ECU TQP Grant Project / ►ISLES
FAQ- University Supervisors
ELEM, MIDG, SPED

2123 TQP Instructional Strategies Handout

1.)  What does TQP stand for?

Teacher Quality Partnership grant

2.) Do I have a role in the 2123 TQP Instructional Strategies handout?

No, 2123 instructors distribute the handout to students in their class.

ISLES 1

1.)  What does ISLES stand for?

Instructional Strategy Lessons for Educators Series

Also, see ISLES Student Directions (Overview)

2.) Do I have a role in the ISLES 1 module?

No, ISLES 1 is an online module with 5 quizzes in which students learn about the strategy definitions, supporting research, and related benefits.

ISLES 2

1.)  What does ISLES stand for?

Instructional Strategy Lessons for Educators Series

Also, see ISLES Student Directions (Overview)

2.) Do I have a role in the ISLES 2 module?

No, ISLES 2 is an online module with 5 quizzes in which students learn about planning considerations using the strategies.

ISLES 3

1.)  What does ISLES stand for?

Instructional Strategy Lessons for Educators Series

Also, see ISLES Student Directions (Overview)

2.) Do I have a role in the ISLES 3 module?

Yes, for current senior 2s only. This is the last semester that University Supervisors will evaluate the intern’s ISLES 3 work (lesson plan with strategies, video clip, and written commentary) in TaskStream using the ISLES 3 scoring rubric. This rubric is almost identical to the TPA Task 2 rubric.

The intern may also lean on you for support during the actual videotaping of the lesson. For interns who are close by, there are flip cameras available to check out from the Speight Computer Lab.

3.)  When should ISLES be due?

ISLES 3 should be completed by the Oct 5 for Senior 2’s.

4.)  When do I have to ISLES 3 in Taskstream?

You will need to conference with the intern prior to Oct. 5th about their ISLES 3 work and formally score the ISLES 3 work in Taskstream.

5.) Where do my interns access ISLES 3?

It is in their senior BB course.

6.) Where will my students submit their final ISLES 3 work? What will they submit?

They will submit their work in TaskStream within their ISLES portfolio. They will submit a lesson plan, a trimmed 10-15 minute video of the lesson being taught, and a written commentary.

7.)  Have all students doing ISLES 3 this semester gone through the ISLES 2 module before this semester?

Yes.

8.) Where do I find the ISLES 3 scoring rubric?

It is in the ISLES 3 module, but has also been sent to University Supervisors via email. It will also be in the ISLES portfolio in TaskSream where students will submit their final work.

The interns are asked to review the scoring rubric and use that to determine what is the best part of the video to “trim.” After going through ISLES 3, they should be ready to trim the videos now. The due date for the lesson plan, lesson commentary, and video segment is Oct 5th.

9.)Are all Sr. II internstudents required to make the video(s)?

The undergraduate ELEM, MIDG, and SPED interns are required to do both the ISLES #3 taping and the TPA taping (see below). This is the final semester that ISLES 3 will be required during Senior 2.

Video Taping:

Students are expected to record their teaching on two separate occasions. Prior to videotaping, interns must have collected ECU Video Consent forms (it is in the ISLES 3 module and has been emailed to US in an update) from all students; if some fail to return them, they should be positioned off camera.

The first taping is for the ISLES #3 assignment. This lesson is to be taped in entirety, though the intern will choose 10-15 minutes total to be submitted as part of their ISLES 3 work. This is to be done prior to Oct 5th so that interns, Clinical Teachers, and University Supervisors can view this together between the dates of August 30- Oct 5th. Please note – the live teaching of this lesson should not be used as one of the student’s official observations. Supervisors can, however, schedule an observation on the day that the ISLES #3 lesson would be viewed to save the Supervisor from making another visit. Supervisors will fill out a rubric located in TaskStream once they have viewed the student’s work.

The other occasion that interns will be taping themselves is for the TPA. This lesson is to be taped in entirety, though the intern will choose 1-2 clips of up to 15 minutes total to be submitted as part of their TPA work. Additional details on the TPA will continue to be distributed to interns and supervisors.

10.) How is ISLES 3 related to TPA?

ISLESis an online three module series developed as a result of theTQP grant. The modules focus on a set of instructional strategies. Students are introduced to the strategies in ISLES 1 at the declarative level. This module is required as part of the intro methods course students take. They then work with the strategies at the procedural level in ISLES 2 (how do you use strategies in lesson planning) in a following course. Then they actually use the strategies in a lesson in ISLES 3(the conditional level) during Senior II. ISLES 3 is modeled after Task 2 of theTPA portfolio. It is a practice run for students. For this semester only, senior II students will complete both ISLES 2 and 3 in senior II. In future semesters, senior II interns will only complete ISLES 3. Note that these modules are required for all interns, not justTQP interns, and are a part of the Senior II Seminar – ELEM 4526. .

Keep in mind that ISLES 3 is designed to be a formative assessment leading into the intern's final summativeTPA portfolio as it is a practice run for Task 2 of the portfolio. Interns could score all 1’s on the ISLES 3 rubric and still receive credit for completing the assignment. The ISLES 3 score should be used by the CT and US to assist the intern in making any final adjustments needed as they prepare their final TPA, task #2.

11.) Where and how do students submit their ISLES 3 video? Do they submit the entire lesson video?

The intern will trim (NOT EDIT) their lesson video so it is a continuous 10-15 minute segment from their lesson that best reflects their teaching as evaluated by the ISLES 3 scoring rubric. They will need to compress the trimmed 10-15 minute video clip before uploading it to TaskStream. Once it is trimmed and compressed, they will upload the video clip to the ISLES 3 assignment in the ISLES portfolio in TaskStream. They have received compression guides in the ISLES 3 module itself on the HOT LINKS slide.

INTERNS SHOULD NOT POST THE VIDEO CLIP ON YOUTUBE OR ANY OTHER ONLINE SOCIAL MEDIA. Those sites are not considered secure locations and they do not have permission to post videos of public school students there. The ISLES 3 video can only be submitted and posted in TaskStream through our password protected server

.

12.) What do my interns do with the ECU signed consent forms?

Interns need to keep the consent forms in a secure location until after graduation. The intern will only need to collect consent forms once. The consent forms will work for TPA too as long as the children in the video are the same. Please note, interns may be asked for permission to use their ISLES 3 or TPA videos for training purposes or as examples in future classrooms. If that occurs, we will need to make copies of the consent forms.

13.) Do I need to view the video with the intern at their site or may I view it at home

and then conference with them at my second observation appointment?

We were asking the students to walk you through the video at your meeting. It should be short so you could do it after the 2nd observation. We wanted them to tell you why they think it was appropriate/not appropriateas opposed to the other way around. Then the idea is that you would guide the conversation after the intern has the opportunity to share his/her thoughts. As with anything, there may need to be adjustments based on intern needs and your schedule.

14.) If SPED AC students were assigned to a strategy island that would not work for

their AC population, can they select another island to work with?

In the ISLES 3 module, the students were randomly assigned one of the following

strategy islands: Organizers, Concept Learning, Question and Review, and Grouping. Interns were then asked to:

Choose an additional strategy from a different island group. Please note all lessons should include some type of assessment strategy. The island groups are listed below.

–Organizers

–Concept Learning

–Question and Review

–Grouping

Because the TQP grant only looks at data from ELEM, MIDG, and SPED GC, if there is another strategy island other than grouping (organizers, concept learning, question and review) that would be more appropriate for SPED AC interns, please have them select a different island. Basically, those interns in AC would select 2 islands other than assessment that would best support their work. All interns are expected to utilize strategies within the assessment island in their lessons.

The SPED 4020 instructor would just need to communicate with those intern supervisors this change so interns are not penalized.

15.) The ISLES #3 Student Instructions state that students will be assigned a strategy island group (and then select one) - who assigns these groups? If this is something I am to do, what are the criteria for making these assignments?

When you go to the module, the students will click on the assigned strategy linkand they will see it. They have been randomly assigned. The list has also been emailed to US in an update.

16.) The ISLES #3 Student Instructions, item 13, reads in part:Submit the lesson plan,

videotape and lesson commentary to Taskstream. You must enroll in the ISLES 3

TaskStream portfolio. See Enrollment Key Code directions that your Senior II Seminar

instructor shared with you. What is the Enrollment Key Code they need? Is it the same they needed to set up their Task Stream account?

It is forthcoming and will be emailed to all instructors and US.

17.) What are the lesson plan expectations for ISLES 3?

The following expectations pertain to internship lesson planning in Senior II.

Interns should be expected to write full, detailed lesson plans for each lesson that they teach until their first successful observation. At that point, interns should still plan all lessons and provide lesson information to the supervisor in an abbreviated, modified format. This abbreviated form should include the goals/objectives (Standards), teaching strategies, andassessment strategy along with any other components the clinical teacher may suggest.As interns pick up more subject areas and work their way to all-days, it is important that we also provide them the time outside of teaching to not only plan, but prepare those plans for implementation. In their coursework, interns have had a great deal of experience writing and teaching the formal lesson plans.

In ISLES 3 Hot Links slide, you will find the accepted ELEM, MIDG, and SPED Direct Instruction (6-step for ELEM) and Discovery (5-E) formats. SPED has two formats: GC and UDL that students can select when completing their lesson plans for ISLES 3.

18.) Is there a way that I can view the actual ISLES 3 module in the Senior 2 seminar class? When I meet with my intern, I would like to know what I need to be looking for.

If you would like to be added to the Senior 2 seminar course in BB in which the ISLES 3 module is located, please email with the request. Make sure to identify yourself as a University Supervisor.

19.) Do ELEM, MIDG, SPED interns outside of Pitt/Greene Co. have to do ISLES 3?

Regarding ISLES, ALL ELEM, SPED, MIDG interns are completing ISLES 3. The modules should have been shared in the interns' Senior II faculty seminars on campus or online. Supervisors play an important role in ISLES 3 as they meet with the intern following the completion of the video segment/lesson plan/lesson commentary and debrief with the intern in preparation for Task 2 in the TPA.

“TQP” interns have been identified as all ELEM, MIDG, SPED interns in Greene and Pitt County. As a TQP intern, these interns receive additional supports from TQP instructional coaches. They complete the ISLES modules just like all other ELEM, MIDG, SPED interns.

20.) If my interns are having technical or content related issues with ISLES, who do we contact?

Ask your intern to send an email explaining the issue to

21.) Where do interns access a video camera?

ISLES 3 instructors should require access to a video recording device in the course syllabus. If an intern is close by, there are flip cameras available to check out from the Speight Computer Lab. Interns are encouraged to use a video camera that they may already have. If they don’t have a camera that is easily accessible, they are asked to check with their school media center for a school video camera.

Question not on here? Email it to You will receive a response within 24 hours.

Last Updated September 10, 2012