and also put a tile border all the way around the room on the walls. 1) How many square feet of tile will the Radigans need to LG2 192 cover the family room floor? 2) What length of tile border will the Radigans need to go on the walls around the entire room? 4 cm 12 ft 18 ft ft2 4 ft 6 ft LG2 60 Comment [ML22]: Indicator P1: I created this pre/post assessment myself. When I am hired for my first teaching job, I will have lots of resources that I can use for student assessment. For the TWS, I need to create my own assessments because that’s something the state expects new teachers to be able to do before they get certified. I may be able to look at the teacher resources that come with my curriculum or textbook to give me ideas, but I have to design my own assessments. Indicator P2: By using the same assessment, for my Pre/Post Assessment, the pre- and post-assessment scores can be reliably compared to show student growth. My assessments don’t have to be identical, but they can be. I can also add additional items to my Post-Assessment, but only compare the items that appear on both assessments, or I can modify my assessments to create a Pre-Assessment form and a Post-Assessment form that will help me demonstrate exemplary Indicator E2. Comment [ML23]: Indicator P6: Items like this one show that my assessment matches the cognitive complexity of my learning goals. Comment [ML24]: Indicator P5: Each assessment item is linked to a specific learning goal. ft 3) What is the area of the figure to the left? LG2 42.85 cm2 Comment [ML25]: Indicator P6: Items like this one show that my assessment matches the cognitive complexity of my learning goals. 5 cm 10 cm 4) Rebecca wants to put up a fence around an area in her yard for Buffy, her dog. She wants Buffy's play area to be just as long as the side of her house, which is 18 ft long. If Rebecca only has 50 feet of fence, how wide can she make Buffy's play area? 12 in Buffy’s 18 ft LG3 7 Play Area ft 5) Luis has some cylindrical pots to put his plants in that are 12 inches in diameter. He thinks they are too plain the way they are. He decides to decorate them by putting ribbon around them, but he can only order ribbon by a number of whole feet in length. How long must he order LG1 4 ft each piece of ribbon to go all the way around one pot? 6) What decimal value can you use for π? LG1 3.14 7) What fraction can you use for π? LG1 8) In the space below, describe what π is and what it is used for. LG1 Ratio of circumference to diameter (distance across a circle to distance around a circle) used to calculate the circumference and area of circles NOTE: This example of a TWS only shows one page worth of assessment items. This unit assessment would actually have 30 total questions, with ten for each learning goal. Comment [ML26]: Indicator P6: Items like this one show that my assessment matches the cognitive complexity of my learning goals. AN EXAMPLE TWS 10 Design for Instruction The students in my classes scored an average 31.2% on the pre-assessment and no student demonstrated mastery of any of the learning goals. This tells me that my students have some familiarity with the concepts that I plan to teach them, but that my learning goals are not too easy for them. Clearly, my students should not show mastery of learning goals that haven’t been taught to them, but the fact they were able to show some correct understanding of the content means that I haven’t made my unit too difficult either. I want to avoid causing frustration for my students since, especially with math, such frustration might cause them to shut down and become demotivated. The pre-assessment also showed me that many of these students know how to find the perimeter and area of simple shapes when the information that they need is given to them in a simple diagram. The kinds of questions that were most frequently answered correctly required one-step calculations that used clearly labeled diagrams of simple geometric shapes that asked for either the perimeter or area. Students had a much tougher time applying these skills in more complex problems. If the question used a complex shape, if they needed to use multiple steps and formulas, or if the information they needed was in a word problem, students were much more likely to get it wrong. These results told me that I didn’t need to spend too much time teaching them what perimeter and area are, but that I really needed to teach them how to use that knowledge in more complex ways. I also need to teach these students how to approach word problems better. I always planned to use the first day to introduce vocabulary, formulas, and practice some simple problems. After seeing my pre-assessment results, though, I think will spend more time on all the different ways that perimeter and area can be described in word problems. I’ll also spend some Comment [ML27]: Indicator P2: This component reports aggregate results of the preassessment. The added detail and discussion that follows indicates that I didn’t just report the stuff that the TWS GraphMaker shows me automatically, but that I analyzed the results and thought through what the results indicate about my students and the instruction that they need. AN EXAMPLE TWS 11 time teaching students specific strategies for chopping up composite shapes into more manageable pieces. The unit will follow the general timeline below. For more detail, I have attached my lesson plans (NOTE: This example of a TWS does not have detailed lesson plans attached). Day 1: Unit Introduction (all LGs)– vocabulary, formulas, & word problem strategies Day 2: Finding and Applying Pi (LG1) – an activity calculating pi in small groups by wrapping string around cylindrical objects to measure their circumference, and another activity cutting up construction paper circles and arranging the pieces in a parallelogram to find its area into smaller ones to find perimeter and area, and using formulas in reverse to find missing measurements Day 4: Campus Geometry (LG1 & LG2) – activity with a partner using meter sticks to measure designated parts of the campus or the school building Day 5: Mini Quiz 2 (LG2 & LG3) and Unit Review and Practice (all LGs) – review and individual practice on all learning goals and concepts Your formal lesson plans fulfill several different requirements, just like the plans that your supervising teacher has to write. Even though you may have already discussed these elements in another part of your TWS, a teacher’s lesson plans are a legal document and must contain goals and/or objectives, linked standards, materials, learning activities and procedures, accommodations for individual learning needs, and how student learning will be assessed. You do not need to place these lesson plans inside your TWS Word document, though. There is a separate spot where you can upload them to LiveText as part of your final submission. For detailed instructions on how to upload your TWS to LiveText, visit the TWS web site at http://education.ucf.edu/clinicalexp/TWS.cfm. Day 3: Mini Quiz 1 (LG1 & LG2), Composite Shapes (LG2), & Missing Measures (LG3) – strategies and practice breaking complex, composite shapes Comment [ML28]: Indicator P1: All lesson plans for your TWS unit must be submitted to LiveText with your final TWS, and will be previewed by your coordinator when s/he previews this component. Day 6: Unit Post-assessment (all LGs) Indicator P4:Your attached lesson plans are the primary source for demonstrating that you have met this indicator. Your learning activities must be appropriate for your learners. You may also discuss this appropriateness briefly in the text of this component. Indicator P5: Your attached lesson plans are the primary source for demonstrating that you have met this indicator. Your bullet list of daily activities will indicate active learning and higher-order thinking, but your plans will show that more clearly. Indicator P6: Both your attached lesson plans and your bullet list summary will indicate the variety of learning activities and modes of instruction. Indicator P7: Your attached lesson plans are the primary source for demonstrating that you have met this indicator. You should speak to the general nature of your accommodations in the text of this component, but specific ESOL and ESE accommodations are legally required on lesson plans for virtually all teachers in the nation. Indicator P8: The bullet list summary will indicate that the learning activities are arranged in a logical sequence that builds toward student mastery of the learning goals, and your attached lesson plans will confirm it. Indicator P9: Both your attached lesson plans and your TWS observation will be used to demonstrate that the content of your unit is being represented accurately. Comment [ML29]: Indicator P3: All learning activities are explicitly linked to my learning goals. AN EXAMPLE TWS 12 Instructional Decision Making Example One: The first example of a time that I had to adjust my instructional plan came when I had the students do the Applying Pi activity. When I did this exercises with my first block class, the students seemed to have a really hard time with the instructions. When I asked them to cut up the construction paper circles and arrange them with the points of each wedge in alternating directions to make something that looks sort of like a parallelogram, they were clearly confused. The written directions had a few drawings that I thought were pretty clear, but they Comment [ML30]: Indicator P1: In this component I must describe two separate occasions when my ongoing assessment of student learning and/or my observation of student responses and behavior in the class indicate to me that I have to change my plans. Both of my examples describe the kinds of situations that I remember from my first year teaching math. As a result, they describe times when I made changes to my plan that affected the entire class. You may also choose to describe a time when you made changes that affect one student or a small group of students based on your interaction with and assessment of those particular students. Good teachers make instructional decisions constantly, so you should have many examples to choose from. These examples do not have to be based on formal assessments of the whole class, but must indicate that you are paying attention to indications of student understanding. were not as clear as I had hoped. During first block, several groups of students seemed confused and started to get frustrated. The ELLs in this class especially seemed to have difficulty with the written directions, even though the EELs were in groups with native English speakers as well. It seemed that the students’ confusion and frustration started to get them agitated. I feared that the noise level and chaos may start to over stimulate and overwhelm the student with ASD. I stopped the class as soon as I realized the confusion so that I could demonstrate the activity and clarify the directions. As I showed them what they needed to do step by step, I began to hear students saying things like, “Ooohh,” and “I get it.” During the planning period that comes right after this class, I added some additional slides to my instructions that I use at the Comment [ML31]: Indicator P2: This is a great example of informal assessment. I didn’t have to let the students complete the assignment and grade their papers to see that my plan wasn’t working properly. Comment [ML32]: Indicator P4: I have explained my rationale for making the change I describe. Comment [ML33]: Indicator P3: The Applying Pi activity is one of the primary learning activities that supports LG1. By making sure that I support my students’ ability to complete the activity, this instructional decision is consistent with and supports the stated learning goal. beginning of class, and pre-cut a series of construction paper circles to illustrate each step. This made the instructions much more clear for my third and fourth block classes, and helped the students get more out of the activity. Because the instructions were better, the students needed less time to complete the activities. This left more time for us to compare everyone’s results and process through the activity to help build their understanding of using π to find a circle’s perimeter and area. Comment [ML34]: Indicator P5: I have described the result of my instructional decision. The kind of detail that I have given here shows that I’m really reflecting on my instructional technique, student learning, and classroom management. This example of instructional decision making would put me a long way towards demonstrating exemplary Indicator E1, too. AN EXAMPLE TWS 13 Example Two: The second time that I needed to adjust my plan came when I taught the students how to find the missing dimensions of a shape given its perimeter or area, and some of the other dimensions. My supervising teacher told me to think of each block as two class periods that happen back to back. I followed this advice, and planned to use day 3 to teach two lessons; one on finding the perimeter and area of composite shapes, and the other on finding the missing dimensions of a shape when given some of its dimensions and the area or perimeter. Each lesson was supposed to have a short assignment that the students would begin to work on in class and finish for homework. I used the time while students worked on the practice exercises in class to circulate around the room and check their understanding of each concept. The students seemed to understand the lesson on composite shapes well, and their performance on the practice exercises confirmed that. Unfortunately, the students performed poorly on the Missing Measures practice exercises. The problem seemed to come from the algebraic thinking required for students to use the formula for the perimeter and area to find one of the other values. It wasn’t natural for them to “use the formula backwards” like I suggested. Comment [ML35]: Indicator P2: This example of instructional decision making relies on a more formal assessment method. While I circulated around the room, I could tell that the students were having difficulty, but grading the assignment confirmed it for me and showed me how much difficulty the students had. They also seemed to have a hard time using division to reverse multiplication, and using subtraction to reverse addition. The practice exercises confirmed that they were having a hard time with it. Comment [ML36]: Indicator P4: This passage indicates that I’m reflecting on what may cause the problem and what the results I’m seeing indicate about student learning. As I discussed the lesson with my supervising teacher later that day, I suggested that I should delay the unit review and post-assessment, and include another lesson that focuses on the algebraic thinking required to solve these kinds of problems. She agreed. I planned a lesson for the first part of the block that taught students how to reverse mathematical operations, and a lesson for the second part of the block that applied those skills more naturally to the kinds of problems that go with Learning Goal 3. This was the reinforcement that many of these students Comment [ML37]: Indicator P3: This instructional decision is directly linked to one of the learning goals. AN EXAMPLE TWS 14 needed, and the students did much better with the Missing Measures exercises after that. I gave the students the opportunity to redo and resubmit the Missing Measures assignment with no penalty to their grade. Several of the students took the opportunity, and all of the ones that turned in the assignment again completed it at or above the mastery level of 80%. Comment [ML38]: Indicator P5: I have described the result of my instructional modification and given details and data that support my decision. AN EXAMPLE TWS 15 Analysis of Student Learning The pre and post assessment results definitely show that my students increased their understanding of perimeter and area. The class scored an average 79.9% on the post-assessment, which was an increase of 48.7 points from the average pre-assessment score of 31.2%. Individual students increased their scores by anywhere from 23 points to 70 points. The graphs on the next pages show the individual student scores on the pre/post assessment for each student in the three classes in which I taught this unit. 93.3% 90.0% 90.0% 90.0% 83.3% 83.3% 93.3% 26.7% 23.3% 30.0% 36.7% 26.7% 33.3% 83.3% 43.3% 30.0% 40.0% 33.3% 33.3% 40.0% 33.3% 36.7% 83.3% 80.0% 80.0% 80.0% 76.7% 76.7% 73.3% 73.3% 73.3% 53.3% 70.0% 66.7% 46.7% 20.0% 30.0% 26.7% 40.0% 23.3% 50.0% 23.3% 60.0% 46.7% 40.0% 70.0% 66.7% 80.0% 43.3% 66.7% 90.0% 20.0% 10.0% Post % S15 S16 S05 S20 S17 S06 S19 S09 S13 S21 S03 S01 S22 S10 S02 S18 S08 S04 S07 S12 S11 S14 0.0% Pre % Indicator P8: This indicator applies to the whole Analysis of Student Learning component. It is possible to crunch some numbers, make some graphs, and not make meaningful and reasonable conclusions. As long as you do more than simply go through the motions, though, you should be able to meet this indicator. Comment [ML40]: Indicator P3: Somewhere close to the beginning of this component, I need to state the average pre and post assessment score for all the students I taught in simple language. Pre/Post Assessment Scores for Block 1 100.0% Comment [ML39]: Indicator P1: The pre and post assessment measures must be submitted with your final TWS in LiveText. You do not need to include them in the Word document that contains your TWS, though. You may upload them separately into LiveText and submit them with your final assignment. I included a page of the pre/post assessment measure for this example TWS in the Assessment Plan component, since that is the step at which you must develop your assessments. Indicator P9: This statement is the first of many in this component that provides evidence of my impact on student learning. As long as my students tend to do better on the post-assessment than they did on the pre-assessment, and show some growth, You will demonstrate that you have had an impact. You do not need to demonstrate that you are an amazing teacher that makes a huge impact on student learning with every single lesson. Follow the TWS process, pay attention to evidence of student learning, and the numbers will show that you had an impact. Comment [ML41]: Indicator P4: Simply pasting the graphs into Word isn’t sufficient for this component. I also need to interpret the graphs and highlight the important bits in the text of the component. This sentence is only the first example of this kind of summary and explanation. The rest of the component adds clarity to my graphs. Comment [ML42]: Indicator P2: I have included the required graphs that show pre and post assessment results for individual students in my classes. Because this example TWS reports more than 40 students, and because those students are naturally grouped into three different classes, I have included three separate graphs that display all of the students. I used the TWS GraphMaker to enter my data and create my graphs. The graphs that I need were automatically created for me, and then I copied and pasted them into Word. After I pasted the graphs in Word, I changed the titles of each graph and made the data labels bold for the two students that I have specifically mentioned in the text of my TWS. This will make the data for these students easier for my readers to find. The GraphMaker is designed to make your life easier by generating the graphs you need automatically. You may generate your graphs using another tool if you like, but you must sill enter all of your student learning data into the GraphMaker and upload it into LiveText with your final TWS. Pre % Post % 33.3% 30.0% 30.0% 26.7% 23.3% 56.7% 96.7% 96.7% 86.7% 86.7% 83.3% 83.3% 83.3% 83.3% S27 S37 S41 S34 S25 S31 S43 S36 S33 S24 S38 36.7% 43.3% 33.3% 23.3% 23.3% 26.7% 30.0% 33.3% 43.3% 40.0% 30.0% 26.7% 16.7% 33.3% 96.7% 93.3% 93.3% 90.0% 90.0% 86.7% 86.7% 86.7% 86.7% 83.3% 83.3% 83.3% 83.3% 80.0% 80.0% 80.0% 80.0% 76.7% 70.0% 70.0% 70.0% Pre/Post Assessment Scores for Block 3 S55 23.3% 20.0% 83.3% Pre/Post Assessment Scores for Block 4 S59 S44 S63 S64 S47 S49 S45 S65 80.0% 80.0% 80.0% 100.0% 26.7% 30.0% 40.0% S23 S32 S39 33.3% 36.7% 60.0% S51 20.0% 80.0% Pre % S62 S58 50.0% 80.0% 76.7% S40 S35 36.7% 26.7% 26.7% 23.3% 100.0% S53 26.7% 20.0% 73.3% 73.3% S29 S42 S28 20.0% S54 S50 30.0% 33.3% 70.0% 70.0% 66.7% 90.0% S57 16.7% 40.0% 36.7% S26 50.0% S56 20.0% 23.3% 90.0% S46 30.0% 10.0% 50.0% S48 60.0% S61 70.0% 63.3% 80.0% S52 S30 30.0% 50.0% 40.0% 40.0% 16.7% 80.0% S60 AN EXAMPLE TWS 16 70.0% 10.0% 0.0% Post % 10.0% 0.0% AN EXAMPLE TWS 17 Before instruction, none of my students demonstrated mastery of any of my learning goals. At the conclusion of my unit, 63% of my students had demonstrated mastery of Learning Goal 1, 76% had mastered Learning Goal 2, and 45% of my students had mastered Learning Goal 3. Also, 25% of my students demonstrated mastery of all three learning goals, and only 8% had not shown mastery of any of them. Since so few students have shown mastery of all three goals, I plan to incorporate some review exercises in our assignments for the remainder of my time with them. This will give me an opportunity to continue to review these concepts with the Comment [ML43]: Indicator P5: My analysis of student learning is directly related to individual learning goals. The TWS GraphMaker provided all the data that I needed for this part. Indicator P6: I have reported the percent of my students that showed mastery of the learning goals both before and after instruction. This information was also provided to me by the TWS GraphMaker. class as a whole, and will give the students some much needed practice. My cooperating teacher sometimes does what he calls, “Extension Days” after a unit of instruction. These days feature fun, challenging, group enrichment activities that provide advanced practice and application of the content of the unit. He told me that he had a few activities on file that might work with my unit and suggested that I include an Extension Day in next week’s plan. This would allow me to reinforce my students’ learning and pay close attention for gaps in understanding that need filling. For the 5 students that had mastered none of the goals, I will watch for opportunities to directly support them and provide remediation. If they do not engage in the activity or appear to get frustrated, I can also pull them aside for some direct oneon-one instruction. Two students in my classes failed the post-assessment. One of these 2 students (S60) was an ELL that was very resistant to instruction throughout the class and did not complete most of her assignments. I attempted several times to determine what the problem might be and offer my support. I even called her in from her elective classes to try and complete her work. She did not respond to my efforts. As we discussed the post-assessment results together, my cooperating teacher told me that an ELL receiving ESOL services cannot receive a D or an F as a final grade Comment [ML44]: Indicator P7: I have given a detailed plan to support the needs of students who have not demonstrated mastery of my learning goals. I will need to give them ongoing support with these skills as we continue through the rest of our curriculum. AN EXAMPLE TWS 18 in a course unless a) it can be verified that the poor performance is not the result of a language problem, and b) a conference was held with the parents and the ESOL compliance specialist during the first semester. In hindsight, I should have made contact with her parents and worked with them as soon as I noticed the problem. The other student that failed (S14) was the student in RtI for a suspected Emotional Behavioral Disability. This student seemed to do well throughout the entire unit. He seemed to understand the instruction and did well on his assignments. Unfortunately, on the day of the postassessment, he was upset because of an incident in a previous class and was not interested in doing careful work. He may have shown more improvement if he was allowed to take the assessment at a later date. Comment [ML45]: Indicator P10: For any student that failed the post-assessment, I have to discuss what happened and what I did to try and prevent failure. The TWS is part of a reflective learning process. You might get to this step and realize what you should have done. That kind of realization is still valuable and will make you a better teacher in the future. Feel free to point out the lessons that you have learned. AN EXAMPLE TWS 19 Evaluation and Reflection Overall, I think the unit was a success. I think it was important that I decided to use word problems like the FCAT uses that require multiple steps to find the answer. It required more Comment [ML46]: Indicator P7: As I write my Evaluation and Reflection, the conclusions I make should be consistent with all of the data that I discussed in the previous component. If the evidence for my conclusion isn’t already in the Analysis of Student Learning component, I should include the data in the text of this component. work for me, but I think it made a difference in student learning. I think one of the reasons the pre-assessment scores were so low is because my students haven’t been asked many complex, multi-step problems in their math classes before. I did use a few practice exercises from the book as we learned individual skills in each lesson. By keeping my focus on the ultimate goal of complex, multi-step word problems, though, I didn’t decide that the students had “gotten it” until I had them show me that kind of mastery. I did have to break down these kinds of problems into smaller steps and teach my students how to analyze them, but I think the kind of assessments that I used and the results that my students got on them shows that it worked. I think that my ability to keep instruction and learning activities focused on the application and real-world use of the skills I’m teaching is one of my strengths as a teacher. Comment [ML47]: Indicator P4: I specifically identify at least one of my strengths as a teacher. As I reflect on my experience with the TWS, I also notice some areas where I can grow as a teacher. When I look at post-assessment data for ELLs, I notice a weakness of mine. On the post-assessment, the ELLs in my classes scored an average of 67.9%, which is 14.5 points lower than students who are not receiving ESOL services. Also, none of my ELLs showed mastery of all three learning goals. I need to pay attention to this difficulty. I plan to read about effective ESOL accommodations and attend some workshops to help me grow in these skills and become a much more effective teacher. One of the main things that I learned from this unit is that if we want our students to use higher-order reasoning to solve complex, multi-step, real-world problems, then we have to teach them those skills. Just because a student understands all of the separate skills that a complex Comment [ML48]: Indicator P5: I identify, acknowledge, and reflect on one of my weaknesses as a teacher. If, as you write about the areas in which you can grow as a teacher, you can also think of how to develop those skills, you are well on your way to meeting exemplary Indicator E5. AN EXAMPLE TWS 20 problem requires doesn’t mean that they will naturally be able to string those skills together on their own. Students must be taught how to analyze complex problems, how to break those problems down into more manageable steps, and how to figure out which skills to apply to each step. Drill and practice pages don’t accomplish this level of understanding. I think this lesson is reflected in my most effective and my least effective learning goal. Learning Goal 2 was my most effective learning goal, with my students soring an average of 83.8% on these items and 76.9% of my students demonstrating mastery. Both values were the highest of any of my learning goals. I think that Learning Goal 2 was so effective because I planned from the beginning to teach my students how to work through complex, composite Comment [ML49]: Indicator P6: I learned a lot through my TWS. In this passage I reflect on the biggest thing I learned about teaching and learning. I could also discuss something that I learned about assessment or specific teaching techniques. To meet this indicator, I need to reflect on something that I learned about education, in general, beyond the things I learn about teaching this specific content. Comment [ML50]: Indicator P1: Both my most effective and my least effective learning goals are identified specifically in the next two paragraphs, meeting this indicator. Comment [ML51]: Since I did not include this data in my Analysis of Student Learning component, I must include it here to support identifying LG2 as the most effective. figures. Since I specifically taught them the problem solving techniques that they would need for these kinds of exercises, my students were much more proficient at using them. Comment [ML52]: Indicator P2: I identify and reflect upon the things that contributed to the success of LG2. Learning Goal 3 was my least effective learning goal, with my students scoring an average of 74.3% on its items and only 44.3% of them demonstrating mastery. As I discussed in my second example of instructional decision making, I did not start by explicitly teaching my Comment [ML53]: Since I did not include this data in my Analysis of Student Learning component, I must include it here to support identifying LG3 as the least effective. students how to use algebraic reasoning to approach these kinds of problems. By the time I went back and tried to fix my error, though, I think some of the damage had already been done. All of the students that chose to resubmit the Missing Measures assignment demonstrated mastery of that Learning Goal, but far too few students took the opportunity for the additional practice. If I teach a similar unit again, I will definitely start with algebraic thinking, and then apply it to geometry. I think that will have much better results. Comment [ML54]: Indicator P3: I identify and reflect on the things that may have hindered growth on LG3, and talk about how to avoid this problem in the future.
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