Term 2

Mini-Work Sample Guidelines

Winter 2008

Western Oregon University

Division of Teacher Education

Undergraduate

Table of Contents

Overview 3

Major Components of the Work Sample 3

Title Page 4

Setting 4

Goals and Objectives 6

Work Sample Rationale 7

Assessment Plan and Analyses 11

Part I: Assessment Plan(s) 11

Part II: Pre-Assessment 12

Part III: Post-Assessment 13

Proficiency Analysis Reflection 15

Part 1: The organizing table 15

Part 2: Analysis 16

Overall Reflection 19

References and Appendices 19

Overview

A major element of your initial license teacher education program is the work sample. The work sample is a written, standards-based, contextual teaching and learning unit. It is much more than some lessons and a test. The Teachers Standards and Practices Commission requires every teacher candidate in the state of Oregon to successfully implement two teacher work samples. At WOU, every teacher candidate will design and implement one work sample in Term 3 and another one in term 4, one at each student teaching setting and/or authorization level.

The mini-work sample (MWS) is intended to prepare you for this culminating assessment of your ability as a teacher candidate. For that reason it will make comparable demands even though it is reduced in size and is not itself required for licensure. That means the writing and the final presentation of the mini-work sample needs be your best work and you should closely adhere to the guidelines below as well as the checklists incorporated into the MWS scoring guide.

The science work sample will help you focus on specific aspects of teaching that are related to teaching

science. For the most part, the science work sample does not require more writing or more work, it

requires different writing and different work. The prompts related specifically to science align directly

with the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Teaching Standards. Therefore, there are

references to laboratory instruction, scientific inquiry, safety, research on science misconceptions,

and more that are not present in the general work sample prompts. These prompts are important to

focus on because they will help you develop your science pedagogical content knowledge. That means,

you know your science content and scientific processes and also know how to teach that to students

so they develop an understanding of science content and processes too.

Layout: Each section of the guidelines has a checklist. The science specific prompts are noted in italics and boldface type. Those are the kinds of prompts that will help build specific science teaching skills. Also, each section of the guidelines includes the corresponding NSTA Teaching Standards.

Major Components of the Work Sample

Title page

1.  Table of Contents

2.  Setting

3.  Goals and objectives:

a.  At least two state/district/national goals.

b.  Align appropriate objectives that address the goals.

4.  Rationale or plan for unit

5.  Three or more lesson plans developed from the objectives

(Use the ‘WOU lesson plan format’ below as a guideline).

6.  Assessment Plan- both formative and summative

7.  Summative Assessments Analyses:

a.  Pre-assessment instrument and analysis of results.

b.  Post assessment instrument and analysis of learning gains.

c.  Other summative assessment analyses if applicable.

10. Proficiency Analysis Reflection

11. Overall Reflection

12. References: Setting information, resources like trade books; curriculum

materials (ex: textbooks or science kits); activity ideas borrowed and modified;

and books read or used in the classroom.

(It is also possible to place references at the end of a section that

requires it - rather than have one reference section at the end.)

13. Appendix A: evidence related to teacher education proficiencies.

14. Appendix B: evidence for term 2 proficiency analyses.

15. Appendix C: school information or handouts, student work.

Title Page

The Work Sample Title Page sets the stage for the reader. The Title Page may be placed on the front of the binder to easily identify the sample but regardless needs to include the following:

  1. Title of work sample unit taught.
  2. When (Term and year) and where (Ex: 3rd grade class at Smith Elementary School, Dallas, OR) it was taught.
  3. A brief paragraph (4-5 sentences) that describes the setting and unit.
  4. The author’s name!

Example of brief paragraph:

This oceanography work sample was taught in a third grade classroom in Dallas, Oregon. The oceanography unit focused primarily on tide pools. The school is in a rural setting. My classroom had 26 students including three ELL, 2 reading TAG students and 4 IEP students.

Setting

Purpose: Analysis of contextual factors about the “community” that impact teaching and learning.

Standard: The teacher analyzes contextual information to determine relevant factors that influence curriculum, instruction, learning goals and management decisions.

Thoughts about the Setting Narrative

An important component of the work sample is the setting. In the past, setting descriptions have tended to read like Chamber of Commerce advertisements …” nestled in the picturesque valley of the Willamette...”. They often contained pages and pages of undigested data downloaded from school district or city websites. Undigested information will not help you become a better teacher.

What is an effective setting narrative?

An effective setting narrative is a detailed description and analysis of the relevant context (classroom, school, district and community) in which the work sample is being taught.

Why is it important to have a strong setting description?

The setting is important to you as you design your work sample unit. You are more likely to design a meaningful, relevant, and developmentally appropriate unit if you know your audience – the students. This means getting to know the community from which your students come. It also means getting to know as much as possible about the district, the school, the classroom, and individual students in your classroom.

This information is important to your university supervisor because it provides the backdrop or context for evaluating your work sample. Some classes, schools, and communities are more challenging than others and it is important to have that information to see how effective you have been in implementing the work sample. It’s a lot easier to be successful if you have a small, highly motivated class with lots of parent support. Your task will be more difficult if you have a large, heterogeneous class where many of the students have learning difficulties, or are not native English speakers.

Science and the setting.

The NSTA standards recognize the importance of this through three standards: Context of Science, Social Context and Environment for Learning. Science teachers can involve the community in their science classrooms in a number of ways, including guest speakers and working directly with a business or government agency conducting research. Teaching in a setting that is dependent on irrigation for farming is important to know if you teach about salmon and endangered species. Knowing the environmental issues in the community can help prepare you for teaching topics like water quality, mining, nuclear waste, and soil erosion. Strategies to help students with special needs or with different learning styles when a lesson involves lab work can only become reality if a teacher knows the students. All students can be successful at science. One way of helping them achieve success is by knowing about them and their community.

NSTA standards related to contextual factors:

Gathering information for your setting

Use the data gathering checklist to help you gather data about the factors that could affect teaching and learning. The items in the checklist will help frame the narrative of the setting. Not all of the items in the checklist may need to be included in the narrative. You must learn to be selective about the information needed for your particular setting. As you gather information for your setting, ask yourself the following questions:

·  Is this information relevant?

·  Will this information help me to better understand the students that I teach?

·  What influence might this information have on curriculum or management decisions that I make?

·  What does this information mean to me as a teacher?

Data Gathering Checklist Menu

The Community (area from which the students are drawn)

o  Physical environment – urban, suburban, rural, industrial, quality of housing, neighborhoods, etc.

o  Diversity/Demographic characteristics – average per-capita income, ethnic make-up, percentage of high school graduates, percentage of college graduates.

o  Economic characteristics – major employers, unemployment rates, average housing costs, etc.

o  Examines how the class is influenced by the “character” of the community from which the students are drawn i.e. physical, demographic, social, and economic characteristics.

o  Identifies community resources and, if relevant, discusses how the resources might be used in lessons.

o  Other – availability of healthcare, transportation, and recreation facilities and other resources etc. if applicable.

The School District Community

o  Diversity/Demographic information – size, ethnic make-up, percentage of students on free or reduced lunch, percentage of students in Title 1, TAG or other programs, percentage of students for who English is a second language.

o  District support services for TAG, Special Needs, ESL, counseling etc.

o  Total students, number and kinds of schools.

The School Community

o  Diversity/Demographic information – size, ethnic make-up, percentage of students on free or reduced lunch, percentage of students in Title 1 programs, percentage of students for who English is a second language.

o  School support services for TAG, Special Needs, ESL, counseling etc.

o  School rules, classroom management and behavior policy, formal and informal –e.g. hallway and cafeteria expectations, detention, actions for which students should be directly sent to the office, in-school and out-of school suspension, policies regarding the use of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs etc.

o  Support for the schools from the community, parents, and volunteers etc.

o  The physical environment of the school – well maintained, inviting, difficult (portables!), library, computer labs, etc.

o  Faculty and staff demographics, department/grade level meetings, etc.

o  NCLB Adequate Yearly Progress and Oregon State Report Card results. This information can be found on the Oregon Department of Education website.

The Classroom Community: Describes in detail, the classroom context in which the mini-unit is taught. Include all of these components in your setting.

o  Physical layout of the room - what does it look like and what resources are available? Technology? (Diagrams or photos are helpful).

ü  Lab equipment and materials: Identify the lab resources available for students and teachers to use for experiments and demonstrations (NSTA 9a,9b,9d)

ü  Are there plants or animals in the classroom? (NSTA 9d) If so, how are they integrated into the classroom?

ü  Physical space for doing hands-on and collaborative science: How is the classroom set up for doing lab work? (NSTA 9a,9b,9c,9d)

ü  Available technology: besides lab resources, what other kinds of technology are available for students and teachers

ü  What kids of safety equipment or safety awareness is available that is relevant to the kind of science taught in this classroom? Are laboratory safety equipment such as a first aid kit, fire extinguisher or chemical eye wash stations available? Are there any safety rules or safety posters in the room?

o  Student characteristics: Diversity/Demographic characteristics – size, gender breakdown, ethnic make-up, students on I.E.P.s, TAG, ESL, and Special Needs students.

o  Student characteristics: Provide a comprehensive description of student differences (e.g. development, interests, readiness, learning styles, culture, and abilities/disabilities) that are relevant to learning goals.

o  Describe and analyze student characteristics of the subgroup and individual student who will be the focus of the in depth assessment analysis.

o  Describes the classroom support from parents, volunteers, and classroom assistants.

o  Daily/weekly teaching schedule

o  Science text, curriculum or kit used: What is the textbook, curriculum or science kit adopted by your school or teacher? What is the role of text or kit in teaching and learning? Curriculum overview: There are many ways to approach the long term and short term curriculum for teaching science content. What is the approach taken in this setting?

Goals and Objectives

Purpose: The goals and objectives tell what learning outcomes are expected of students and how they relate to District, State or National Content Standards and/or Common Curriculum Goals.

Standard: The teacher sets developmentally appropriate, challenging, varied learning goals and objectives that are derived from the District, State or National Content Standards and/or Common Curriculum Goals.

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Goals and objectives represent the heart of what you want your students to know and be able to do.

The goals, unless they are affective, should be taken from the district, state or national standards. Affective goals can align with standards or be derived from standards. Your objectives are the specific bits of learning or performance levels that you want your students to accomplish to help reach the goal.

Goals in the work sample unit must be from the content standards. The Oregon Science Content Standards are your primary source. Other resources include the National Science Education

Standards and the Benchmarks for Science Literacy. Most of the time there is one objective for each lesson but it is possible to have more than one. For example, an affective and a cognitive objective could be in one lesson. When integrating content, a literacy goal and objective along with a content area goal and objective (e.g. math, science, PE, etc.) could be in the same lesson.

When considering what you want your students to learn, beyond addressing the standards, take into consideration learning styles, interests, multiple intelligences, and the cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains. Your objectives should not all be the same type or at the same cognitive level or at the same performance level. At least one objective must address literacy. All objectives must be aligned with formative, summative and pre/post summative assessment items.

The goals and objectives should be in a separate section of your work sample, in addition to including the appropriate goal and objective on each lesson. For each goal, list all of the supporting objectives underneath in a format that looks similar to the one shown below. Objective 1.1 and 1.2 support Goal 1. Objective 2.1 and 2.2 support Goal 2. By using the coding format shown below, you, your mentor teacher and your supervisor will more easily recognize and understand the relationship between the goals and objectives as well as better understand the focus of the unit.