TOPIC for work-My classroom is a first-grade classroom with 22 students with reading,math and english. The students come from diverse backgrounds, and there is a range of social skills within the class. Linguistic and Cultural: The classroom is culturally diverse, with students speaking different languages at home. Among the students, there are three who have been identified with special needs: one ADHD student, who needs constant movement and short, varied assignments to stay focused; a second student with dyslexia who benefits from visuals and oral tests; and a third student with a mild autism spectrum disorder, who needs clear instructions, a consistent environment, and a structured classroom environment. Physical, Social, Behavioral, or Developmental Factors The classroom physical layout is optimal for both group and individual activities, desks which are easy to rearrange. I have built a set of classroom norms and used restorative procedures to resolve conflicts. From a developmental standpoint, differentiation in instruction and assessment becomes important to cater to the range of maturity levels to meaningfully engage and challenge each student. School and Community Factors The school district to which the school belongs puts a big priority on STEM education, therefore giving students access to a number of resources and technologies that help in the learning process. Despite this, the socioeconomic gap within the community is the obstacle that hinders students from accessing the learning materials and opportunities outside of school. Knowing the particular features of my students, the classroom, and the wider school and community context is essential so that I can make appropriate decisions that support both the academic and the social-emotional development of all students.
Contextual Information
This step allows you to provide a picture of your class that will enable the reader to better understand your instruction and decision-making skills.
Overview
Many factors can affect teaching and learning; these could include the community, the school district, and/or individual school/classroom/student factors.
The information you gather about your teaching and learning context and about individual students will help provide perspective to the rater who will be scoring your submission.
This part of your submission will not be scored, but the information you include should have implications regarding your professional choices.
Your response must be limited to 1,500 characters (approximately one-half page typed). No artifacts can be attached to the Contextual Information textbox response.
a. Describe your classroom. Include the grade level, content area, subject matter, and number of students. Provide relevant information about any of your students with special needs.
b.
Describe any physical, social, behavioral, or developmental factors that may impact the instruction that occurs in your classroom. Mention any linguistic, cultural, or health considerations that may also impact teaching and learning in your classroom.
c.
Describe any factors related to the school and surrounding community that may impact the teaching and learning that occurs in your classroom
Step 1: Planning – Textbox: 4.1.1: Goals and Student Background
This step allows you to demonstrate your knowledge of an effective lesson plan that facilitates student learning.
Activity: Creating a Plan
Produce a standards-based lesson plan for your whole class that addresses learning needs, includes instructional strategies to engage students, and incorporates assessment techniques to gauge student learning. The lesson plan needs to provide baseline data from both the whole class and the two Focus Students, work samples from the Focus Students, and a fifteen-minute video. Before teaching the lesson, respond to the guiding prompts below.
Guiding Prompts
a. What learning goal(s) and standards (state and/or national) did you identify for the class? Explain how they are appropriate for the lesson and your students’ learning needs.
b.
What whole-class data did you use to establish a baseline to measure student growth?
c.
How did your students’ prior knowledge
and background information influence your planning process?
Enter your response in the textbox below.
The required artifacts for this textbox:
· representative pages of your lesson plan (maximum of two pages)
· representative pages of the baseline data for the whole class (maximum of two pages)
To include the artifact(s) with your response, see the “Artifacts” instructions at the top of this page.
Textbox: 4.1.2: Instructional Strategies
Guiding Prompts
a. How do you plan to use academic content language to advance the understanding of the concept being taught in this lesson? Provide a rationale.
b.
How do you plan to engage students in critical thinking to promote student learning? Provide a rationale.
c.
How do you plan to use questioning skills to promote student learning? Provide a rationale.
d.
How do you plan to integrate literacy into the content you will teach to promote student learning? Provide a rationale.
Enter your response in the textbox below.
Textbox: 4.1.3: Lesson Activity(ies)
Guiding Prompts
a. Describe the activity or activities that is (are) the main focus of the lesson plan. Explain how you designed the activity (ies) to anticipate
and address student learning needs.
b.
Describe how you will monitor student learning during the course of the lesson.
c.
What student work samples will you require the students to submit as part of your assessment of student learning resulting from the lesson? (The work can be created either during or after the lesson.) How will these responses be integrated into the lesson plan? Provide a rationale for your choice of student work samples.
Enter your response in the textbox below.
Step 2: Implementing the Plan – Textbox: 4.2.1: Instructional Strategies
This step allows you to demonstrate your ability to implement the lesson plan, interact with your students, and analyze your practice.
Activity: Implementing the Plan
Teach the lesson based on the plan you described in Step 1, and provide a fifteen-minute video from that lesson. Then respond to the guiding prompts below.
Guiding Prompts
a. How did you use academic content language to advance the understanding of the concept being taught in this lesson? Cite examples from the video to support your analysis.
b.
How did you engage students in critical thinking to promote student learning? Cite examples from the video to support your analysis.
c.
How did you use questioning skills to promote student learning? Cite examples from the video to support your analysis.
d.
How did you integrate literacy into the content you taught to promote student learning? Cite examples from any part of the lesson to support your analysis.
Enter your response in the textbox below.
Textbox: 4.2.2: Interacting with the Students
Guiding Prompts
a. How did you monitor student learning while teaching the lesson? In what ways did evidence of learning guide your instructional decision making while teaching the lesson? Cite examples from the video to support your analysis.
b.
How did you provide feedback to individuals
and the whole class to advance student learning? Cite examples from the video to support your analysis.
c.
How did you use verbal and nonverbal communication techniques to foster student learning? Cite examples from the lesson to support your analysis.
Enter your response in the textbox below.
Textbox: 4.2.3: Classroom Management
Guiding Prompts
a. What classroom-management strategies did you use during the lesson? Cite examples of the strategies from the video.
b.
In what ways did the strategies engage students and promote a positive learning environment? Cite examples from the video to support your analysis.
Enter your response in the textbox below.
Step 3: Understanding the Two Focus Students – Textbox: 4.3.1: Understanding the Two Focus Students
This step allows you to provide evidence of planning for the learning of the two Focus Students.
Activity: Collecting Student Work
Choose two Focus Students who reflect different learning needs based on the goal(s) of the lesson. Plan to collect evidence of learning as seen in the baseline data and the student work samples. Then respond to the guiding prompts below.
Guiding Prompts
Focus Student 1:
a. Identify Focus Student 1’s learning strengths and challenges.
b.
What data did you use to establish a baseline to measure this student’s growth?
c.
What evidence will you collect to show his or her progress toward the learning goal(s)?
Focus Student 2:
a. Identify Focus Student 2’s learning strengths and challenges.
b.
What data did you use to establish a baseline to measure this student’s growth?
c.
What evidence will you collect to show his or her progress toward the learning goal(s)?
Enter your response in the textbox below.
The required artifacts for this textbox:
· the baseline data for Focus Student 1 (maximum of one page).
· the baseline data for Focus Student 2 (maximum of one page).
To include the artifact(s) with your response, see the “Artifacts” instructions at the top of this page.
Step 4: Reflecting – Textbox: 4.4.1: Reflecting on the Whole Class
This step allows you to reflect on the effectiveness of your lesson for the entire class and the two Focus Students.
Activity: Reflecting on the Whole Class
Think about your lesson plan, the implementation of the lesson, and the student work. Then respond to the guiding prompts below.
Guiding Prompts
a. To what extent did the students reach the learning goal(s)? Cite examples from the lesson plan and/or the video that support your conclusions.
b.
Reflect on your instructional strategies, interactions with students, and classroom-management strategies. Discuss what went well and what areas you would revise in the future. Cite examples from the video that support your conclusions.
c.
Describe revisions that you could make if you were to teach the lesson again. Why would you make each revision? Cite examples from the lesson plan, the video, and/or the student work that would prompt the revisions.
Enter your response in the textbox below.
Textbox: 4.4.2: Reflection on the Two Focus Students
Guiding Prompts
a. Based on the baseline data and student work samples, to what extent did each of the two Focus Students achieve the learning goal(s) of the lesson?
b.
How will your analysis of the baseline data and student work samples guide planning for future lessons for each of the two Focus Students?
Enter your response in the textbox below.
The required artifacts for this textbox:
· a representative work sample for Focus Student 1 (maximum of two pages).
· a representative work sample for Focus Student 2 (maximum of two pages).
To include the artifact(s) with your response, see the “Artifacts” instructions at the top of this page.
