Student Teaching Handbook
Preparing Caring Professional Educators for a
Diverse and Democratic Society
Rev 07/2014
Acknowledgement
Many contributions to the revision of the Student Teaching Handbook were made by cooperating teachers,
student teachers and university supervisors. The resulting handbook is a true partnership effort of the revision
committee:
Dick McInnis, Katie Robertson, Jan Davis and Kathy Ashton-Miller.
The contents of this handbook are subject to revision at any time. It is designed to help student teachers, in
collaboration with university supervisors and cooperating teachers, acquire competencies related to successful
teaching practices. The university, its College of Education and Department of Teacher Education reserve the
right to change policies, practices, programs, services and personnel as required.
Dr. Wendy Burke
Director of Student Teaching
College of Education
This handbook is available to download from: http://www.emich.edu/coe/forms
Introduction
The student teaching program is designed to be both an integrative and a capstone experience in the
comprehensive program for the professional development of prospective teachers. Student teaching allows the
prospective teacher an opportunity to test methods and theories of teaching, to develop effective strategies for
teaching and learning, to identify teaching strengths and weaknesses, and to develop a teaching style. The
student teacher’s ability to make sound professional decisions is based on his/her ability to reflect on his/her
professional courses and to apply educational principles and techniques within the framework of the field
internship.
Student teaching is usually acknowledged as the most outstanding and meaningful experience of the entire
teacher preparation program. The experiences should aid in the development of educators who are Caring
Professional Educators for a Diverse and Democratic Society. (CPED²s)
•
Caring Educators are committed to all students’ learning within supportive learning communities. They
are student-focused and persistent in pursing high developmentally appropriate expectations for all
students.
•
Professional Educators are knowledgeable regarding content and pedagogy, including developing
technologies. They are reflective in their practice, taking into account a wide variety of factors in
planning, implementing, and modifying teaching. They demonstrate professional dispositions and
communication skills.
•
Educators for a Diverse and Democratic society celebrate diversity in schools and communities. They
plan instruction to reflect a diverse society and work effectively with diverse students, parents and
community members. They prepare students for active participation in a democracy through nurturing
critical thinking, creative thinking and problem solving within communities.
Professional growth and learning are captured and assessed throughout the student teaching experience through
a formative and summative evaluation process and used as a means for the student teacher candidate, the
university supervisor, and cooperating teacher to engage in professional dialogue about the candidate’s
development. This dialogic evaluation process is intended to lay a foundation for regular and routinized selfreflection about one’s teaching practice. Candidates who successfully learn how to demonstrate their
professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions as caring professional educators for a diverse and democratic
society as articulated in the Eastern Michigan University’s Teacher Preparation Outcomes and Benchmarks will
have successfully completed their student teaching internship.
See pages 3 and 4 for detail of Eastern Michigan University’s Teacher Preparation Outcomes and Benchmarks
(CPED²s)
STUDENT TEACHING HANDBOOK
Table of Contents
Acknowledgement .............................................................................................................................................. I
Introduction...................................................................................................................................................... II
THE STUDENT TEACHER
Welcome .............................................................................................................................................................2
Qualifications and Responsibilities Related to Student Teaching .....................................................................3
Observation and Evaluation ..............................................................................................................................8
Lesson Planning ...............................................................................................................................................13
PREPARING AND TEACHING YOUR UNIT .................................................................................................17
Unit Assignment Overview...............................................................................................................................18
Introduction To The Unit Guide ......................................................................................................................19
Before You Begin .............................................................................................................................................20
Sequential Steps for Unit Preparation .............................................................................................................23
THE COOPERATING TEACHER ...................................................................................................................70
Letter To Master Teacher ................................................................................................................................71
Introduction to The Cooperating Teacher Section ..........................................................................................72
Cooperating Teacher’s Responsibilities ..........................................................................................................73
Observation Strategies and Techniques...........................................................................................................77
Conference Strategies and Techniques ............................................................................................................78
Evaluation ........................................................................................................................................................82
THE UNIVERSITY SUPERVISOR...................................................................................................................84
University Supervisor’s Responsibilities .........................................................................................................85
APPENDIX ......................................................................................................................................................88
Sample Evaluation Form .................................................................................................................................89
School-Safety Legislation Summary ................................................................................................................93
What Student Teachers Must Know About Substitute Teaching ......................................................................95
Michigan Professional Educator’s Code of Ethics..........................................................................................96
School Personnel Guide for Reporting Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect ..................................................97
Bloom’s Taxonomy.........................................................................................................................................103
The Student Teacher
Welcome
Welcome to student teaching! Your experience as a student teacher is acknowledged as the most
meaningful aspect of your preparation toward becoming an educator. It should aid your development into a
caring, professional educator for a diverse and democratic society.
This section of the handbook is designed to give you basic information about being a student teacher at
Eastern Michigan University. In addition to the information here, your university supervisor will provide
you with more specific details regarding expectations and requirements related to your particular student
teaching placement.
In this section you will find information about:
•
Qualifications and responsibilities related to student teaching
•
Observation and evaluation
•
Lesson planning
•
Unit requirements
Qualifications And Responsibilities
Related to Student Teaching
Qualifications of Student Teachers
The students enrolled in the program have arrived there as a result of self-selection and professional
screening. The general background provided in both pedagogy and subject matter classes gives a basis for
the vital fusion of theory and practice. Students enrolled in the student teaching program have:
• Attained a minimum grade point average at Eastern Michigan University of 2.50 as well as a
minimum grade point average of 2.50 in major and/or minor classes (elementary), and
• Show competency in each of the following areas: mathematics, reading and writing. Scores are
accepted from the Professional Readiness Exam (PRE), Basic Skills Test (no longer offered), ACT,
or Michigan Merit Exam (MME). See the College of Education web site for more information.
Qualifications of Cooperating Teachers
Student teaching experiences are arranged through cooperative agreements between Eastern Michigan
University and surrounding school districts and agencies. The University has specific criteria by which it
selects cooperating teachers. These criteria are:
• A minimum of 3 years of teaching experience
• A Master’s degree
• A recommendation from the building principal or department head and
• Demonstrated success in teaching children and youth
• Certification in the area of supervision
Although the process for selection of cooperating teachers may vary from one school to another and some
exceptions to the criteria may be made on a temporary basis, the overriding consideration is the cooperating
teacher’s desire to help teacher education candidates develop as teachers.
EMU Teacher Preparation Outcomes and Benchmarks (CPED²s)
I.
Caring educators are committed to all students’ learning within supportive learning communities.
They are student-focused and persistent in pursuing high and appropriate expectations for all
students.
A. Set realistic high expectations for learning and persist in helping all students to reach them.
B. Develop (K-12) student cooperation, interpersonal skills and self-esteem in a safe environment.
C. Know the importance of interacting positively with (K-12) students and their families.
II. Professional educators are knowledgeable regarding content, pedagogy and educational
technologies.
D. Understand the central concepts, tools of inquiry and structures of the disciplines he/she teaches
(content).
E. Have knowledge of district, state and national curriculum standards or documents.
F. Establish learning goals that are appropriate for (K-12) students and emphasize critical thinking,
creativity and problem solving.
G. Understand the theoretical and applied aspects of the teaching-learning process (pedagogy).
H. Create meaningful learning experiences that are appropriate for (K-12) students and guide students
to successful achievement of critical thinking, creativity and problem solving goals both within and
across disciplines.
Design activities using a variety of instructional strategies.
J. Use traditional and alternative assessment strategies continuously to ensure (K-12) student learning
and refine teaching practices.
K. Use instructional technology to enhance learning and personal/professional productivity.
III. Professional educators are reflective in their practice.
L. Consider a wide variety of factors when making instructional decisions (e.g. context, students,
content, methods, research, learning theory, policies, community, prior experiences, etc.).
M. Use systematic means to examine the relationship between teaching actions and student success.
I.
IV. Professional educators demonstrate professional dispositions and communication skills.
N. Know the importance of fostering relationships with school colleagues and agencies in the larger
O.
P.
Q.
R.
community to support student learning and well-being.
Communicate clearly and effectively in interpersonal situations.
Communicate clearly and effectively in writing.
Understand the ethical dimensions of teaching in a culturally diverse democratic society.
Demonstrate professional dispositions: adherence to professional ethics, collaboration, commitment
to diversity, commitment to teaching, emotional maturity, initiative, responsibility, responsiveness
to professional feedback, self-reflection, and student-focus.
V. Educators for a diverse and democratic society celebrate diversity in schools and communities.
They prepare students for active participation in a democracy through nurturing critical
thinking, creative thinking and problem solving within communities.
S. Adapt instruction and assessments to meet the needs of diverse learners (e.g. backgrounds,
experiences, learning styles, developmental levels, etc.).
T. Create opportunities to encourage K-12 students to value and respect diversity.
U. Articulate an informed and thoughtful position on the purpose of schools in a culturally diverse
democratic society.
V. Clarify, monitor and assist K-12 students in achieving standards of student conduct in a democratic
environment.
Professional Dispositions
Teaching is more than knowing the content or being able to plan effective lessons. In addition to these vital
skills and knowledge, teachers must also have the attitudes, values, and habits-of-mind that will allow them
to be successful caring professionals. This entails more than loving children or being a friendly person.
Teachers must have the ability to develop positive relationships with students, parents, and colleagues and
to serve as models of mature adulthood to the students in their charge. They must be able to work
effectively in a collaborative school environment with students and adults from diverse backgrounds. As an
institution that prepares teachers, we have the responsibility to teach, model, and assess both your
knowledge of academic content and the professional dispositions that will affect your likelihood of success.
The development and demonstration of professional dispositions will be key to your success as a student
teacher.
The final teacher preparation outcome states that a successful student "demonstrates professional
dispositions: adherence to professional ethics, collaboration, commitment to diversity, commitment to
teaching, emotional maturity, initiative, responsibility, responsiveness to professional feedback, selfreflection, and student-focus."
These dispositions include such characteristics as the following:
1. Adherence to professional ethics: demonstrates adherence to standards of ethical conduct including
academic honesty, confidentiality, etc. (See Michigan Professional Educator’s Code in Appendix)
2. Collaboration: works effectively with professional colleagues and other adults
3. Commitment to diversity: values multiple aspects of diversity; respects children and adults of various
cultural backgrounds, ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, social classes, abilities, political beliefs,
etc.
4. Commitment to teaching: valuing the profession of teaching; belief one can make a difference;
enthusiastic attitude regarding schools, teaching, students, and parents
5. Emotional maturity: deals with frustration appropriately, poised and professional in demeanor
6. Initiative: independence, going beyond what is given, seeking after knowledge and professional
development, actively seeking solutions to problems
7. Responsibility: attendance, promptness, notification of emergencies, hands in materials on time,
reliability when making commitments
8. Responsiveness to professional feedback: receptiveness and responsiveness to professional feedback
9. Self-reflection: reflects on and evaluates one's own experience and work, is willing and able to
recognize difficulties or deficiencies in one's teaching
10. Student focus: focuses professional decision-making around student needs rather than personal
preference, respects students as valued human beings
As you review the evaluation form for student teaching, you will be able to identify questions that assess
your professional dispositions. You also will be asked to evaluate your own professional dispositions and to
discuss with your supervisor how those dispositions have developed through your program.
Calendar
Student teachers follow the school district’s calendar rather than the Eastern Michigan University semester
and vacation schedule.
• Students teaching during the Fall semester must report to their placements on the first day of teacher
meetings and orientation after summer break as scheduled by their district or earlier if so directed
by their cooperating teacher.
• Students teaching during the Winter semester must contact their cooperating teacher and building
administrator before the close of the Fall semester, if a placement has been confirmed; Winter
student teachers begin their placement on the first day of school following Winter break.
• Student teachers are encouraged to attend faculty meetings, in-service training opportunities, school
board meetings, PTSO meetings, and other school functions.
• The University assigns the last day of student teaching.
• Note that the cooperating school reserves the right to terminate a student teacher’s placement at any
time with or without cause.
Responsibilities
At the elementary level, the student teacher is expected to work in all content areas and with all ability
levels during the 15-week student teaching experience. At the secondary level, the student teacher is
expected to gradually take on responsibilities equivalent to a full teaching load, with a minimum of four 4560 minute classes or three 80-90 minute blocked classes.
Other Obligations
Student teachers are discouraged from taking additional classes or maintaining a demanding work schedule
during the student teaching semester. Personal needs and obligations, employment, other university classes
or activities must not take precedence over student teaching responsibilities. Conflicts between student
teaching obligations and class assignments must be resolved with the cooperating teacher and university
supervisor.
Absences
Consistent attendance is essential and absence from student teaching should be avoided. Absences should
not exceed an average of one per month.
• If a student teacher is ill, he or she must notify the cooperating teacher as early as possible; the
student teacher must make arrangements to deliver lesson plans and materials for which he or she is
responsible.
• Student teachers must also notify their university supervisor immediately at his or her home or
office.
Absence for any reason or failure to notify the cooperating school and the university supervisor could result
in an extension or termination of the student teaching placement. Absences may have to be made up at the
discretion of the university supervisor.
Professionalism
Student teachers are expected to behave professionally in all relationships with students, faculty, nonteaching staff, parents and administrators. Student teachers must dress according to the professional
standards established by the teachers with whom they work. Jeans are not appropriate for normal teaching
situations. Student teachers hold guest status in both the school building and the district at large and are
required to exhibit professional demeanor, a positive attitude, and a willingness to listen to and incorporate
feedback throughout the student teaching experience.
Michigan Student/Intern Teacher of the Year Competition
Student teachers are encouraged to apply for the Michigan Student/Intern Teacher of the Year
Competition sponsored by the Michigan Association of Teacher Educators. Additional information and
application materials are available in the Office of Academic Services or on the Michigan Association of
Teacher Educators (MATE) website: http://michiganate.com
Substitute Teaching
Student teachers who apply in advance and are approved and have successfully completed 10 weeks of
student teaching may be granted limited permission to substitute teach. Information for this program is
provided in the Appendix. Application deadlines are September 20 for the Fall term student teachers and
January 20 for the Winter term student teachers.
Student Teachers with Special Needs
Student teachers with special needs should contact the College of Education, Office of Academic Services,
the Ombuds at Eastern Michigan University, and their university supervisor(s).
Health Insurance
Student teachers are not covered by the university for medical, surgical or hospitalization insurance and are
responsible for the purchase and maintenance of their own health insurance. Student health insurance is available to
students meeting the eligibility requirements. Detailed information describing current health insurance options is
available at University Health Services: http://www.emich.edu/uhs/index.php.
Workers Compensation
School districts may be indemnified for workers’ compensation claims made by student teachers. Any
workman’s compensation claim submitted to a school district by a student teacher must also be submitted
in writing to the Office of Academic Services, 206 Porter, within three days of the accident.
Liability Insurance
School districts in Michigan require student teachers to have $1 million of liability insurance. Liability
insurance must be purchased and maintained by the student teacher either from his or her own insurance
provider or using a MEA/NEA Student Membership Application Form. The MEA/NEA form is available
in 206 Porter. Student teachers must provide verification of liability insurance in order to register for and
begin their teaching assignment.
Financial Aid Information
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is an annual federal financial aid application available to
students to apply for financial assistance. It should be completed each January or February to request aid
consideration for the next academic year.
Financial Aid is automatically awarded to all students based on assumed full time enrollment. Most programs require
a proration of the full time award for less than full time enrollment. Enrollment levels are defined in the table below.
The following are financial aid programs and enrollment requirements for each:
• Federal Direct Stafford Loans require a minimum of half time enrollment. Available to all degree and
certificate students.
• The Federal Pell Grant will prorate for less than full time enrollment. Some students may receive an award at
less than half time enrollment. Contact the Office of Financial Aid for additional information. The Pell Grant
is available to first Bachelor students only.
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) will prorate for less than full time
enrollment. The SEOG is available to first Bachelor students only.
• Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grant (TEACH Grant) will prorate for less
than full time enrollment. The TEACH Grant is available to first bachelor and graduate students in certain
programs. The TEACH Grant is not available to students in a Post Bachelor Teacher Certification program.
• Most University Scholarships require full time enrollment. Enrollment requirements for scholarships may be
waived for students in their last year of enrollment. Appeals should be submitted to the Scholarship Review
Committee in person or by email at fa_scholarships@emich.edu. Scholarships awarded by academic
departments have separate enrollment policies. Students should contact their department regarding
exceptions.
Undergraduate
First Bachelors, Second
Bachelors, Teacher
Certification
Graduate
Masters, PhD
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Fall/Winter
Full = 12 hours
¾ = 9 – 11 hours
½ = 6 – 8 hours
< ½ = 1 – 5 hours
Full = 8 hours
¾ = 6 – 7 hours
½ = 4 – 5 hours
•
•
•
Spring/Summer
Full = 6 hours
½ = 3 – 5 hours
< ½ = 1 – 2 hours
•
•
Full = 4 hours
½ = 2 – 3 hours
Observation and Evaluation
Observations
The university supervisor will make several observations and will provide written feedback using one of
several approved observation forms. Although the observation notes do not become part of the student
teacher’s permanent record, they serve as a valuable source of reference to help the student teacher improve
his or her skills.
The student teacher’s role in the evaluation process is not a formal one, but it is important since regular and
sustained self-analysis enables the student teacher to monitor and improve his or her teaching. After
teaching, the student teacher should reflect on the lesson, identifying:
• The goals and objectives of the lesson
• Evidence that shows if the goals and objectives were met
• The strengths of the lesson
• Concerns about the lesson
• Ways to resolve the concerns, and
• Evidence that shows if students were engaged, on-task, and actively involved
Evaluations
The purpose of evaluation is to determine the student teacher’s readiness to be recommended for teacher
certification. The evaluation process includes information from the cooperating teacher and the university
supervisor.
•
•
•
•
The cooperating teacher will complete a formal written midterm evaluation of the student teacher’s
progress as well as a final evaluation at the end of student teaching. These forms are submitted to
the university supervisor for approval. The student teacher’s signature indicates that he or she has
reviewed the evaluation with the cooperating teacher.
To promote self-evaluation, the student teacher will also submit a mid-semester evaluation.
The university supervisor will also complete a formal written midterm evaluation of the student
teacher’s progress as well as a final evaluation at the end of student teaching. The student teacher’s
signature on evaluation documents indicates that he or she has read the evaluation; it does not
indicate that he or she approves or disapproves of its content.
In addition to formal, written evaluations, video or audio recordings may become a part of the
student teacher’s permanent record and may become the property of the College of Education,
Office of Academic Services.
Although the university supervisor will review and consider the cooperating teacher’s observation notes
and evaluation documents, the final decision for evaluation and recommendation for certification rests
with the university supervisor.
Final evaluations become a permanent part of the student teacher’s credential file in the Career Services
Center. Copies are sent by the Career Services Center, at the student teacher’s request, when he or she
applies for a teaching position. Student teachers should make a copy of all evaluation forms for their
personal records. No copies are kept in the College of Education, Office of Academic Services. Samples of
these evaluation forms are included in the Appendix.
Grades
Traditional letter grades are not awarded for student teaching. Instead, one of the following grades is
earned:
•
•
•
•
•
Credit, and recommendation for certification (Satisfactory)
Credit, but not recommended for certification (Passing)
No credit (Unsatisfactory)
Incomplete
Withdrawal from Student Teaching (if within time limit)
SC
PN
U
I
W
Note that the cooperating school reserves the right to terminate a student teacher’s placement at any time
with or without cause.
In cases of extreme necessity, a student teacher can be moved from one appropriate placement to another
appropriate placement by the university supervisor, with the approval of the Director of Student Teaching.
This move can only take place during the first three weeks of the semester in which the student teaching
takes place.
If a student teaching placement is terminated during the student teaching experience by the school district
or university, the student teacher has failed student teaching and will receive a grade of “U”.
If a student teacher receives “limited” ratings on the midterm, the recommendation for teacher certification
is uncertain at that time. If a student teacher receives “limited” ratings on the final evaluation, the student
teacher will not be recommended for certification.
Eligibility for a Second Student Teaching Experience
A student will be eligible to student teach a second time under the following conditions:
•
•
Recommendation of the university supervisor and approval by the Director of Student Teaching in the
College of Education Office of Academic Services.
! Recommendation for a second student teaching experience is not automatic. Factors influencing
the probability for success heavily influence the decision for a second placement.
! If a second student teaching placement is recommended and approved, the university
supervisor will recommend the number of re-enrollment hours required for the student
teacher. The College of Education Office of Academic Services must also approve this
recommendation. Student teachers must register for and pay tuition and fees equivalent to the
number of re-enrollment hours required.
Completion of all recommended additional course work or alternative experiences as determined by the
College of Education Office of Academic Services.
Regardless of circumstances leading to withdrawal, NO student teacher will be permitted to have three
student teaching placements. Students who do not successfully complete a second student teaching
placement shall be dismissed from the Teacher Certification Program.
Seminar Attendance
Student teachers are required to attend all seminars and student teaching workshops scheduled by their
university supervisor and by the College of Education Office of Academic Services. Students who are
unable to attend scheduled workshops and seminars must notify their university supervisor in advance; to
compensate for the absence, they will be assigned comparable, alternative learning experiences by their
university supervisor.
Audio or Video recordings and Reflections
Student teachers may be asked to make audio or video recordings of their teaching. Recording equipment is
available in the College of Education Bonisteel Technology Lab, 205 Porter Building. If video equipment is
not available in the schools, it may be checked out by the university supervisor for their student teachers’
use.
In order to learn from these recordings, it is important that student teachers review and reflect on them.
Student teachers should consider the following guide questions as they complete their written, reflective
analysis:
• What were the goals for this lesson?
• How does this lesson respond to the state or national standards for this content area?
• What direct, observable evidence shows that students met the goals?
• What are the strengths of this lesson? How and why did these elements make the lesson more
successful?
• How could this lesson be improved? What specific adaptations would strengthen the lesson?
• What was learned from listening to or viewing the recording that was not evident while teaching the
lesson?
Collection of Lesson Plans
The student teacher is expected to prepare daily lesson plans that are to be made available for examination
and comment by the cooperating teacher and the university supervisor. The complete set of plans must be
typed, organized in chronological order, and kept in a folder or ring binder.
Journal Assignments
Your supervisor may require you to maintain a journal where you will reflect on selected aspects of your
student teaching experience. The journaling process has proven to be a very effective tool for both personal
and professional growth, and for this reason, it is highly recommended that you journal regularly
throughout your experience whether or not your supervisor requires it.
Portfolio
Your supervisor may require you to prepare an Employment Portfolio as a part of your student teaching
experience. It is believed that such a portfolio is a valuable asset for job seeking and career advancement
purposes, so even if your supervisor does not require it, it is suggested that you prepare one on your own.
You will find a variety of materials in the appendix of this handbook to help you get started. You will also
find helpful sessions on preparing portfolios at the full-day workshops offered by Eastern each semester.
State Standards
A list of the Standards and Related Proficiencies for Entry-Level Michigan Teachers is provided in the
appendix of this handbook. It is recommended that you become familiar with these standards as you
progress through your student teaching experience and begin to prepare for your job search. Ideally, you
would be able to document, in an organized manner, how you meet several of these standards. Perhaps the
easiest way to do this would be in your portfolio. Most states have their own, but similar standards.
Immersion into Student Teaching
The following timeline is intended only to provide a general guide for the student teacher’s sequential
involvement in the classroom and the cooperating teacher’s support role. Student/Coop teachers should
work together to create a schedule to fit the particular situation, and even then the dates should remain
approximate, flexible and open to adjustment in accordance with classroom needs and student teacher
readiness.
Weeks 1 through 2 - Orientation and Initial Teaching
This stage should allow student teachers an opportunity to become familiar with school policies, building
personnel, classroom objectives, classroom routines and procedures, and the needs of individual students.
The student teacher should be involved and interacting with students to some extent from the first day of
their student teaching experience. During this stage, student teachers should be provided with opportunities
to:
• Assist their cooperating teachers
• Work with individuals and small groups
Weeks 3 through 7 - Part-time Teaching
During this stage student teachers should gradually take on increased amounts of responsibilities for routine
duties as well as instruction. This stage is an ideal time to plan collaboratively and team-teach. The
cooperating teacher should continue to provide continuity within the classroom, model effective teaching
strategies, management techniques, and offer support. The cooperating teacher should also encourage the
student teacher to plan for and deliver longer sequences of instruction and to become increasingly
independent.
Weeks 8 through 13 - Independent Teaching
As student teachers develop their skills and confidence, cooperating teachers should relinquish more and
more duties and allow the student teacher greater opportunities for sustained, continuous, “solo”
instruction. The College of Education Office of Academic Services recommends a minimum of ten teaching
days as an independent teacher. The length of this independent teaching stage will depend on such factors
as:
• The nature of the classes,
• The student teaching assignment,
• The progress of the student teacher;
• The judgment of the cooperating teacher, the university supervisor, and
• The responsibility and maturity of the student teacher.
During this stage, student teachers should have primary responsibility for instruction including planning,
teaching and evaluation of the students. Student teachers are required to prepare and teach an original unit
of study during either the part-time or independent teaching stage.
Weeks 14 through 15 - Phase-Out and Observation
The purpose of this stage is to provide a smooth transition of responsibilities from the student teacher back
to the cooperating teacher. While the student teacher will continue to assist with various aspects of
teaching, he or she should be provided with opportunities to observe in other classrooms and at various
grade levels.
Graphic View of Immersion
The following timeline is intended only to provide a general guide for the student teacher’s sequential
involvement in the classroom and the cooperating teacher’s support role. Student/Coop teachers should
work together to create a schedule to fit the particular situation, and even then, the dates should remain
approximate, flexible and open to adjustment in accordance with classroom needs and student teacher
readiness
ST = student teacher
Weeks
1-2
ST
Become
familiar with
the
environment
through
observing:
students,
routines and
procedures, etc.
Take initial
responsibility
by assisting CT
wherever
possible and
follow CT lead
when asked.
Weeks
3-4
ST
Assume partial
responsibility for a
portion of the
curriculum; could
take over one
subject area (or
section in
secondary).
Teaching based on
modeling of CT;
co- planning
lessons with CT
Weeks
5-7
CT = cooperating teacher
Weeks
8-11
ST
Continue teaching
until s/he has
assumed about ½
the load
ST
Continue teaching until
s/he has assumed
about 2/3 of teaching
and planning
Can base teaching on
CT’s model if
needed
Gradually assume
responsibility for
independent planning
with CT approval
Weeks
12-13
ST
Teach full-time
Responsible for all
planning
independently
Weeks
14-15
ST
Phase out week:
ST gradually gives back
teaching responsibilities to
CT
ST visits other classrooms
and grade levels
Week 7 = complete
mid-semester selfevaluation
Work with
small groups of
students
CT:
Orient ST to
school and
classroom,
outline your
expectations for
the semester,
assign initial
teaching
activities for
ST, help ST
determine unit
topic,
outcomes,
objectives
CT:
Take time to share
lesson planning
strategies with ST
CT:
Assess ST readiness
to assume more and
more teaching,
aiming for ½ of load
Model teaching
for ST
Model teaching for
ST
Co-plan with ST
Co-plan with ST
Give ST feedback
on
teaching/lesson
planning
Give ST feedback on
teaching/lesson
planning
complete
midsemester
evaluation (week 7)
CT:
Relinquish more and
more duties and allow
the ST greater
opportunities for
sustained solo teaching
Give ST feedback on
teaching/lesson
planning
CT
May leave the room
for extended periods
of time
CT
Complete final evaluation
and share with ST in a final
conference.
Give ST feedback on
teaching/lesson
planning
Introduce ST to
professional organizations
and publications – local
and national – to help
further ST professional
development
Lesson Planning
Direct lessons
Your plans must include the following components. See the pages that follow, for more detailed
explanations:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Topic
Duration
Materials
Standards/benchmarks
Objectives
Purpose
Anticipatory Set
Input
Modeling
Checking for understanding
Guided practice
Closure
Independent practice/Assessment
Adaptations/differentiation
Cooperative Lessons
Cooperative lessons include most of the same components as direct lessons (see above). In addition, your
lesson must include the following cooperative components:
• A social objective
• Face to face interaction
• Positive interdependence
• Individual accountability
• Group accountability
Indirect Lessons
Your plans must include:
• Topic
• Duration
• Materials
• Standards/benchmarks
• Objectives
• Purpose
• Anticipatory set
• An opportunity for students to explore a concept, find patterns, create understandings
• Metacognition opportunities
• Opportunities to apply learning to new situations
• Checking for understanding
• Assessment
• Closure
• Adaptations/differentiation
Explanation of lesson components
Direct Lessons
Topic
A title or brief description (a few words or sentences) that describes the subject or topic of the lesson.
Duration
Give an estimation of how long the lesson will take. It may be a few minutes (a mini-lesson) or a few days.
Purpose
It is important that students understand why this topic is relevant to them. What purpose does this learning
serve? Make it clear to students (and to yourself) what makes this learning useful or necessary.
Materials
List all materials and equipment needed to teach the lesson, including textbooks, workbooks, teacher-made
materials, projections, etc.
Michigan Standard/Benchmarks
Which standards, grade-level benchmarks or GLCEs does this lesson address? 1to 3 is a good number.
Objectives
What will the learner be able to do by the end of the lesson? (SWBAT) See page 35 in the unit guide in this
handbook for a detailed explanation about writing objectives.
Assessment(s) of Objectives
How will you know that student learning has taken place? What will the students do so that you can
determine that learning has taken place? The assessment you have designed to match the objectives will be
administered at the end of the lesson.
Anticipatory Set
An activity that helps motivate or engage the students. It should be relevant to past or current learning. It
should actively involve the learner’s mind through covert thinking/involvement or overt behavior.
Input = What and How
What information is needed by the student to accomplish the objective? How will the information be
delivered; lecture, demonstration, reading, video, computer-based presentations, etc?
Possible teacher behaviors:
• Determine the method for delivering instruction
• Determine and provide instruction materials
• Manage instructional delivery
• Ask questions
Possible student behaviors:
• Listen
• Write
• Respond to questions
• Raise questions
Modeling
A demonstration of what the student needs to do in order to be successful
Possible teacher behaviors:
• Models the process, labeling the critical elements of what is happening
• E.g.: “Watch while I am doing the problem and I will tell you what I am thinking as I do the work.”
Possible student behaviors:
• Listen
• Write
• Respond to questions
• Raise questions
Checking for Understanding:
At this time the teacher will informally assess the progress of students’ learning.
Possible teacher behaviors:
• Ask for a sampling from individual, small group or the entire class
• Check the behavior “be prepared to tell me in your own words what a topic sentence is.”
• Interpret students behavior
• Act on interpretation (move on, practice or re-teach)
Possible student behaviors:
• Give a signaled response
• Summarize, explain and give examples
• Draw
• Write
• Solve a problem
Guided Practice = practice plus assistance:
Opportunity for students to practice new learning under the direct supervision of the teacher.
Possible teacher behaviors:
• Provide practice activities for students
• Observe overt behavior of the students
• Check and monitor student performance
• Interpret responses, giving immediate and specific feedback
• Act on interpretation (move on, provide more practice, re-teach, end the lesson)
Possible student behavior:
• Complete the entire task necessary to achieve the objective
• Example: students complete the sample problems while the teacher circulates
Closure
This is a strategy to bring the lesson to a close for the day. The lesson may not be totally completed, but you have run
out of time for the day. The teacher should bring the students together for a quick review, summary, sharing or
whatever s/he feels is an appropriate way to bring this activity for the day to a close.
Independent Practice/Assessment
Students work alone on assigned material without direct teacher supervision. Sometimes the independent
practice assigned serves as the assessment of the lesson objectives. At other times a separate assessment
might be administered.
Adaptations/Differentiation
Teacher considers strategies and adaptations necessary to accommodate diverse learners.
Cooperative Lesson Plan
There are many ways a teacher can use the cooperative learning process. He or she may do an entire lesson
cooperatively or incorporate cooperative learning into a direct or an indirect learning experience.
Group work and cooperative learning, while sharing similarities, are not exactly the same. When preparing
a lesson that is structured cooperatively, a teacher must address the following in his or her lesson plan:
• A social objective – what social skills do you want your students to learn or practice during this
lesson? How will you teach, review or reinforce these skills?
• Face to face interaction – students must work together in the same space at the same time. How will
you arrange the learning experience so this will occur?
• Positive interdependence – each student must be actively involved and have a specific role to fill so
that the group cannot be successful without everyone’s help.
• Individual accountability – Each student is responsible for meeting the lesson objectives. What will
each student be accountable for that will indicate whether or not he has met the lesson objectives?
• Group accountability – Each group must be accountable for their performance. How will you assess
the group work/product?
Indirect teaching
Indirect teaching, rather than being teacher centered, is student centered. It is a way of getting students
to draw inferences, test their thinking, and apply learning to new situations. Indirect teaching tends to
involve students in higher-order thinking right away. Let’s look at some analogies (FYI a good indirect
strategy) to help us compare indirect to direct teaching:
• If direct teaching is the front door, then indirect is the side or back door.
• If direct teaching is the quickest route between two points, indirect is the scenic route.
• If direct teaching is the explanation, then indirect teaching is the example.
• If direct is the answer, then indirect is the question
There are many ways to involve your students in learning indirectly; your strategies may be part of a
direct or cooperative lesson, or an indirect lesson can stand on its own. Here are some techniques for
teaching indirectly:
• Pose a problem students have to solve
• Involve students in making a hypothesis, collecting data, testing hypothesis, drawing conclusions
and applying learning to new situations
• Provide exemplars and non-exemplars of a concept for comparison (concept of natural resources:
exemplar = water, rocks etc, non-exemplars = plastic, glass etc) Students decide what the exemplars
have in common to determine what they think a natural resource is.
• Have students develop a concept of something by comparing its critical attributes among a variety
of examples (compare how the USA, Canada, and Mexico rule by majority, protect citizens’ rights,
and create laws. Through these comparisons, students indirectly arrive at an understanding of how a
democracy works)
• List, group, label – students brainstorm a list, group the list into categories, and then name the
category (students create a list of things to do with character in a book; list gets categorized into
physical attributes, challenges, acts of kindness, etc, with specifics from list put within each
category)
Preparing and Teaching
Your Unit
A Guide With
Sequential Steps and Working Papers
Acknowledgement
A special thank you goes to Jennifer Pecsenye, a former Eastern Michigan University Student, for
allowing us to use examples from her exemplary unit for instructional purposes. The examples used
herein were selected because they represent
expectations for components, format and presentation in working
through the overall unit process.
Unit Assignment
Overview
As a student teacher, you will be required to prepare, teach and assess an original unit of study that
1) Demonstrates competence in both short and long range planning, and
2) Demonstrates that your teaching is resulting in student learning.
Additionally, your Unit
3) Must fit in with the curriculum of the school/class where you are student teaching,
4) Must have the approval of your cooperating teacher before teaching it,
5) Must be an original (New) Unit, custom prepared for students in your class, not the Unit you
prepared for your Curriculum 304 or 305 class,
6) Must cover a minimum teaching time of at least one week, but may be longer,
7) Must include a minimum of five (5) lesson designs, including at least one direct, one
inductive and one cooperative,
8) Must be submitted to your University Supervisor for approval before teaching it, and
must be handed in for evaluation by an assigned date after teaching and completing it,
9) Must meet minimum standards as identified in the Unit Rubric, for you to receive a
passing grade in Student Teaching, and
10) Must include all of the Unit components identified herein.
Introduction
To The Unit Guide
__________________________________________________________
In this Unit Section, you will be guided through a 10-step Unit Preparation Process,
helping you to
1)
Analyze the context of the district where you are student teaching
2)
Prepare a content analysis for your student teaching unit
3)
Prepare standards-based objectives for your unit
4)
Preassess your students as a basis for planning instruction
5)
Plan instruction for your unit by developing appropriate lesson plans
6)
Post assess and analyze the learning results from teaching your unit
7)
Write a comprehensive self-evaluation reflecting on your overall unit experience
8)
List teaching materials needed to teach your unit
9)
List references/resources that were used to develop your unit
10)
Organize and assemble a final, professional looking copy of your unit
Before you Begin
Purpose of the Guide
The main purpose of this Guide is to make the unit process user friendly and manageable by
1)
Breaking it down into bite-sized pieces, and by
2)
Modeling expectations for components, structure, format and
presentation through the use of examples from a unit that was
prepared by a former student.
Keep in mind that the examples herein are not intended to limit or establish levels of depth, quality, length or
comprehensiveness of your unit. Such characteristics will be determined by you and your supervisor and will
emerge within the realities of your placement as well as from your sincerity, commitment and level of
preparation. You are encouraged to challenge your own limits in these areas.
Check with your Supervisor
Please be aware that different Supervisors might have additional and/or different unit requirements unique to their
style of teaching and supervision. Therefore, it is important to check with your Supervisor before launching on this
major project, to be sure of how you should use this Guide under their supervision and what else might be involved.
Navigating the Guide
1)
Check the graph on the next page to get some idea of the time relationship between unit prep and
teaching. Note that unit preparation should be started early in order to get the bulk of the work
out of the way as the teaching load increases.
2)
Check the Unit Product Checklist to get an idea of the products you'll be expected to produce
for each step in the unit.
3)
Browse the Guide to become familiar with the layout and sequence. Materials are arranged in the
following order: First the Step is presented, frequently followed by some sort of resource or
support material, followed by an example from a unit prepared by a former student, followed by
the Rubric for that particular step.
Editorial features to assist you
TEXT BOXES LIKE THIS offer helpful hints that are frequently related
to areas where students have needed additional help in the past.
Resources
Pages with this label often provide review material, expanded explanations
and/or resources for finding additional information.
Examples
Pages with this label consist of examples from the unit prepared by a former
student.
Worksheet
Pages with this label are designed to break material down into smaller parts
and walk-you-through steps and/or exercises.
The Importance Of Early Unit Planning
Minimum -to- Maximum Time Involved
Time Relationship: Unit Prep to Teaching
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
WEEKS
________ Teaching Time
_ _ _ _ _ Unit Prep Time
10
11
12
13
14
15
Step 1
Step 2
CONTEXT
Rationale
CONTENT ANALYSIS
Generalizations
Concepts
Facts
Content Outline
Concept Map
Step 3
OBJECTIVES/OUTCOMES
Step 4
PRE-UNIT ANALYSIS
Step 5
PLANNING FOR INSTRUCTION
Step 6
STUDENT LEARNING
ANALYSIS
Step 7
REFLECTION, SELF
EVALUATION
Step 8
Step 9
Step
10
Teaching Materials
References
Final Copy
Narrative Paper
Paragraph or two (brief)
List Standards/Benchmarks/GLCES, no.& description
Narrative Statements and related key questions (min. of
3)
List of key concepts (brief)
List of (many) facts
Outline (using traditional format, I.A.B., II. A. B., etc)
Concept Map
List in teaching sequence, across from related standards
on two-column form
Asterisk (*) three of your objectives. Make sure one of
them requires higher level thinking.
Pre-assessment instrument and/or description of
preassessment activities, answer keys, rubrics
Description/your interpretation of scoring system
Student Summary List with columns for recording
preassessment 'scores' for each of the 3 objectives
Paragraph describing students of special concern
Paragraph describing one student of special concern who
you will track for your learning analysis
4-column Pre-assessment Planning For Instruction
Sheets: 3 sheets, one for each objective
Graph representing pre-assessment results for the group
as a whole on 3 objectives
Lesson Plans, minimum of 5, including one Inquiry and
one coop; all lesson plans must include required
components. You may vary the format if logical.
Day-to-Day Unit Framework
Post assessment instrument and/or description of Post
assessment activities
Description/your interpretation of scoring system
Student Summary List with columns for recording Post
Assessment 'scores' for each objective
3-Column Group Summary Chart of Student
Learning (3 sheets - one for each objective)
Graph representing Post Assessment results for the group
as a whole on the 3 objectives
Summary Statement (comprehensive) paper for group
analysis of student learning
3-Part Analysis Paper (comprehensive), analyzing
individual student learning for the student you tracked
3 work samples documenting track-student's progress
Comprehensive Paper, reflecting and evaluating
yourself on your unit teaching experience
List of all materials needed to teach the unit
Bibliography
Your Unit complete with professional-looking binder,
inviting cover, Title Page and Table of Contents,
illustrated with pictures from your teaching experience
SEQUENTIAL STEPS
FOR UNIT PREPARATION
______________________________________________________________
The following sequential steps will lead you through all Unit assignment activities related to the preparation, teaching
and assessment of your Unit.
STEP ONE
PART A: ANALYSIS OF TEACHING CONTEXT
Prepare this component by describing important information about your class. Describe the students and the
community in which they reside. Discuss factors that may be relevant to your teaching. These include
1) community (district) factors
population, socioeconomic profile, cultural
make-up, etc.
Use these four headings when you
prepare your context paper. It makes it
easier for the reader.
2) classroom factors
physical factors in the classroom, availability of technology, parent involvement, important
routines, and
3) student characteristics.
Address at least two of these characteristics (age, gender, race, special needs, varied
approaches to learning, skills, prior learning) that will affect your unit planning.
4) Implications for instruction
What does all of this information mean to you in terms of planning your unit?
PART B: RATIONALE
Prepare your Unit Rationale Component by writing one or two BRIEF, tightly written paragraphs about the content
and purpose of your Unit. Begin with one or two interesting, open-ended KEY questions to arouse curiosity and bring
focus to the key issues. Justify your content - tell why it is important to learn about this topic and how it will meet the
needs of these particular students. Tell how your Unit fits into the curriculum (reference to standards and/or
benchmarks, other courses, etc.). Write your rationale so that it will motivate students to want to become involved.
Include statements of what you will do to make learning opportunities equitable for all and appropriate for different
learning styles, special needs and cultural backgrounds.
In addition to the sample pages in this Unit Guide,
prepared by a former student, your supervisor may
choose to provide, at his/her discretion, fully
completed copies of other units for your reference.
Resource
SUGGESTED SITES FOR
FINDING DISTRICT CONTEXTUAL INFORMATION
______________________________________________________
SITE NAME:
SCHOOL DISTRICT DEMOGRAPHICS
SITE ADDRESS:
http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sdds/main1.asp
At this writing, this site is perhaps the easiest to use, providing a variety of demographic information. To view data for
your desired school district, enter only the primary state (Michigan) and leave the Comparison state blank.
This site provides three types of the most recently available census data by clicking the desired data set near the top of
the page. You will be able to come up with data on population, income, race, ethnicity, etc.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
ANOTHER SITE:
A second useful site with demographics within the boundaries of cities/villages will be found by searching by name,
i.e., CHELSEA, MI PROFILE, PINCKNEY, MI PROFILE, ANN ARBOR, MI PROFILE.
______________________________________________________________________________________
ONE MORE SITE SUGGESTION
Standard and Poor’s School Evaluation Services
YOU DON’T NEED MUCH!
Keep in mind, you do not need a lot of statistical data on the district/community – just
enough (numbers) to give us a feel for its makeup, i.e., how many people? Affluent?
Low income? Mostly executives? Blue collar? White collar? Do the school children
come mostly from “High Hill Estates” or from “Run Down Rental Housing”? Talk
about your district and give us a few statistics that will demonstrate your
understanding of the community and students where you teach.
Example
Electricity: A 4th Grade Unit
By Jennifer Pecsenye
Context Analysis
School District
(School name) Elementary School is located in (District/City name), Michigan. The school houses grades
kindergarten through fourth. (City) is a growing community located near (another city), with a population of
approximately 26,000 people. Many of the adults work in the professional or technical fields. The children attending
(this school district) are primarily Caucasian. Other ethnicities represented in the schools are Asian (O.6%), AfricanAmerican (0.5%), Hispanic (0.4%), and Native American (0.1%). The total number of students in the district is
around 5,000, with 5.3% of them considered economically disadvantaged.
Classroom Factors
Each student in the class has his/her own desk. The desks are put into groups of 4-5 to promote cooperative learning.
There are shelves around the perimeter of the room that contain books for all reading levels, dictionaries and various
supplies. The schedule for the day is always written on the board and the teacher always has an overhead of their
planner which tells the students what they will be doing that day in each subject. There is one computer in the room,
but it is for the teacher's use only. The students go to the computer lab once a week to type papers or do various other
tasks using computers. They also have Media and Technology Skills once a week. There is a sink in the classroom
and the boys' and girls' bathrooms are located right next to the classroom.
Student Characteristics
There are several children in the class who have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD. Some are on medication and
some are not. This will affect my planning because I will need to make sure that every student is involved in the
lessons and I am keeping their attention. Another characteristic of the class is that there are a wide variety of needs.
There are several students who are advanced readers and advanced in math and there are some students who are
learning disabled. It is very important that I differentiate my lessons in order to include all levels of learning. Another
characteristic worth noting is that there is a considerable amount of children whose parents are divorced or who are
going through a divorce. Some of these children are not adjusting well and I need to take their behavior into account
when writing my lesson plans.
Implications for Instruction
The students with ADD/ADHD may need some extra help with certain parts of the lesson or they may need things
explained several times. I will make sure the directions for the activities are clear and that each student gets a copy of
the directions. I will also plan my lessons to accommodate the advanced students as well as the students who may
need some extra help and direction.
Example
Electricity: A 4th Grade Unit
By Jennifer Pecsenye
Rationale
Students
Have you ever wondered why your GameBoy goes off and on when you flip the switch or how to light a light bulb
with just wire and a battery? In this unit you will learn everything you wanted to know about electricity and circuits.
You will even build your own circuit and do many hands-on activities with electricity. We use electricity everyday
and it's important that you understand how it works.
Teachers
This unit covers electricity, energy and circuits. It reflects the State of Michigan and (school district) benchmarks.
This unit includes many hands-on activities, group activities, partner activities and work done individually in order to
include the various abilities and learning styles in the class.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Rubric
Step #1 - Contextual Factors
1
Standard Not Met
2
Standard Partially Met
3
Standard Met
4
Exceptional
Teacher displays minimal
or irrelevant knowledge of
the characteristics of the
community, school, and
classroom; student
characteristics, varied
approaches to learning,
skills and prior learning.
Teacher displays some
knowledge of the
characteristics of the
community, school and
classroom; student
characteristics, varied
approaches to learning, skills
and prior learning.
Teacher displays a
comprehensive
understanding of the
characteristics of the
community, school and
classroom; student
characteristics, varied
approaches to learning,
skills and prior learning.
Teacher displays an in
depth understanding
of the characteristics
of the community,
school and classroom;
student characteristics,
varied approaches to
learning, skills and
prior learning.
Teacher does not provide
implications for instruction
and assessment based on
student individual
differences and, classroom,
school and community OR
provides inappropriate
implications.
Teacher provides some
implications for instruction
and assessment based on
student individual
differences and classroom,
school and community.
Teacher provides
appropriate implications for
instruction and assessment
based on student individual
differences and classroom,
school and community.
Teacher is able to
consciously integrate
these characteristics
into the unit in an
appropriate manner.
STEP TWO
CONTENT ANALYSIS
Your Unit should be structured around generalizations and/or key questions,
supported by related concepts. Facts should be selected to help students
understand the concepts and generalizations being taught.
Standards/Benchmarks/GLCES
While you will be expected to
specifically identify your source as
either a Standard, a Benchmark or
a GLCE (Grade Level Content
Expectation), for instructional
purposes in this Guide, we'll refer to
them as standards to represent any
one of the three.
Begin your content analysis by
identifying and relating your
topic to the standards. Standards to be addressed must be written out, not
just listed by number. List the standards you will address.
Generalizations - Next, identify and write generalizations (destinations)
you would like to have your students reach. Age, developmental
appropriateness and length/depth of Unit are factors in determining the
number of generalizations.
Concepts - Prepare a list of concepts you would like your students to
learn.
Facts - Prepare a list of facts that will help students understand the concepts/generalizations being taught.
Content Outline - Develop a Content Outline using the ideas, concepts and facts you have chosen to support the
generalizations.
!
!
!
!
!
Use the classical outline format, I., A., 1., a., b., 2., a., b., B., II., etc.
Arrange your outline in the order that you plan to teach the topics.
Show a logical sequence of topics and ideas, from simple to complex.
Include major and supporting ideas and concepts in your outline.
Keep your outline focused on basic concepts and facts vs. too detailed.
Concept Map – Optional, but highly recommended
EMAIL: To My Supervisor FROM: Student Teacher
Hi! I'm having trouble with generalizations. What is the difference between generalizations and facts? My
unit is the skeletal system . . . can you give me an example using my theme? (Student Teacher)
Student Teacher,
A generalization is usually a broad statement. Example: Exercise helps us to keep our skeletal system
functioning effectively (gen). This (gen) is subject to proof, and while it is generally true, there are instances
where exercise might damage or temporarily make our skeletal system less effective. So, generalizations are
usually broad statements of ideas we want our student to take away and remember for a long time.
Generalizations are true MOST of the time. We also want students to learn facts because they are necessary
to understand concepts and generalizations, but in time they might forget some of the detailed facts while
they will hopefully remember some of the generalizations. Example: the knee bone is connected to the
thighbone, a fact that helps us to understand exercise (a concept) but by itself isn't something our life
depends on (unless we're a doctor). Eventually we might forget that the knee bone is connected to the
thighbone, and so what, but hopefully we'll remember the importance of exercise and why. The fact just
helped us to understand how exercise works and what has to happen. (Supervisor)
Resource
CONCEPTS
HELPING LEARNERS TO UNDERSTAND THE BIGGER IDEAS
_____________________________________________________________________________________
WHAT ARE CONCEPTS?
Concepts are the bigger ideas that evolve out of content. For example, a traditional social studies textbook might
devote two pages of material to World War II, including a list of nations at war, names of leaders, major battles,
names of generals, etc. This would be primarily factual information. But consider the potential concepts that might
evolve out of this historical content:
HISTORICAL CONCEPTS
Related Events
Chronology
Cause and effect
POLITICAL CONCEPTS
Militarism
Dictatorship
Democracy
GEOGRAPHIC CONCEPTS
Continents
Islands
Oceans
ECONOMIC CONCEPTS
Markets
Raw Materials
Industrialization
WHY CONCEPTS?
Since concepts are considered the bigger ideas, they require us to exercise our higher level thinking to understand
them. Also, they provide us with transferable knowledge that can be of value in other parts of our world, thus
broadening our intellectual base. For example, the concept of cause and effect in the above illustration might be
addressed in a history lesson on WWII, and while it would be helpful in understanding the war, understanding the
concept of cause and effect would also be helpful in our life and intellectual development in general.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE FACTS?
The facts are important because they support and help us to understand the concepts. In the example above, we can
look at factual information about World War II and come to some conclusions about the concept of cause and effect.
In science, the fact that plant leaves turn green helps us to understand the concept of photosynthesis.
In math, the fact that 2 + 2 = 4 helps us to understand the concept of addition.
In language, the fact that sentences need a subject helps us to understand the concept, structure of language.
WORKSHEET
Identify some significant concepts you would like to teach in your unit. What are the BIG Ideas?
Example
Electricity: A 4th Grade Unit
By Jennifer Pecsenye
Content Analysis
Michigan Science Standards/Benchmarks:
IV.1.E.2 Identify properties of materials which make them useful.
IV.1.E.3 Identify forms of energy associated with common phenomena.
IV.1.E.4 Construct simple, useful circuits.
IV.1.E.5 Describe possible hazards to be avoided at home and at school.
Generalizations
•
Energy cannot be created or destroyed – only changed from one form to another.
Focus Question: What are some forms of energy and where are they found in everyday life?
•
It is important to be safe when using electricity. Body parts or objects should never be inserted into
electrical appliances and outlets.
Focus Question: What things can you do to make sure you are safe when using electricity?
•
Electricity can produce light and heat energy.
Focus Question: What are some examples of objects that produce light and heat energy?
•
The four main parts of a circuit are power source (battery), output device (bulb),
conductor (wire), and control device (switch).
Focus Question: What do you need to have a complete circuit?
Concepts
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
electricity
conductor
insulator
circuit (open/closed)
energy
friction
flow
current
charge
Clarification
In Step 2, you will merely list the standards
that you intend to use, in numerical order.
Later, in Step 3, you will cross reference
the standards with unit outcomes on a twocolumn sheet, where you will list outcomes
in the order you intend to teach them.
Example
Electricity: A 4th Grade Unit
By Jennifer Pecsenye
Facts
•
Energy cannot be created or destroyed – it can only change from one form to another.
•
Energy exists in different forms, including kinetic, potential, heat, light and electrical.
•
Kinetic energy is the energy of motion. Potential energy is energy that is stored.
•
A circuit is a device that allows electricity to flow from one place to another.
•
A circuit has 4 main parts: power source, conductor, output device and control device.
•
Conductors allow electricity to flow easily. Insulators inhibit the flow of electricity.
•
In a series circuit, electricity can only flow in one path. In a parallel circuit, energy can flow in more than
one path.
•
Electricity can give us light and heat.
•
Electricity is the flow of electrons.
•
Static electricity is created when friction occurs and moves from one place to another.
•
Lightning is an example of static electricity.
•
Everything has a positive, negative or neutral charge. These charges cause a push/pull force.
•
A complete electric circuit is required for electricity to light a bulb.
•
A switch can be used to interrupt a circuit.
•
Objects and body parts should never be inserted into outlets and electrical appliances.
Example
Electricity: A 4th Grade Unit
By Jennifer Pecsenye
Content Outline
I.
Static Electricity
A.
Formed by the build up of electrical charges when objects rub together (friction).
Example: lightning
B.
Objects can repel or attract based on their charge.
II.
Electricity
A.
Formed by the flow of electrons.
B.
Uses: television, telephone, playstation 2, lights, microwave, heating a home
C.
Safety
1. Never put body parts or objects into electrical appliances or outlets.
2. Don't use electrical appliances while in the shower or bathtub.
3. Never touch a downed power line. Call 911 for help.
D.
Invented around 200 years ago.
1. Benjamin Franklin helped pave the way.
III.
Circuits This is an example of a standard, traditional type of outline. You
might
find
other outline
or formats
helpful
A.
Open
Circuit
– electricity
cannotstyles
flow through
an open
circuit.– talk with your
1. A switchtocan
used to interrupt
a circuit.how this outline matches
Supervisor
getbehis/her
input. Notice
B.
Closed Circuit – electricity
flowsMap
through
wirefollowing
from a power
source and back to complete a
the Concept
onathe
page.
circuit.
C.
Parallel Circuit – A circuit through which electricity can flow through more than one path.
D.
Series Circuit – A circuit in which electricity can flow only in one path.
E.
Components of a Simple Circuit
1. Power Source
2. Output Device
3. Conductor
4. Control Device
IV.
Conductors and Insulators
A.
Conductor – Material in which an electric current can flow.
Examples: metal, water with salt in it, living trees, copper
B.
Insulator – Material in which an electric current cannot flow.
Examples: rubber, plastic, glass
C.
Safety
1. Electrical workers wear rubber gloves
2. Plastic is used to insulate wires
V.
Energy
A.
Cannot be created or destroyed – can only be changed from one form to another.
1. Kinetic – energy of motion
2. Potential – energy that is stored
3. Heat – rapid vibration of atoms and molecules
4. Light – energy from the sun or any material that is hot enough to glow
5. Electrical – formed by the movement of electrons
Formed by flow of
electrons
Uses: television,
telephone,
Playstation 2, lights,
microwave, heating
a home
Formed by the build-up of
electrical charges when
objects rub together
(friction) Ex. lightning
Objects can repel or attract
based on their charge
Invented
around 200
years ago;
Ben Franklin
helped pave
the way
Static
Electricity
Electricity
Examples:
rubber, plastic,
glass
Safety
Closed Circuit:
electricity
flows through a
wire from a
power source
and back to
complete the
circuit
Insulator:
material in which
an electric current
cannot flow
Electricity
and Energy
Open Circuit:
electricity
cannot flow
through an open
circuit
Heat: rapid
vibration of
atoms and
molecules
Electrical:
formed by
movement of
electrons
Circuits
Parallel
Circuit: A
circuit
through which
electricity can
flow through
more than one
path
Series
Circuit: A
circuit in
which
electricity
can flow only
in one path
Power source
Output Device
Conductor
Kinetic:
energy of
motion
Energy
Conductors
And
Insulators
Potential:
energy that is
stored
Safety
Light: energy from the sun
or any material that is hot
enough to glow
Cannot be created or
destroyed – can only be
changed from one form
to another
Conductor:
material in which
an electric current
can flow
Examples: water
with salt in it,
living trees,
copper
Electrical workers wear
rubber gloves; plastic is
used to insulate
Rubric
Step #2 – Content Analysis
1
Standard Not Met
2
Standard Partially Met
3
Standard Met
4
Exceptional
Content not central to
discipline.
Unit is partially organized
around concepts that are
important to the discipline
beyond the immediate
unit.
Unit is organized around
concepts that are
important to the discipline
beyond the immediate
unit.
Unit is organized around
concepts that are integral
to the discipline
Analysis includes
haphazard collection of
generalizations, concepts,
facts, rather than an
organized whole.
Analysis includes
generalizations/principles
that frame the unit but
includes some extraneous
or missing factors.
Analysis clearly describes
generalizations/principles
that frame the unit.
Generalizations and
principles are clearly
framed and are basic to
the broad discipline
beyond the classroom.
Relationships among ideas
are not clear. Instead,
things to be learned are
presented as an unrelated
list.
Order could be improved.
Relationships are vague
but accurate.
Concepts and facts are
clearly related to major
generalizations.
Relationships among all
parts are clearly and
accurately illustrated.
Concepts, facts and
generalizations are clearly
related - not forced nor
extraneous to the basic
concept being addressed.
Much of the content is not
related directly to the
standards and
benchmarks.
Most of content is aligned
with Michigan Standards
and Benchmarks.
Content analysis is
directly aligned with
Michigan Standards and
Benchmarks.
Content analysis is clearly
and accurately aligned
with Michigan Standards
and Benchmarks.
STEP THREE
UNIT OBJECTIVES/OUTCOMES
Identify at least one objective/outcome for each standard that you listed in Step 2. List the objective/outcome on the
right side of a two column paper in the sequence that you will teach them. Next, cross reference each
objective/outcome to the standard it is derived from, by listing the corresponding standard on the left side of the two
column paper, directly across from the objective/outcome. You must have at least one objective/outcome for each
standard, however you will no doubt have more than one for each. The standard should be identified by its coded
number and be written out each time it is used on the sheet. A standard might appear several different times on the
sheet.
The objectives/outcomes MUST:
!
!
!
!
!
Be congruent with content
Be developmentally appropriate
Be clear and observable
Include varied levels of thinking (Bloom)
Require students to use content in complex
ways
Email: To Supervisor
You must have a minimum of one outcome
for each standard, however you might
realistically have more than one for each.
From: Student Teacher
HI! It's been awhile since I took Curriculum 304 and I am having trouble
writing objectives. Could you suggest any EZ references? (Student Teacher)
Student Teacher,
Yes, first I would suggest that you review the QUICK SUMMARY OF
INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES sheet on the next page.
Also, I would suggest that you go to the index of Wong's book, The First Days Of
School, and find/review the pages on writing objectives. The information there is
brief, easy to follow and to the point!
Supervisor
Resource
GUIDELINES FOR WRITING INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Instructional Objectives:
Should be
measurable
specific
learner focused
singular in expectation/intent or action
straight-forward, simply stated
Usually
follow a stated or implied, common stem sentence, “The student will be able to . . . (objective)
(Abbreviation: TSWBAT)
begin with an action verb (the actual objective), telling the student what action is to be taken
answer the question: “What will the student learn, accomplish and/or be able to do?”
Must
grow out of the content, ideas, concepts, skills, facts, etc., that you are trying to teach
be rooted in the overall curriculum
reflect reasonable, worthwhile “ends”
be communicated to the student at the beginning of the lesson
be visited again and again, especially at the end of the lesson, in an effort to bring closure to the lesson
(summary, nail-down, “this is what we learned . . . “)
Are NOT to be confused with
activities - things you will have the students do to achieve the objectives
procedures - things YOU will do to help the students achieve the objectives
Should
be the basis for assessment. Assessments should be based on objectives, not on activities.
Example
Electricity: A 4th Grade Unit
By Jennifer Pecsenye
Page 1
Michigan Science Benchmarks
IV.1.E.5 Describe possible electrical hazards to be
avoided at home and at school.
Unit Outcomes: Students will:
● explain why objects and body parts should never
be inserted into outlets.
● list at least 25 objects that use electricity* and
discuss possible shock hazards.
● write a story describing at least 5 ways how
his/her life would be different if electricity
suddenly disappeared.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
IV.1.E.3 Identify forms of energy associated with
common phenomena
● recall that energy can neither be created nor
destroyed.
● describe ways that electrical, heat and light
energy are used in his/her daily life.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
4:5 (School District) Benchmark: Conduct scientific
investigations to demonstrate static electricity
● describe static electricity and what causes it,
using the terms electrical charge, electrons and
friction.
● explain in his/her own words what causes
lightning.
● predict what materials and methods will produce
static charge.
● produce the charge using given materials.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
IV.1.E.4 Construct simple, useful electric circuits
● predict 4 different ways to light a bulb using a
battery and 1 wire.
● investigate and record ways to light a bulb using
a battery and wire.
● draw conclusions about circuits.
● construct a simple circuit.
● examine various diagrams to determine if the
circuit will work and justify his/her answers.*
● build series and parallel circuits.
Example
Electricity: A 4th Grade Unit
By Jennifer Pecsenye
Page 2
Michigan Science Benchmarks
Unit Outcomes: Students will:
● identify series and parallel circuits.
● build a switch to demonstrate open and closed
circuits.
● identify and label open and closed circuits.
● draw pictures of the circuit and switch he/she has
made.
● create a news program about a given topic.
● recall the definition of given vocabulary words
(static electricity, electricity, conductors,
insulators, circuits, electrical charge).
● perform a news broadcast synthesizing what
he/she learned.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
IV.1.E.2 Identify properties of materials which make
them useful.
● predict and test materials to see if they are
conductors or insulators.
● explain why certain objects are insulators and why
some are conductors.
● examine pictures of everyday objects and
determine if they are conductors or insulators.*
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Additional Affective Goal
● value the importance of working cooperatively.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Note in this example, that some objectives were included that were
not directly related to the standards, and that is OK.
Rubric
Step #3 – Learning Objectives/Outcomes
1
Standard Not Met
2
Standard Partially Met
3
Standard Met
4
Exceptional
Outcomes address
knowledge only, are not
stated clearly, and/or are
stated as activities rather
than learning outcomes.
Outcomes address both
knowledge and reasoning.
Outcomes reflect high
expectations for student
understanding and
problem solving in
complex situations.
Outcomes reflect high
expectations for student
understanding and
problem solving in
complex situations.
Few, if any, goals are
stated as learning
outcomes.
Some of the goals are
clearly stated as learning
outcomes.
Most goals are clearly
stated as learning
outcomes.
All goals are clearly stated
as learning outcomes and
not as activities.
Many outcomes are not
developmentally
appropriate.
Most outcomes are
developmentally
appropriate.
Outcomes are
developmentally
appropriate.
All goals are
developmentally
appropriate and take into
account the range of
student abilities at the
given grade level.
Outcomes reflect only one
type or level of learning.
Most outcomes reflect
several types or levels of
learning, but not both.
Outcomes reflect several
types and levels of
learning.
Outcomes reflect a
balance of low, medium
and high levels of
learning.
Many outcomes are not
aligned with national, state
or local standards.
Some outcomes are
aligned with national, state
or local standards.
Most of the outcomes are
explicitly linked with
national, state or local
standards.
Outcomes are explicitly
linked to state standards.
STEP FOUR
PRE-UNIT ANALYSIS
Design preassessment activities that will help you evaluate a) students’ necessary prior knowledge, and
b) their understanding of the most important concepts and generalizations to be taught. You will analyze the data
generated to make decisions about,
1) What needs to be taught most deeply, and/or
2) Ways you might differentiate instruction for students who need more challenge or who are
lacking some prior knowledge.
Preassessments may include paper and pencil and/or hands-on tasks as long as information is generated concerning
each student’s
1) Current level of understanding of the most important ideas and skills to be taught, and
2) Pre-requisite skills and understandings necessary to begin the Unit.
Note: In rare instances, for example in advanced math or foreign language, where students will not have had
previous exposure to new material, pre-assessment will entail examining only prerequisite skills.
The intent is not to preassess every unit outcome but to gather information on students’ understanding of the most
important concepts and generalizations. It is particularly important to preassess areas where you anticipate common
misconceptions. Therefore, in this component of the Unit you will do the following:
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
Select 3-5 key objectives/outcomes (from your list prepared earlier in Step #3) for preassessment
including at least one that requires higher-level thinking.
Plan and administer preassessment activities.
Summarize information in a grid with key concepts at the top and students’ identification on the side or another system that provides similar evidence.
Create a system to record/summarize the students’ current level of understanding for each key outcome
preassessed (for example, No Evidence of Understanding, Limited Understanding, Evidence of
Substantial Understanding). Be sure to explain how you defined each term and what evidence you used
to create the categories. It should be clear which portion of your preassessment addressed each of the
key concepts. The information generated may be presented as a graph, a grid or in a summary format
like the examples shown in the sample unit. This activity is designed to demonstrate your careful use
of preassessment, not to chronicle every preassessment activity in your Unit.
Identify students for whom you have special concern. These would include both students who may
struggle with the material or students who have already mastered substantial portions of the material
you plan to teach.
Choose one student to be used for a learning analysis in Step #6. This should be a student about whom
you have concerns, not an “average” student nor the most challenging student in your class. You will
collect at least three examples of this student’s work throughout the Unit (not including the
assessments), to analyze his or her progress and adapt instruction as necessary.
Include in your unit, any assessment materials and rubrics used.
Suggestion: Consider calling your preassessment a "Survey" and
also consider NOT returning the papers to students. These
strategies help to avoid confusing and upsetting serious students
who cannot handle doing less than "perfect" work.
Resource
IDEAS FOR PRE-ASSESSMENT
_______________________________________________________________________________________
SEQUENCE
Put pictures or ideas in a sequence. Effective for early primary grades and/or history
FREE WRITING ON VOCABULARY
Explain what this word means to you. Give examples of this word in . . .
DRAW
Draw _____________ and write a sentence explaining what you drew.
FILL IN BUBBLES OR CARTOON FIGURES
Or - create dialog in some format other than above.
COMPLETE COLUMNS ON A “T” CHART
Showing with examples, what is concept IS or IS NOT.
COMPLETE A VENN DIAGRAM
To show how two ideas are alike and different.
COMPLETE AN INCOMPLETE CONCEPT MAP
Or, students draw a graphic of how they think the concepts fit together, using arrows to show causation, etc.
SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION
Teacher keeps track of each student’s understanding or prior knowledge/experience.
DEMONSTRATION BY TEACHER (example, Condensation)
Students write an explanation (I.e., why the water was formed)
STUDENTS DEMONSTRATE A SKILL WITH MANIPULATIVES
Teacher records info on each child.
TRADITIONAL ASSESSMENTS
Fill in the blank, multiple choice, matching, etc.
JOURNAL WRITING IN RESPONSE TO A PROMPT
______________________________________________________________________________
In independent sequences of instruction, where the next skill/understanding can’t be developed without
understanding of prior skill/understanding, the assessment from the prior might be used to show extent of readiness
for the next skill.
If using a ‘canned’ preassessment from a teacher’s manual, first find out which parts of it align with the three key
concepts/outcomes that are being investigated. Also, you might decide to use the ‘canned’ preassessments as a
starter, then decide to redesign, enhance or change some parts of it.
WHAT IDEAS CAN YOU COME UP WITH?
Worksheet
Use this two-page Worksheet to Walk-You-Through Step 4
FIRST, Identify three (3) key objectives from your list prepared earlier in Step #3 that you will use for preassessment Mark with an asterisk, at least one of these objectives that requires higher-level thinking.
1.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
NEXT, design and administer Pre-assessment Activities that will help you evaluate students’ understanding of the
three key concepts/outcomes that you identified above. The previous page in this Guide,
IDEAS FOR PRE-ASSESSMENT,
will provide useful information to help you design appropriate pre-assessments for your students.
NEXT, create a system to ‘score’ your students’ current level of understanding for each key outcome. You may use
the three level ranking system below, however this is just an example. You may design a system
of your own. Whatever system you use, be sure to explain how you define each term
and what evidence you will use to assign the category.
Category
No Evidence of understanding (N)
Limited Understanding (L)
Your definition of “limited”?
What would be evidence of this?
Timesaving suggestion: Save these two documents on your
computer for use during the post assessment. By saving
them, you will have the basic info already in the
documents and will only have to erase preassessment data
and enter post assessment data.
Evidence of Substantial Understanding (S)
Your definition of “substantial”
What would be evidence of this?
NEXT, record your pre-assessment results on a STUDENT SUMMARY OF PRE-ASSESSMENT INFO sheet. Later,
complete a PLANNING FOR INSTRUCTION SHEET where you will summarize results for the overall class, for
each of the three key concepts/outcomes. (See the Examples)
Worksheet
Analyzing and using the assessment information generated
NOW, analyze each student’s performance on each of the three key concepts/outcomes
with one question in mind:
WHO NEEDS DIFFERENTIATION?
WHO knows a lot of the skills/concepts already?
They’ll need more challenge in assignments and assessments.
WHO is lacking some of the prior knowledge to be able to begin learning this new information?
They may need some re-teaching, adaptations or compensatory aids to help them meet outcomes.
WHO has little prior knowledge, as you expected?
To these, you will teach as you had originally planned.
Use the information generated here to prepare the
Implications For Instruction Section of your Planning For Instruction Sheet
NEXT, decide on a way to graphically display your overall class performance on the pre-assessment. You might
consider a pie chart, a bar graph or some other sort of graphic. You might also consider color-coding
different challenges/strengths displayed on the STUDENT SUMMARY SHEET OF
PRE-ASSESSMENT INFORMATON, then present the information along
with a narrative summary.
THEN, identify students for whom you have special concern and explain why in each case. These would include
students who may struggle with the material or students who have already mastered substantial
portions of the material you plan to teach. Use additional paper if necessary.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
FINALLY, identify one student to use for learning analysis in Step 6 and give the rationale for your choice. This
should be a student about whom you have concerns -- not an “average” student nor the most challenging student in
your class. You will collect and include at least three examples of this student’s work throughout your Unit (not
including assessments), to analyze his/her progress and adapt instruction as necessary.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Example
Electricity: A 4th Grade Unit
By Jennifer Pecsenye
Pre-Assessment
Students were given a paper and pencil pre-assessment that assessed them on 3 main objectives. They were given a
rating of either N, L or S for each objective. N = No evidence of understanding, L = Limited Understanding
and S= Substantial understanding.
Objective #1
0-1 examples = N
2-3 examples = L
4-5 examples = S
Objective #2
0-1 correct = N
2-3 correct = L
4 correct = S
Objective #3
0-1 correct = N
1 correct = L
2-3 correct = S
Definitions of the scoring system for each of the three objectives in the sample unit are shown
above. These definitions tell specifically what each of the levels, N, L and S mean.
Be sure to provide definitions for your scoring system.
**************
STUDENT SUMMARY OF PRE-ASSESSMENT INFORMATION
Student Number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
#1 - Identify 5 objects that
use electricity.
N
S
S
S
#2 - Predict whether given
materials are insulators or
conductors.
N
S
N
S
This is S
only a partial list of students forSour
demonstration.
Notice that student names
S
L
are not used, in order to protect privacy.
L
N
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
N
S
N
S
S
#3 - Examine various
diagrams to determine
if the circuit will work
and justify answers.
N
L
L
N
L
L
N
S
S
N
L
N
S
Example
Electricity: A 4th Grade Unit
By Jennifer Pecsenye
Pre-Assessment Planning For Instruction
Objective/Outcome
1. Students will list 5
objects that use
electricity.
Objective/Outcome
2. Students will predict
whether given materials
are conductors or
insulators.
Pre-Assessment Strategy
Summary of Results
Students were given a
In the pre-assessment, 24 Most of the students can
pencil and paper
students could list 5
name the things that use
assessment and were
objects that use electricity. electricity. I will not spend
asked to list 5 things that
much time on this topic.
use electricity. If they
listed 0-1 things, they
received an "N", 2-3
things an "L" and 4-5
things, an "S".
Pre-Assessment Strategy
Summary of Results
Students were given
13 students had limited or
pictures of conductors and no understanding of the
insulators. They were to concept. The rest of the
put an X over objects that students had substantial
are insulators and circle understanding.
the objects that are
conductors.
Three Planning-For-Instruction sheets should be used, one for each
outcome being assessed. A horizontal landscape layout like the form on
the next page will provide more space for writing in content.
Objective/Outcome
3. Students will examine
various diagrams to
determine whether a
circuit is open or closed
and justify answers.
Implications for Instruction
Pre-Assessment Strategy
Students were given
pictures of open and
closed circuits and were
to identify whether it was
open or closed and give
an explanation.
Summary of Results
Implications for Instruction
About half the class
knows something about
this concept and half the
class doesn't. I may need
to spend extra time
explaining the concept to
some and have a more
challenging activity for
others to do while I'm
explaining.
Implications for Instruction
17 students had limited or This concept will probably
no understanding of the be the most confusing for
concept. 13 students had the students. I will need to
substantial understanding. review this concept often.
Most of the students had
the correct explanation,
but confused open and
closed circuits.
KEY$CONCEPTS$
(OUTCOMES)$
!
!
This
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
In!this!column,!
What!are!you!preassessing?!
PREASSESSMENT$
STRATEGIES$
is
SUMMARY$RESULTS$
FOR$OVERALL$CLASS$
IMPLICATIONS$
FOR$INSTRUCTION$
!
!
!
!
!
a sample of the recommended planning for instruction form. !
!
!
!
Use a separate
form for each objective/outcome.
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
In!this!column,!
In!this!column,!
In!this!column,!
How!will!you!preassess!it?!
Use!numbers,!statistics,!
Customization;!how!will!you!
Measurable,!quantitative!data!
Use!this!info!to!plan!for!
Instruction?!
Example
Electricity: A 4th Grade Unit
By Jennifer Pecsenye
DATA ENTRY AND GRAPH PREPARATION
(Pre-Assessment Data from Sample Unit)
FIRST, summary pre-assessment data was entered on a spreadsheet (Excel) as indicated below,
NEXT, the entire block of data was hi-lighted as shown,
THEN, 'chart wizard' was selected, and
FINALLY, by following instructions on the chart-wizard, the graph shown below was prepared.
#1
#2
#3
N
L
1
2
6
7
11
6
S
24
14
10
STUDENTS
UNIT PRE-ASSESSMENT
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
N
L
S
#1
#2
OUTCOMES
#3
Example
Electricity: A 4th Grade Unit
By Jennifer Pecsenye
Students of Special Concern
There are 5 students for whom I have special concern. One student refused to do most of the pre-assessment and
received an "N" on the part he did answer. This student goes to the Resource Room and sometimes has behavioral
problems. Another student received one "limited" rating and two "no evidence of understanding" ratings. This
student is learning disabled and also uses the Resource Room. Two other students revived mostly "limited" and "no
evidence of understanding" ratings. One student in particular received all "substantial" ratings and is very bright. I
am concerned that he will get bored with the material. I will need to plan additional activities for him.
Student For Learning Analysis
The student I picked for analysis is a bright student, but has ADD and is often disruptive during class. She has issues
at home and at school. She is bright and capable of doing very well in school, but often chooses to not do her work or
complain that it is "too hard." I am interested to see how well she does during the unit. On the pre-assessment, she
performed very well. She listed 6 objects that use electricity (one more than required) and did very well on the third
objective. She justified her answers very well. Although this student performed well on the pre-assessment, I think
she will need some additional help during the unit. She has good days and bad days and sometimes it's very hard to
get her to focus.
Rubric
Step #4 – Pre-Unit Analysis
1
Standard Not Met
2
Standard Partially Met
3
Standard Met
4
Exceptional
Presentation may be
difficult to follow and may
contain inaccuracies.
Presentation could be
clearer but provides the
important information.
Presentation is easy to
understand and contains
no errors of
representation.
Presentation is easy to
understand and contains
no errors.
Outcomes do no reflect
the most important
concepts/generalizations.
Most outcomes chosen
reflect important
concepts/generalizations
of unit.
Outcomes chosen reflect
important
concepts/generalizations
of unit.
Most important outcomes
of the unit are addressed
There is some mismatch
between outcomes and
assessments in content
and/or level of learning.
Assessments are generally
congruent with outcomes
in content and level of
learning but may have a
few problems.
Assessments are
congruent with outcomes
in content and level of
learning.
All parts of assessments
are congruent with
outcomes in both content
and level of learning.
Analysis is not aligned
with most outcomes.
Analysis is aligned with
some outcomes.
Analysis is aligned with
outcomes.
Analysis addresses each
outcome directly.
Analysis is sketchy and
does not provide a clear
picture of student
understanding either at the
group or at the individual
level.
Analysis provides a
general profile of learning
for both the group and
individual but does not
provide specifics.
Analysis provides an
informative profile of
student understanding
prior to the unit for both
the group and the
individual student selected
for learning analysis.
Analysis provides a
thoughtful, complete
profile of the group AND
the individual student
selected for analysis.
Assessments and answer
keys are included but not
of high quality.
Most assessments are well
designed and answer keys
are given.
Assessments are well
designed and include
answer keys.
Assessments are well
designed, answer key is
included and accurate.
Point values are clear.
STEP FIVE
PLANNING FOR INSTRUCTION
You will develop your lesson plans for each day in this section of your Unit, to include a minimum of five (5) lesson
designs, consisting of a minimum of one from each of the three types, Direct, Inductive and Cooperative. The lesson
plans must,
• Be clearly tied to outcomes for the Michigan Department of Education Standards,Benchmarks
or GLCES,
• Have standards/benchmarks/GLCES written out in the lesson plan where addressed,
• Reflect preassessment information - outcomes may need to be adjusted to reflect students’
current levels of understanding,
• Include whole group, small group and individual activities,
• Include the thoughtful use of technology by students,
• Reflect thoughtful consideration of multiple intelligences, learning styles, cultures and other
diverse student characteristics,
• Include opportunities for both family involvement (letter or newsletter, interactive
homework, etc.) and ties to the community (service learning, community resources, use of local
media, etc.),
• Use appropriate adaptations for special needs students, and
• Include an authentic, culminating, assessment activity that requires students to use key ideas in
authentic, complex ways. This activity should require students to summarize, synthesize and
display learning from the entire Unit. This should be a separate activity in addition to your
regular lesson plans.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Use the required lesson plan formats in this Handbook.
Use headings as indicated in the lesson plan formats
Assessment plans should be addressed in each lesson plan, whether or not you assess at the end of
that particular lesson.
Build your lessons using the objectives/outcomes identified in step 3.
Prepare a Day-to-Day framework of your unit, showing the 'Big Picture" of what will happen each
day.
Include the related standard on each lesson plan, identified by both code number and description.
Example
Electricity: A 4th Grade Unit
By Jennifer Pecsenye
Unit Overview
Monday
*Brief Introduction
*Electrical Safety
Monday
*Building circuits
Tuesday
*Static electricity
Tuesday
*Parallel/Series
Wednesday
*Introduction to
electricity
Thursday
*Lightbulb activity
Wednesday
*Switches
Thursday
*Conductors and
insulators
Friday
*Introduction to
circuits
Friday
*Lighthouses
*Test
This is an example of a Unit Framework.
Suggestion: In addition to identifying the topic for each day in your unit framework, also consider identifying
the type of Lesson (direct, inductive, coop), any special resources (speaker, PowerPointe, video)
Any Special Activities (field trip, outdoor lab)
Culminating Activity
At the end of the unit, the students will be making lighthouses. They will use what they learned about building
circuits to make their lighthouse. The students will be given 2 wires, a battery, a bulb, a battery holder, clay and a
toilet roll to build the lighthouse. Students will be shown a model, but will be given no directions for building the
lighthouse. They will build the lighthouse and will then decorate it. After all students have made their lighthouses,
they will show them to the rest of the classmates.
Rubric For Culminating Activity
The point of this activity is to see if the students have learned how to build a simple electrical circuit. Much emphasis
was put on this skill throughout the unit and students had a lot of practice. Therefore, this assignment is graded on a
pass/fail basis. If the lighthouse lights, the student passes. If the lighthouse does not light, the student fails the
assignment.
Rubric
Step #5 – Plan For Instruction
1
Standard Not Met
2
Standard Partially Met
Few lessons are explicitly
linked to learning
outcomes.
Most lessons are explicitly
linked to learning
outcomes.
All lessons are explicitly
linked to learning
outcomes.
All lessons are explicitly
linked to learning
outcomes.
Few learning activities,
assignments and resources
are aligned with learning
outcomes. Not all learning
outcomes are covered in
the design.
Most learning activities,
assignments and resources
are aligned with learning
outcomes. Most learning
outcomes are covered in
the design.
All learning activities,
assignments and
resources are aligned with
learning outcomes and all
outcomes are covered in
the design.
All learning activities,
assignments and resources
are aligned with learning
outcomes and all
outcomes are clearly
addressed in the design.
Learning outcomes are the
focus of the lessons - not
extraneous to student
activities.
Teacher’s use of content
appears to contain
numerous inaccuracies.
Teacher’s use of content
appears to be mainly
accurate and shows
awareness of the big ideas
or structure of the
discipline.
Teacher’s use of content
appears to be accurate.
Focus of the content is
mostly congruent with the
big ideas or structure of
the discipline.
Teacher's use and
understanding of content
is exceptional. Content
focus is on the big ideas of
the discipline – not small
details or extraneous
points.
Content seems to be
viewed more as isolated
skills and facts.
The unit and lessons are
organized.
The unit and lessons are
clearly organized and
sequenced.
Unit and lessons are
clearly organized and
form a cohesive whole.
Content does not move
students forward.
Most lessons, activities and
assignments are designed
to move students toward
achieving the learning
outcomes
All lessons, activities and
assignments are designed
to move students toward
achieving the learning
outcomes.
All lessons, activities and
assignments are designed
to move all students
toward the learning
outcomes. Individual
differences are built into
the lessons.
There is little variety in
instruction, activities,
assignments and
resources; with heavy
reliance on the textbook or
a single resource.
There is some variety in
instruction, activities or
resources.
Design includes variety
across lesson type and
grouping and includes
opportunities for students
to synthesize and use
information in complex
ways.
Design of unit includes a
variety of lesson types and
grouping. Type of lesson
chosen is appropriate for
the given outcomes. They
move students in
reasonable steps toward
being able to synthesize
information in complex
ways.
- Continued on
3
Standard Met
next page -
4
Exceptional
Rubric #5 continued from previous page
Instruction has not been
designed with reference to
contextual factors and preassessment data.
Some instruction has been
designed with reference to
contextual factors and preassessment data.
Most instruction has been
designed with reference
to contextual factors and
pre-assessment data.
Contextual factors and
pre-assessment data are
integrally woven into
lessons and the unit.
Little attention is paid to
student characteristics,
special needs adaptation,
or family/community
involvement.
Some lessons reflect
thoughtful consideration of
student characteristics,
include adaptations for
special needs students
and/or family/community
involvement.
Lessons reflect thoughtful
consideration of student
characteristics and
include appropriate
adaptations for special
needs students and
opportunities for
family/community
involvement.
Lessons take student
characteristics into
account in an in-depth and
appropriate manner.
Teacher does not use
technology in instructional
delivery and does not
provide opportunities for
students to use technology
OR technology is
inappropriately used.
Teacher uses technology
appropriately in
instructional delivery but
does not integrate
technology into student
learning activities.
Technology does not make
a significant contribution
to teaching/learning.
Teacher integrates
appropriate technology
into teaching and
learning.
Technology is integrated
appropriately into both
teaching and student work.
STEP SIX
STUDENT LEARNING ANALYSIS
This component of your Unit is designed to demonstrate your careful use and analysis of assessment data to
demonstrate student learning. (Your Unit should also include an authentic culminating activity with an associated
rubric, in the lesson plans section).
The analysis of student learning has two components:
1) Analysis of group learning, and
2) Analysis of individual learning.
All unit outcomes should be assessed, but here you need only present the assessment of the 3-5 outcomes that you
marked as the focus of your preassessment. This information will be compared to information generated in the
preassessment to provide evidence of student learning.
(1) The group analysis must include,
!
!
!
!
A description of assessments used to evaluate students’ understanding of the 3-5 outcomes selected (There
should be a clear correspondence between the outcomes selected and the assessment tasks),
A minimum of one assessment that requires students to use key concepts or generalizations in complex
ways, for example in a project or other authentic assessment,
A grid or other device (see sample unit) that records each student’s level of mastery of each
objective/outcome and the assessments used to evaluate that mastery,
A summary statement about how student learning has been demonstrated through the assessments and how
that information will be used in planning.
(2) The individual analysis must include
!
!
!
A description of the individual student selected including preassessment information and other relevant
observations (No real student names should be used).
An explanation of adaptations made for the student based on the analysis of student’s work,
A description of the student’s learning, progress, using evidence from the three student work samples
collected.
Attach copies of direction sheets, rubrics, tests and answer keys at the end of this unit.
Your learning analysis should provide statistical evidence of
learning. Therefore, your comments should use measurable
quantitative evidence. General statements that use the words,
"most", "many", "everybody" are not appropriate.
Example
Electricity: A 4th Grade Unit
By Jennifer Pecsenye
Post-Assessment
Students were given a paper and pencil post-assessment that assessed them on 3 main objectives. They were given a
rating of either N, L or S for each objective. N = No evidence of understanding, L = Limited Understanding
and S= Substantial understanding.
Objective #1
0-1 examples = N
2-3 examples = L
4-5 examples = S
Objective #2
0-1 correct = N
2-3 correct = L
4 correct = S
Objective #3
0-1 correct = N
1 correct = L
2-3 correct = S
Definitions of the scoring system for each of the three objectives in the sample unit are shown
above. These definitions tell specifically what each of the levels, N, L and S mean.
Be sure to provide definitions for your scoring system.
**************
STUDENT SUMMARY OF POST-ASSESSMENT INFORMATION
Student Number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
#1 - Identify 5 objects that
use electricity.
#2 - Predict whether given
materials are insulators or
conductors.
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
S
This isS only a partial list of students for
S our
demonstration.
Notice
that
student
names
S
S
are not used, in order to protect privacy.
S
L
S
L
S
S
S
L
S
S
S
L
S
S
#3 - Examine various
diagrams to determine if
the circuit will work
and justify answers.
L
L
S
S
L
S
L
L
S
S
L
S
N
Example
Electricity: A 4th Grade Unit
By Jennifer Pecsenye
Group Analysis of Student Learning – Step #6
Objective/Outcome
1. Students will list 5 objects
that use electricity.
Objective/Outcome
Assessment Strategy
Students were given a paper
and pencil assessment and
were asked to list 5 things that
use electricity.
Assessment Strategy
2. Students will predict whether Students were given pictures of
given materials are conductors conductors and insulators. They
or insulators.
were to put an X over objects
that are insulators and circle the
objects that are conductors.
Summary of Results
All 27 students were able to list 5
objects that use electricity. They all
received an "S".
Summary of Results
7 of the students correctly identified
2-3 conductors/insulators and
received an "L" for limited
understanding. The other 20
correctly identified 4
conductors/insulators and received
an "S".
Objective/Outcome
Assessment Strategy
Summary of Results
3. Students will examine various
diagrams to determine whether
a circuit is open or closed and
justify answers.
Students were given pictures of
open and closed circuits and
were to identify whether it was
open or closed and give an
explanation.
4 students received an "N" for no
understanding. They completely
reversed the definitions for open and
closed circuits. 7 students received
an "L" for limited understanding.
The students correctly identified
whether a circuit was open or
closed, but did not give a sufficient
explanation. 16 students received
an "S" for answering all 3 questions
correctly.
Three Group Analysis For Student Learning Sheets should
be used, one for each outcome assessed. A horizontal
landscape layout like the form on the next page will provide
more space for writing in content.
KEY$CONCEPTS$
(OUTCOMES)$
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
This is a
ASSESSMENT$
STRATEGIES$
!
sample of the recommended
Group
!
! Form.
of Student Learning
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
SUMMARY$RESULTS$
FOR$OVERALL$CLASS$
!
Analysis
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
Be!sure!to!use!numbers,!statistics,!
measurable,!quantitative!data!in!
this!column.!
Example
Electricity: A 4th Grade Unit
By Jennifer Pecsenye
DATA ENTRY AND GRAPH PREPARATION
(Post Assessment data from Sample Unit)
FIRST, summary post assessment data was entered on a spreadsheet (Excel) as indicated below,
NEXT, the entire block of data was hi-lighted as shown,
THEN, 'chart wizard' was selected, and
FINALLY, by following instructions on the chart-wizard, the graph shown below was prepared.
N
L
S
#1
#2
#3
0
0
27
0
7
20
4
7
16
On your post assessment graph be sure to
use the same colors for different levels of
achievement that you used in the PRE
assessment graph, so that comparisons can
be easily made at a glance.
STUDENTS
UNIT POST ASSESSMENT
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
N
L
S
#1
#2
OUTCOMES
#3
Example
Electricity: A 4th Grade Unit
By Jennifer Pecsenye
Summary Statement for Student Learning
There was evidence of student learning in all three areas that were assessed. The first objective was for students to list
5 objects that use electricity. One student moved from no understanding to substantial understanding and 2 moved
from limited to substantial. The other 24 students remained at substantial understanding.
There were also substantial gains in the second objective, which was to predict whether certain objects were
conductors or insulators. 11 students remained at substantial understanding and 2 students remained at limited
understanding. 2 students went from no understanding to limited. 5 students went from limited to substantial.
Unfortunately, 3 students moved from substantial understanding down to limited. The 3 students who made the
biggest gains went from no understanding to substantial.
Students made the biggest gains in the third objective. This was the most challenging objective because they were
asked to explain their answers. 7 students remained at substantial understanding, 3 remained at limited and 2
remained at no understanding. 3 students went from limited to substantial and 3 went from no understanding to
limited. 3 students' scores actually went down. 1 went from substantial to limited and 2 went from substantial to no
understanding. 7 students made tremendous gains in this objective and went from no understanding to substantial.
While teaching the unit, I could tell that all students were learning, even if the post-assessment showed that some
scores went down. The assessment only focused on 3 objectives and did not show all of the learning gains made by
the students.
Individual Analysis
Julia (a pseudonym) showed substantial understanding in two of the three objectives and showed limited
understanding in the third. I was surprised at how well she did on the pre-assessment, especially the third objective
where she had to explain her answers. Julia has several brothers and sisters. Her parents are divorced and there is a
new baby at her dad's house and a new baby on the way at her mom's house. She spends time at both her mom's and
her dad's and is often expected to baby-sit. Julia has been diagnosed with ADD and is supposed to take medication,
but she sometimes comes to school without taking it. It is very evident when she does not take her medication.
A few adaptations were made for Julia during the unit. The first assignment I gave the class was for them to write a
short piece on how their lives would be different if they didn't have electricity. This day, Julia was having one of her
"off" days (as discussed in the pre-unit analysis). I could not get her motivated to write and she just shut down.
During their study hall, I took some time to talk with her about her writing and gave her some extra time to work on it.
After reading her writing, it was evident that she knew what objects use electricity and that her life would be very
different. Another adaptation made was that Julia was usually placed with partners who knew a little less about
electricity than she did. This allowed her to have a "job". She does well when she is able to teach others. During the
cooperative learning lesson, I assigned her the role of recorder. She sometimes does not work well in groups and I
thought that if she had a job like recorder, it would keep her focused on the task. Finally, I placed Julia with a new
student for their lighthouse activity. I witnessed Julia explaining electricity concepts to the new student. She really
does work best when she is able to teach to other students. Julia knew quite a bit about electricity before the unit, but
she gained much more knowledge throughout the unit. I observed her during class discussions and activities and it is
obvious that she met all three objectives with a substantial rating.
Rubric
Step #6 – Student Learning Analysis
1
Standard Not Met
2
Standard Partially Met
3
Standard Met
4
Exceptional
Presentation may be
difficult to follow and
may contain
inaccuracies.
Presentation could be
clearer but provides the
important information.
Presentation is easy to
understand and contains
no errors of
representation.
Presentation is clear and
complete. There are no
errors in analysis.
Outcomes do not reflect
the most important
concepts/generalizations.
Most outcomes chosen
reflect important
concepts/generalizations
of unit.
Outcomes chosen reflect
important
concepts/generalizations
of unit.
Outcomes reflect the
most important concepts
in the unit.
There is some mismatch
between outcomes and
assessments in content
and/or level of learning.
Assessments are
generally congruent with
outcomes in content and
level of learning but may
have a few problems.
Assessments are
congruent with outcomes
in content and level of
learning.
Assessments are
congruent with content
and level of learning.
Individual questions and
their connection with the
outcomes are identified
for the reader and are
appropriate. They are
well written. Answer key
is given and appropriate.
If published assessment
is used, the quality of the
assessment is addressed
in the analysis.
Analysis does not
directly address
outcomes.
Analysis is aligned with
most outcomes.
Analysis is aligned with
outcomes.
Analysis is clearly and
specifically aligned with
outcomes.
Analysis is sketchy and
does not provide a clear
picture of student
understanding either at
the group or at the
individual level.
Analysis provides a
general profile of
learning for both group
and individual but does
not provide specifics.
Analysis provides an
informative profile of
student understanding at
the end of the unit for
both the group and the
individual student
selected for learning
analysis.
Analysis addresses
student understanding at
the end of the unit for
both the group and the
individual selected. This
analysis is thoughtful
and in-depth and
includes future actions.
Analysis of student
learning is incorrect
and/or does not tie into
pre-unit assessment.
Analysis of student
learning is somewhat
sketchy but includes
reference to both preunit and post-unit
assessment data.
Analysis of student
learning is supported
with evidence from the
data, including
appropriate references to
pre-unit assessment.
Analysis is supported
with examples and
evidence from the data
and references preassessment knowledge.
STEP SEVEN
REFLECTION AND SELF EVALUATION
Write a narrative including the following:
• Select the learning outcome where students were most successful. Describe the evidence that
supports your choice. Provide two or more possible reasons for this success.
• Select the learning outcome where students were least successful. Describe the evidence that
supports your choice. Provide two or more possible reasons for this lack of success. Focus only on
factors you can affect as a teacher.
• Use ideas from professional knowledge and experience to help explain why you think students were
or were not successful at reaching the learning outcomes you identified above. Consider also your
goals, instruction and assessment along with student characteristics and other contextual factors
under your control. Why did students learn or not learn? What contributed to this result?
• Discuss what you could do differently or better in the future to improve your student's performance.
• Assess your teaching performance in this unit relative to the indicated standards. How did your
performance impact your students' learning?
• Describe the impact of this experience on your emerging professional attitudes, thinking, or practice
(e.g. Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment, Philosophy). What insights have you gained about
yourself as a growing professional? What things do you understand or can you do better now?
What do you need to work on and what specific plans do you have for improvement? What things
do you appreciate more or are you more aware of? Identify two specific steps you will take to
improve your performance in the critical area(s) you identified.
This narrative reflection and self-evaluation
should
focus on your
UNIT EXPERIENCE,
not on your overall student teaching experience.
The KEY question here is,
"What did you learn from your unit experience?"
Allow the prompts above to be your guide for this
narrative.
Example
Electricity: A 4th Grade Unit
By Jennifer Pecsenye
Reflection and Self Evaluation
The class showed significant gains in objectives 2 and 3. I am the happiest with the gains in objective 3 because that
was the most difficult and students made the biggest gains here. Students did not show very much improvement in the
first objective because most students showed substantial understanding on the pre-assessment.
After taking the post-assessment, it was clear that 10 students improved on the second objective. 2 went from no
understanding to limited, 5 went from limited to substantial and 3 went from no understanding to substantial. 13
students stayed at the level of understanding they were at before the unit and 3 actually went form substantial to
limited. During the conductors and insulators lesson, the students had fun testing given objects. This was the last
lesson of the unit and I don't think I spent enough time explaining the materials that conductors and insulators are
made of and the reason for it. I think that if I put the materials that the students tested on the post-assessment, they
would get them all right. But I don't think the students made the connection between the materials things are made out
of and whether or not they conduct electricity. Next time, I would spend more time talking about various objects and
materials that conduct (or don't conduct) electricity.
On the third objective, 13 students improved after the unit. 10 students stayed at the level they were at and 3 went
down. I am very happy that 7 students went from no understanding to substantial. This objective required students to
identify whether a drawing of a circuit was "open" or "closed". Then, the students had to justify their answers. This
objective was very hard for students. During the unit, I reviewed this concept many, many times. Many students
confused an open circuit with a closed and their explanations would be backwards. I did my best to teach the
difference between the two and give many examples, but it was a hard concept for the students to grasp.
My unit had many hands-on activities and I feel that the students learned the most while doing the activities. They
could all do the tasks I asked them when it came to building different types of circuits. But when it came to written
assessments, some students did not do well. It makes me wonder if they just don't take tests well and if next time I
could have them show me certain parts of the circuits or build certain circuits and have an oral assessment instead of a
paper and pencil test. At the end, I was surprised at how many students mixed up vocabulary words, especially since
they did so well in discussion and activities.
Almost everyday, I observed students talking about electricity. They improved their vocabulary throughout the unit
and could explain concepts related to electricity. Often students would come to school in the morning and tell me
about experiences they had with electricity the night before.
I am still having trouble figuring out why some students actually did worse on their post-assessment than on their preassessment. I don't think it means that they didn't learn anything; maybe they just got mixed up on the assessment.
The biggest issue I had during my unit was time. The concepts I thought would take the longest to teach actually took
the least amount of time. In contrast, what I thought would be simple for the students was actually the most difficult.
Luckily, my cooperating teacher was flexible and she allowed me to take more time when I needed it.
Overall, my unit went very well. The students had fun doing the activities and learned at the same time. 24 students
either improved or stayed at the same level of understanding for the second objective and the same for the third
objective.
Rubric
Step #7 – Reflection and Self Evaluation
1
Standard Not Met
2
Standard Partially Met
3
Standard Met
4
Exceptional
Provides general
descriptions of success
with little tie to
evidence.
Describes, with some
evidence, specific
outcomes where students
were and were not
successful.
Describes, with
evidence, specific
outcomes where students
were and were not
successful.
Provides a thorough
analysis with evidence of
specific outcomes. Both
strengths and weaknesses
are addressed
appropriately.
Uses only evidence from
lessons to support
conclusions about
success.
Uses evidence from
Student Learning
Analysis and
information from lessons
to support conclusions
about success but doesn't
tie it to the field.
Uses professional
knowledge (concepts,
research, theory) to
explain results. Uses
evidence from “Student
Learning Analysis” as
well as from lessons to
support conclusions
about success but is not
integrated.
Integrates professional
knowledge of the field
(research, theory,
developmental
appropriateness, etc.)
with Student Learning
Analysis to explain
results. Integrates
Student Learning
Analysis evidence from
lessons, and theory into
one argument to support
conclusions.
Provides little
professional speculation
as to why some students
did not meet learning
goals.
Does not explore
multiple hypotheses for
why some students did
not meet learning goals.
Explores multiple
hypotheses for why
some students did not
meet learning goals.
Explores multiple,
reasonable hypotheses
related to learning for
why some students met
and others did not meet
goals.
Provides general,
sketchy idea for
redesigning instruction
and why these
modifications would
improve student
learning.
Provides some
appropriate ideas for
redesigning instruction
and explains why these
modifications would
improve student
learning.
Provides appropriate
ideas for redesigning
instruction and explains
why these modifications
would improve student
learning.
Provides comprehensive,
appropriate ideas for
redesign. Explains in a
complete manner why
these changes are
appropriate and better
than other possibilities.
Professional learning
goals are very general
and not directly related
to experiences described
in this section.
Presents professional
learning goals that
emerge from the insights
and experiences
described in this section.
Presents professional
learning goals that
clearly emerge from the
insights and experiences
described in this section.
Presents thoughtful
professional learning
goals that clearly emerge
from this experience.
These goals are
substantial. Plans for
action are presented in
terms of how the goals
will be met.
STEP EIGHT
TEACHING MATERIALS
All necessary materials for teaching the Unit should be listed, to include but not limited to,
!
!
!
!
!
Visual aids and other media resources
Technology equipment, software, transparencies
All other concrete materials
Human resources (speakers, etc.)
All handouts
STEP NINE
REFERENCES (Bibliography)
Include a minimum of 10 references in print plus 3 web references.
STEP TEN
ORGANIZE AND ASSEMBLE FINAL COPY
While the following tasks pertain to the overall Unit, they are most easily completed after all other
components are complete.
!
!
!
!
Prepare an inviting cover with title and graphics, then assemble and include your unit as a
component in your Portfolio
Prepare a Title page that includes all information from the cover, plus Student Teacher’s name,
grade level Unit is intended for and expected length of Unit,
Develop a table of contents coordinated with an organizational tab system - (color-coded
commercial system recommended).
Check grammar and spelling; proof read. Is it user-friendly?
Example
Electricity: A 4th Grade Unit
By Jennifer Pecsenye
List of Unit Teaching Materials
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
batteries
bulbs
battery holders
wires
bulb holders
balloons
paper clips
wire fasteners
index cards
clay
VCR/TV
paper
markers
overhead projector
Video, "Intro To Circuits"
Video, "Getting To Know Electricity"
"Switch On Switch Off", by Melvin Berger
All handouts are included with each lesson plan
Various materials for conductors/insulators lesson: may include chalk, pipe cleaners,
paper clips, paper, pencils, metal fasteners, etc.
Note that there are two videos and one printed
resource on the teaching materials list that are also
listed on the Resources list. The reason for this is
that these three items are resources that are used in
the class with the students (not just for teacher prep)
and will therefore be a part of one or more of the
lesson plans.
Example
Electricity: A 4th Grade Unit
By Jennifer Pecsenye
Resources
Ardley, Neil, The Science Book of Electricity. Gulliver Books, San Diego, 1991.
Arvetis, Chris and Carole Palmer, What Is Electricity? Field Publications, Middletown, CT, 1986.
Berger, Melvin, Switch On Switch Off.
Blackwood, Ann and Beth Gress, Energy, Magnetism and Machines, The Education Center, Inc.,
Greensboro, NC, 2000.
Bryant, Karen, Electricity, Rigbly Linter Library, Crystal Lake, IL, 1997.
National Science Resources Center, Electric Circuits – Teacher's Guide, Carolina Biological Supply Co.,
Burlington, NC, 1991.
Parker, Steve, Electricity, Dorling Kindersley, Inc., London, 1992.
Parker, Steve, Thomas Edison and Electricity, Harper Trophy, NY, 1992.
Searle, Bobbi, Electricity and Magnetism, Copper Beach Books, Brookfield, CT, 2002
Wood, Robert, Physics For Kids, McGraw-Hill, 1990.
WWW.sciencemadesimple.com
http://amasci.com/ele-edu.html
www.nationalgeographic.com
http://library.thinkquest.org/6064/main.html - The Shocking Truth About Electricity.
Video: "Intro To Circuits"
Video: "Getting To Know Electricity"
Suggested Sequence of Unit Components
MY
UNIT
COVER
(A)
MY
UNIT
TITLE
PAGE
(B)
CONTENT
OUTLINE
CONCEPT
MAP
(F)
(G)
TABLE
OF
CONTENTS
(C)
UNIT
OBJECTIVES
OUTCOMES
(H)
CONTEXT
ANALYSIS
AND
RATIONALE
BENCHMARKS
GENERALIZATIONS
FACTS
(E)
(D)
PREASSESSMENT
PROCESS &
RESULTS
(I)
DAY-BY-DAY
UNIT
FRAMEWORK
(J)
MIN. FIVE
LESSON
PLAN /
DESIGNS
AUTHENTIC
CULMINATING
ASSESSMENT
ACTIVITY
ANALYSIS
OF
STUDENT
LEARNING
REFLECTION
AND
SELF
EVALUATION
MATERIALS
LIST
AND
REFERENCES
(K)
(L)
(M)
(N)
(O)
The Cooperating Teacher
Dear Master Teacher:
As this semester begins, the College of Education at Eastern Michigan University warmly
welcomes you as a cooperating and mentor teacher. We very much appreciate your willingness to help our
student teacher through the final steps in his/her development as a beginning teacher. Without you, our
student would miss the opportunity to learn what it means to be a teacher in an authentic environment.
This section of The Student Teaching Handbook is designed to offer you practical strategies for
mentoring, observing, conferencing, and evaluating your student teacher during the course of the semester.
We very much appreciate your willingness to partner with us to help our student teachers reach their
academic and professional goals. Please contact us with any questions or concerns you may have. Again,
we thank you warmly for your expertise and we look forward to working with you this semester.
Sincerely,
Wendy Burke, Ph.D.
Director of Student Teaching, Faculty Associate
Introduction
Student teaching is a unique experience because:
• It takes place off campus in a real-life learning environment,
• It involves several different types of mentors, and
• It is highly dependent upon the cooperation of many different personnel.
The student teacher, the cooperating teacher and the university supervisor are most directly involved in the
student teaching experience. Others, such as the building administrator, the Associate Dean and other
university faculty also make important contributions. Because the responsibility for maximizing the student
teaching experience is shared by many people, each must be willing to work in partnership with the others.
Because the cooperating teacher spends the most time in direct contact with the student teacher, he or she
plays a critical role in the preparation of new colleagues and his or her contribution is vital to the success of
Eastern Michigan University’s teacher certification program. This section of the handbook identifies some
of the cooperating teacher’s roles and suggests practical strategies for sequencing the student teacher’s
activities, for observation and conferencing, and for evaluation.
In this section you will find information about:
• Cooperating teacher responsibilities
• Observation strategies and techniques
• Conferencing strategies and techniques
• Evaluation
Cooperating Teacher Responsibilities
While differences between student teachers, cooperating teachers and classroom settings make it difficult to
suggest a single way to approach each stage in the student teaching experience, student teachers and their
mentors should consult with the university supervisor and adapt the general schedule and description of
appropriate activities described below. See detailed Graphic Immersion Chart on page 12.
Weeks 1 through 2 – Orientation and Initial Teaching
During the orientation and initial teaching stage, student teachers should observe, assist in lesson planning,
comment on and grade papers, and assist in class and school-wide activities. The student teacher should
also assume partial responsibility for portions of instruction (e.g., opening activities, spelling). These
responsibilities often continue throughout the semester.
Cooperating Teacher Activities
The activities suggested below may help to make this phase of the student teaching experience more
successful and rewarding. Cooperating teachers should complete the following checklist with their student
teacher.
Orientation to the school and community
— Re-read the student teacher’s autobiography and become acquainted with his or her background,
interests, and special needs.
— Organize an introductory conference to share teaching philosophies and goals and to set the tone for
a professional and collegial relationship.
— Help the student teacher to learn about the community.
— Acquaint the student teacher with school policies and procedures and provide him or her with a
school handbook, if available.
— Verify and define, in writing, the extent of the student teacher’s authority and responsibilities.
— Explain the school calendar and daily schedule. Establish a procedure that the student teacher
should follow to notify the cooperating teacher of absences and tardiness. Cooperating teachers
should also note the dates of the student teacher’s required seminars.
— Note the dates of, and encourage the student teacher to attend special events and activities including
school board meetings, parent conferences, staff meetings, staff development opportunities, extracurricular activities, school-wide or professional development events and state, regional, or national
subject-matter association meetings.
— Provide a list of all school staff and introduce the student teacher to school personnel.
— Give the student teacher a tour of the building, pointing out the location of supplies and equipment,
the media center and other special facilities, and review special parking arrangements.
— Explain how to reserve or check out equipment; demonstrate its use.
— Explain district policy, procedures, and forms for special education and special student services.
— Help the student teacher to locate and learn about the nearest Intermediate School District and its
services.
— Discuss appropriate attire.
Orientation to the classroom
— Prepare the students for the student teacher’s arrival.
— Introduce the student teacher to the students.
— Provide the student teacher with a desk or work area in or near the classroom.
— Create an atmosphere in which the student teacher has a feeling of belonging.
— Explain classroom procedures and the role the student teacher is to take in implementing them.
— Share a plan for classroom management and discipline and tell why it works. Furnish a copy of the
discipline procedures and consequences. Discuss other possible management ideas and discipline
techniques. Encourage the student teacher to try out a variety of management strategies.
— Explain the curriculum and various plans for instruction; Provide copies of texts and materials, as
appropriate.
— Provide a seating chart and distribute name tags.
— Provide an opportunity for the student teacher and the class to share things about themselves.
— Set aside time for each student to work individually and in small groups with the student teacher.
Observation
— Ask the student teacher to observe for specific teaching strategies or patterns of interaction rather
than allowing the student teacher to simply watch the lesson unfold. A list of possible observation
topics is included in the Student Teacher section of this handbook.
Weeks 3 through 7 - Part-time Teaching
During this stage student teachers should gradually take on increased amounts of responsibilities for routine
duties as well as instruction. This stage is an ideal time to plan collaboratively and team-teach. The
cooperating teacher should continue to provide continuity within the classroom, model effective teaching
strategies, management techniques, and offer support. The cooperating teacher should also encourage the
student teacher to plan for and deliver longer sequences of instruction and to become increasingly
independent.
Students should be provided with specific feedback and recommendations for continued improvement and
teaching success. Student teachers should evaluate their teaching and identify current strengths and
weaknesses. Mid-semester evaluations are submitted at the eighth week.
Cooperating Teacher Activities
The activities suggested below may help to make this stage of the student teaching experience more
interesting and rewarding. Cooperating teachers should complete the following checklist with the student
teacher.
— Encourage the student teacher to gather and organize ideas and materials. Share files and filing
systems. Encourage him or her to establish a systematic professional materials file.
— Model a variety of teaching techniques and strategies. Demonstrate how to analyze and adapt
lessons and encourage an atmosphere in which self-evaluation is valued.
— Allow the student teacher to take on increasing amounts of responsibility for planning and
delivering lessons.
— Require that the student teacher make thorough daily lesson plans. Review these plans in advance.
— Encourage the student teacher to contribute new ideas to use in the classroom:
· Communicate the amount of freedom the student teacher has in making decisions.
· Allow the student teacher to use new methods and techniques, when possible.
· Discuss methods and procedures that can supplement existing classroom teaching techniques.
— Set aside a time each day to conference together.
— Take notes on and keep written records of these conferences for reference and evaluation.
Additional information on observations and conferences is included later in this section of the
handbook.
— Conference with the student teacher concerning the content and organization of his or her
instructional unit.
— Remind the student teacher to complete the mid-semester self-evaluation.
— Complete the mid-semester evaluation documenting the student teacher’s progress; include a typed,
written narrative or a list of strengths and concerns on this evaluation.
— Provide time for, and maintain communication with, the university supervisor.
— Contribute constructive criticism that will assist in improving the Eastern Michigan University
teacher certification program.
Weeks 8 through 13 - Independent Teaching
As student teachers develop their skills and confidence, cooperating teachers should relinquish more and
more duties and allow the student teacher greater opportunities for sustained, continuous, “solo”
instruction. The College of Education Office of Academic Services recommends a minimum of ten teaching
days as an independent teacher. The length of this independent teaching stage will depend on such factors
as:
• The nature of the classes,
• The student teaching assignment,
• The progress of the student teacher;
• The judgment of the cooperating teacher, the university supervisor, and
• The responsibility and maturity of the student teacher.
During this stage, student teachers should have primary responsibility for instruction including planning,
teaching and evaluation of the students. Student teachers are required to prepare and teach an original unit
of study during either the part-time or independent teaching stage.
Cooperating Teacher Activities
Student teachers should never be left completely alone over a period of several hours. Cooperating teachers
should periodically drop in and out of the classroom, even when the student teacher is in the independent
teaching stage. A work area could be set up within earshot of the classroom in the hall or in an adjoining
room. The activities suggested below may help to make this stage of the student teaching experience more
successful and rewarding. In addition to the items listed in the previous section, complete the following
checklist with the student teacher.
— Audio or video record the student teacher.
— Require that the student teacher continue to make thorough daily lesson plans.
— Encourage the student teacher to try out and contribute new ideas.
— Require that the student teacher teach his or her unit if he or she has not already done so.
— Conference with the student teacher concerning revisions to the content and organization of the unit.
— Continue to set aside a time each day to conference together.
— Take notes on and keep written records of these conferences for reference and evaluation.
Additional information on observations and conferences is included later in this handbook.
— Provide time for, and maintain communication with, the university supervisor.
— Contribute constructive criticism that will assist in improving the Eastern Michigan University
teacher certification program.
Weeks 14 through 15 - Phase-out and Observation
The purpose of this stage is to provide a smooth transition of responsibilities from the student teacher back
to the cooperating teacher. While the student teacher will continue to assist with various aspects of
teaching, he or she should be provided with opportunities to observe in other classrooms and at various
grade levels.
Cooperating Teacher Activities
The activities suggested below may help to make this stage of the student teaching experience more
successful and rewarding. Cooperating teachers should complete the following activities with the student
teacher.
— Assist the student teacher in making arrangements to observe teachers at other grade levels and in
other subject areas.
— Expose the student teacher to professional publications and professional local, state, regional, and
national organizations for teachers.
— Schedule and conduct a final interview in which the student teacher analyzes and assesses his or her
teaching, summarizes the variety of teaching strategies he or she has used, tells what he or she has
learned, and describes his or her attitude about teaching as a career.
— Complete the final evaluation documenting the student teacher’s progress. The narrative portion of
this evaluation must be typed.
— Provide time for, and maintain communication with, the university supervisor.
— Contribute constructive criticism that will assist in improving the Eastern Michigan University
teacher certification program. See page 12 for graphic immersion chart.
Observation Strategies and Techniques
During the part-time and independent teaching phases, it is important that the cooperating teacher observe
and give daily oral feedback and frequent written feedback to the student teacher. Cooperating teachers
might find it helpful to experiment with the observation systems outlined below. Cooperating teachers
should keep a careful record of their observation notes.
Observation Strategy 1
Planning and delivering a lesson requires many different skills; presenting, reflecting on, and seeking to
improve all of these skills at once is often overwhelming to student teachers. It is sometimes useful to help
the student teacher focus on a single aspect of the teaching process and to direct observations and coaching
over several days toward just that area. Specific areas to consider include:
— Mastery of subject matter
— Writing and stating clear objectives
— Giving clear, age-appropriate, step-by-step directions
— Maintaining classroom control
— Maximizing student participation and active involvement
— Encouraging higher level questioning and thinking skills
— Student-teacher and student-student interaction
— Planning a direct lesson
— Planning an inductive lesson
— Planning a cooperative learning lesson
— Planning a unit
— Assessment
— Record keeping
— Use of materials and technology
— Planning for individual differences
! Any areas on the EMU midterm and final evaluation form
By clearly defining one or two purposes or focal points for each observation and by tracking specific
progress in those areas, the cooperating teacher allows the student teacher to analyze and feel success about
specific aspects of his or her teaching.
Observation Strategy 2
When scripting a lesson, the cooperating teacher writes down in as much detail as possible what the student
teacher and the students say and do. Once the lesson is completed, the cooperating teacher and student
teacher review the script, looking for:
• Patterns in teacher or learner behavior,
• Cause-and-effect relationships, or
• Other repeated teaching strategies and their consequences.
Together, the cooperating teacher and the student teacher analyze the patterns and draw conclusions about
particular strategies and activities.
Conferencing Strategies and Techniques
Student teachers particularly appreciate working with a cooperating teacher who is available to respond to
questions and concerns, who gives detailed and constructive feedback, and who provides sustained support
and coaching. During the pre- and post-observation conference, the cooperating teacher can provide this
kind of assistance. In addition, the conference provides the student teacher with a much-needed opportunity
to analyze and reflect on his or her teaching. Taking time to help the student teacher to develop these lifelong reflective skills is considerably more important than coming up with a “quick fix” for a particular
situation or lesson.
Pre-Conferencing
Pre-conferencing allows the observer and the student teacher to agree on the goals and purpose of the
observation. Cooperating teachers may wish to use the following questions to guide a pre-observation
conference.
• Determine the topic of the lesson and where it fits in the sequence of lessons (“What do you have
planned for today? What lesson am I going to observe? How does this lesson fit in with what has
already been taught? What do the students already know about this topic?).
• Determine the purpose of the lesson (“What do you want the students to know or be able to do by
the end of the lesson? What is the objective for the lesson today?”).
• Ask the student teacher to preview his or her teaching strategies (“How do you plan to accomplish
this?”).
• Ask the student teacher to explain how he or she will know if the objectives have been
accomplished (“What evidence will you need to know if students have achieved the goal? What will
students do to show you that they have learned the material?”).
• Clarify the observer’s role (“What would you like me to specifically look for? What kind of
information would you like me to gather? How would you like me to collect information about your
lesson today?”).
Post-Conferencing
The post-observation conference should take place as soon as possible after the observation. Cooperating
teachers may wish to consider the following general ideas when scheduling and conducting a postobservation conference. Cooperating teachers should:
• Give the student teacher time to reflect and analyze his or her teaching before beginning the
conference.
• Hold the conference in a private area where it will not be interrupted.
• Allow sufficient time to discuss specific teaching strategies as well as to discuss general issues and
concerns.
• Establish a positive tone that indicates respect and support.
• Frame the conference around specific topics, objectives, strategies, and techniques drawn from the
lesson.
• Follow a critical judgment with specific suggestions for improvement and strategies for predicting
and analyzing the effect of the suggested behavior.
• End the conference on a positive note with a summary of current strengths and a plan of action for
remediating areas of concern.
Post-Conferencing Strategy 1
Cooperating teachers may wish to follow this format to give structure and coherence to a post-observation
conference.
Open the conference
! Plan a greeting statement that sets a pleasant tone (“I really enjoyed being in your class today.”).
! Preview the conference (“We are going to spend some time reflecting on the lesson you just taught
and then . . .”).
Restate the objective
! Ask a question that invites the student teacher to restate the objective on the lesson (“It would be
helpful if you could restate your objective for this lesson.”).
Analyze the lesson
! Ask a question that will help the student teacher to reflect on the instructional skills that were
effective in promoting learning (“What aspects of the lesson helped students to understand?”).
! Ask a question that will help the student teacher reflect on what did not go well or what he or she
might do differently (“If you were going to teach this lesson again, what might you do differently?
Why do you think this aspect of the lesson didn’t go well or needs to be changed?”).
! Ask a question to find out how satisfied the student teacher was with the lesson (“How satisfied
were you with the lesson today?”).
! Ask a question to narrow the focus of the conference to isolate and address a particular concern
(“What did you do to keep the students actively involved in the lesson today?”).
Relate the lesson to larger goals and objectives
! Ask the student to relate this lesson to the unit of study as a whole, or to state/national standards
(“How did your lesson reflect state or national standards for the teaching of . . .? Which standards
were met? How might you change the lesson to reflect more of the opportunities to learn outlined in
the standards?”).
Conclude the conference
! Ask the student teacher to summarize the conference and to state his or her goals for improvement
(“What will you do differently when you teach this lesson again?” “How can you put this idea into
practice in the lesson you have planned for tomorrow?”).
Post-Conferencing Strategy 2
Audio or video recording a lesson allows the student teacher to see himself or herself in action. During a
conference based on an audio- or video-taped lesson, cooperating teachers should review and comment on
the teaching sample with the student teacher, pausing to discuss items of particular interest. For each area
of interest, offer the following kinds of information:
! Cite evidence
“You said (or did) . . .”
! Label
“This is an example of . . .”
! Recommend
“Continue to do this . . .”
! Support
“…because it helps students to . . .”
Post-Conferencing Strategy 3
Sometimes it is useful to observe for, and focus the conference on, just one or two aspects of the lesson.
The sample post-observation conference below addresses “active participation” and follows the same steps
as in a direct lesson.
! Set: “Think back to the part of the lesson when students were bored and off-task.”
! Objective: “We’re going to spend a few minutes reviewing some techniques you can use to help to
keep students actively involved.”
! Input: “Active participation is . . . One way to keep students involved is . . . We could also . . .”
! Modeling: “Here’s an example . . .”
! Checking: “Now that I’ve given you an example, think about . . . and tell me some different ways
you could keep your students involved . . .”
! Practice: “Let’s think back to the next section of your lesson. What could you have done to provide
for more active participation on the part of the students?”
! Closure: “In your own words, tell me again what active participation is and why it is important.
Can you list three or four ways to keep students involved that you might use in your lesson
tomorrow?”
Post-Conferencing Strategy 4
Recall, comparison, and inference questions help student teachers to cite specific examples and justify their
teaching and their feelings about their teaching.
! Recall question: “How did you feel about the lesson? What did your students do to make you feel
this way? What did you do to make you feel this way?”
! Comparison questions: “Do you feel that your lesson went as planned? What aspects of the lesson
went according to your plan? You planned to . . . How did that work out? What aspects of the lesson
varied from your plan? You wanted students to . . . What happened? Is that what you expected? You
were going to . . . but instead you . . . Why? If you were to do one thing the same in a future lesson,
what would it be? Think back to other times when you taught . . ..”
! Inference questions: “What did you do that helped students to be successful? What might explain
the number of students who did (did not) meet the objective? Why do you think the lesson turned out
this way?”
Conferencing With the Outstanding Student Teacher
Sometimes a cooperating teacher finds it difficult to suggest areas needing improvement for student
teachers who learn quickly, who are well-organized, who have well-developed planning and teaching skills,
and who show enthusiasm, “with-it-ness” and empathy from the beginning of the student teaching
experience. However, even an outstanding student teacher wants to improve. Cooperating teachers may
wish to consider the following ideas when conferencing with a strong student teacher.
! Focus on developing the student teachers’ self-analysis and evaluation skills.
! Be sincere in any requests that the student teacher demonstrate new ideas or techniques.
! Encourage the student teacher to undertake new challenges.
! Provide support and praise. Often strong student teachers expect too much of themselves.
! Encourage the student teacher to plan innovative, team-taught or multi-disciplinary lessons and
projects that require two strong teacher-leaders.
Conferencing with the Student Teacher in Difficulty
If the student teacher is not making satisfactory progress, contact the university supervisor immediately.
The university supervisor will contact the Director of Student Teaching in the Office of Academic Services
to officially document these concerns. The cooperating teacher should also notify his or her building
principal.
In such instances, it is critical that:
• The cooperating teacher keep detailed, written anecdotal records with dates describing the areas of
concern
• The cooperating teacher’s mid-semester evaluation reflects his or her concerns. If it is possible that
the student teacher may not be recommended for certification, some performance competencies
must be marked in the limited range.
When working with a student teacher in difficulty, the cooperating teacher should:
• Schedule frequent conferences with the student teacher.
• Plan the conference ahead of time, noting specific information to be shared and how that
information is to be presented.
• State any concerns in very specific terms.
• Support each concern with specific examples from the lesson.
• Develop a written plan for action and remediation in conjunction with the university supervisor.
Evaluation
Eastern Michigan University views the evaluation of the student teacher as a shared responsibility
involving the university supervisor, the cooperating teacher and the student teacher. Although each of these
persons is expected to make a distinct contribution to the evaluation process,
• The cooperating teacher will bear the major responsibility for on-going coaching and day-to-day
evaluation because of the unique relationship and time involvement;
• The final decision for certification rests with the university supervisor.
There are three basic reasons for evaluating student teachers. The evaluation process:
• Assists the student teacher in recognizing his or her strengths and notifies him or her of areas in
need of improvement.
• Helps the student teacher to develop and refine self-evaluation and self-analysis skills.
• Formally addresses the instructional and professional competence of the student teacher and
provides input into the certification decision.
Formalized evaluation is a necessary component of any teacher certification process. Formal evaluations
must be completed honestly and professionally. Cooperating teachers must use the mid-semester and final
evaluation forms provided by the university to evaluate the student teacher. A sample of the evaluation
form is available in the Appendix.
Mid-Semester Evaluations
! The mid-semester evaluation is a tool to notify the student teacher of his or her progress, strengths,
and weakness; it must be completed in writing.
! The mid-semester evaluation is designed to help student teachers to focus on specific areas where
improvement is needed and to make specific plans for the remainder of the semester.
! The unacceptable area on the continuum should be regarded carefully. Cooperating teachers should
ask themselves if they are truly satisfied with the student teacher’s performance or if they feel that
the student teacher is not making acceptable progress. If a cooperating teacher has concerns or
questions about the student teacher’s progress, it is imperative that the corresponding elements on
the mid-semester evaluation be marked as unacceptable.
! A typed narrative or list of strengths and concerns must accompany the cooperating teacher’s midsemester evaluation.
! Mid-semester evaluations must be reviewed with the university supervisor before final signatures
are entered. This is very important in the event of unacceptable performance.
! Cooperating teachers should discuss the performance rating for each item on the evaluation with the
student teacher at the mid-semester time, making certain that the student teacher understands areas
in which his or her performance is rated unacceptable.
! Because the mid-semester evaluation is a diagnostic tool, comments written in the text portion of
the mid-semester evaluation may be re-stated on the final evaluation.
! The mid-semester evaluation will be removed from the student teacher’s file once the final
evaluation is submitted.
Final Evaluations
! Final evaluations must be reviewed with the university supervisor before final signatures are
entered. This is very important in the event of unacceptable performance.
! Cooperating teachers must discuss the performance rating for each item on the evaluation with the
student teacher at the end of the semester.
! The narrative accompanying the final evaluation must be typed.
! The university supervisor will make the final decision regarding recommendation for certification.
Notes:
The University Supervisor
University Supervisor Responsibilities
Introduction
The university supervisor is the official representative of the university who assumes responsibility for the
supervision of the student teachers. Responsibilities associated with each of these roles are outlined below.
Liaison to the School
The university supervisor serves as the liaison between the university and the personnel of the school. In
this role, the university supervisor should:
• Represent the university in districts and school buildings where official partnerships have been
established.
• Assist in placing student teachers with qualified cooperating teachers.
• Provide pertinent materials to student teachers, cooperating teachers and building administrators.
• Help student teachers, cooperating teachers and building administrators to develop an understanding
of the student teaching program.
• Conduct orientation meetings for the student teacher and classroom teacher to acquaint them with
their responsibilities.
• Review, with the cooperating teacher, the observation and conferencing strategies and the
importance of regular, instructional conferencing.
• Encourage the cooperating teacher to help the student teacher arrange opportunities to observe other
classes and teachers.
Coach and Mentor
Although the cooperating teacher has direct, daily opportunities to mentor the student teacher, the
university supervisor also has opportunities to coach the student teacher and to help him or her develop
reflective, self-analysis skills. In this role, the university supervisor:
• Verifies that the student teacher and cooperating teacher have completed the activities listed in the
Student Teacher and Cooperating Teacher sections of this handbook.
• Holds a minimum of four (4) seminars or workshops with their student teachers.
• Conducts a minimum of four (4) scheduled or unscheduled on-site observations of the student
teacher.
• Schedules a conference immediately following each on-site observation to:
! Discuss the lesson
! Review observation notes
! Identify and reinforce effective teaching behaviors
! Assist in identifying and strengthening skills that need improvement, and
! Teach and reinforce self-analysis and reflective thinking skills
If a conference cannot be scheduled immediately following the observation, conference with the
student teacher at the earliest possible opportunity.
• Conducts additional individual and group conferences when requested and as needed.
• Provides a signed, written copy of the observation notes to the student teacher.
• Retains a copy of the observation notes for his or her files as well as for the College of Education
Office of Academic Services.
Evaluator
The university supervisor is responsible for completing a mid-semester and final evaluation, collecting and
submitting observation notes, evaluations and other documents, managing the evaluation process, and
determining the final recommendation for certification.
Throughout the semester, the university supervisor should:
• Verify that the student teacher is making a satisfactory adjustment to each added responsibility in
the student teaching setting.
• Confer with the cooperating teacher at each observation concerning the student teacher’s progress.
• Stress to both the cooperating teacher and student teacher the absolute necessity of pinpointing and
discussing problems or potential problems, especially early in the student teaching experience.
Problems that are not ameliorated with discussion and action by the cooperating teacher, student
teacher, and university supervisor should be brought to the attention of the College of Education,
Office of Academic Services.
The mid-semester evaluation is designed to distinguish among outstanding student teachers (target),
competent student teachers (acceptable), and students who have not developed the skills needed for success
in teaching (unacceptable). If withdrawal from student teaching is necessary, it should become evident by
the mid-semester evaluation. At the mid-semester, the university supervisor should:
• Assess the progress of the student teacher’s plan for immersion into student teaching. See pages 11,
12, 74, 75 and 76.
• Remind the cooperating teacher that the mid-semester evaluation should be signed and given to the
university supervisor.
• Review and sign the cooperating teacher’s evaluation to indicate that he or she concurs with the
cooperating teacher’s judgments. A sample evaluation form is available in the Appendix.
• Remind the student teacher to complete a mid-semester self-evaluation and discuss this selfevaluation with him or her.
• Complete a mid-semester evaluation, based on the supervisor’s observations.
• Conference with the student teacher and with the cooperating teacher, if possible, to discuss the
mid-semester evaluation.
• Provide the student teacher with a photocopy of the signed mid-semester evaluation.
• Mail or deliver both the cooperating teacher’s mid-semester evaluation and the university
supervisor’s mid-semester evaluation to the College of Education Office of Academic Services.
• Retain copies of these evaluations as well as the student teacher’s mid-semester self-evaluation for
his/her files.
• Report any changes in the status of the student teacher. Documentation is required when there is a
doubt about the eventual recommendation for certification.
The final evaluation becomes part of the student teacher’s permanent record. It is designed to distinguish
among outstanding student teachers (target), competent student teachers (acceptable), and students who
will not be successful as teachers (unacceptable), as well as among students who will, or will not, receive
certification. At the end of the student teaching experience, the university supervisor should:
• Remind the cooperating teacher that the final evaluation must be signed and that the narrative
portion must be typed. It should be given, correctly signed, directly to the university supervisor.
• Review and sign the cooperating teacher’s evaluation to indicate that he or she concurs with the
cooperating teacher’s judgments.
• Complete a final evaluation of student teacher’s performance.
•
•
•
•
Conference with the student teacher and with the cooperating teacher, if possible, to discuss the
final evaluation.
Provide the student teacher with a photocopy of the signed final evaluation.
Determine the student’s final grade and submit online through emich account:
! Credit, and recommended for certification (Satisfactory)
SC
! Credit, but not recommended for certification (Passing)
PN
! No credit (Unsatisfactory performance)
U
! Incomplete
I
! Withdrawal
W
Turn in to the College of Education, Office of Academic Services all necessary forms and
evaluations.
Appendix
Evaluation Form
Below is a sample of our Student Teacher Evaluation rubric. Please use the sample for reference. We are no
longer providing a paper copy of this document, but are providing an online version available here:
http://www.emich.edu/coe/forms
Look for the Mid-Term evaluation or the Final evaluation under the Student Teaching heading.
School Safety Legislation Summary
(2005 PA 129-131 and 138)
Effective January 1, 2006
The following requirements apply to local and intermediate school districts, public school academies and
nonpublic schools:
•
“School Safety Zone” prohibits individuals convicted of a “listed offense,” with some exceptions,
from being within 100 feet of school property [MCL 28.733 – 28.736].
•
The district shall not employ, in any capacity, an individual who has been convicted of a listed
offense (a crime that requires registration as a sex offender).
•
A district may employ an individual who has been convicted of a non-listed offense felony only if
the superintendent and school board each specifically approve the employment or work assignment
in writing.
•
Not later than July 1, 2008, each individual who, as of January 1, 2006, is either employed full-time
or part-time or is assigned to regularly and continuously work under contract, shall to be
fingerprinted for the purpose of performing a criminal history background check.
•
If a person who is employed in any capacity by the district, or has applied for a position, or has had
an initial criminal history check, or is regularly or continuously working under contract in a district,
shall report to the Michigan Department of Education and the school district that he or she has been
charged with a crime, within 3 business days after being arraigned for the crime.
•
If the employee does not report the charge or conviction, he or she is guilty of an additional crime.
If the non-reported charge or conviction is a felony or listed offense, the person is guilty of a felony.
If the non-reported charge is a non-listed offense misdemeanor, the person is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
•
If the employee does not report the charge or conviction, the district may discharge the person from
employment or termination of his or her contract, following notice and the opportunity of a hearing.
If a collective bargaining agreement is in effect as of January 1, 2006, and the agreement is not in
compliance with the requirement, the district may not discharge a person for failing to report the
charge or conviction until after the expiration of that collective bargaining agreement.
•
The Department of Information Technology (DIT) will work with the Department of Education
(MDE) and State Police to develop and implement an automated program that will compare the list
of Registered Educational Personnel (REP) with the conviction information database. If a person on
the REP has been convicted of a crime, the MDE is required to notify the district indicated on the
REP as the employing district. Convictions for listed offenses will require immediate dismissal of
the employee.
Suspensions/Revocations
•
Upon notification, the Office of Professional Preparation Services will review the criminal
conviction and initiate administrative proceedings as determined by either law or administrative
rule.
•
Certificate holders or those who hold State Board approval are notified of the proceedings and their
right to a hearing.
•
It is a criminal offense to attempt to obtain employment as a teacher using a fraudulent certificate.
Upon application for employment, each certificate should be reviewed for authenticity. Any
discrepancies should be reported to the MDE.
Listed Offense
A “listed offense” is a crime that requires registration as a sex offender. “Listed offense” is defined in
Section 2 of the Sex Offenders Registration Act. A “listed offense” includes any of the following:
• Accosting, enticing, or soliciting a child for immoral purposes.
• Involvement in child sexually abusive activity or material.
• A third or subsequent violation of any combination of engaging in obscene or indecent conduct
in public, indecent exposure, or a local ordinance substantially corresponding to either offense.
• First, second, third, or fourth degree Criminal Sexual Conduct (CSC).
• Assault with intent to commit CSC.
• If the victim is less than 18 years of age, the crime of gross indecency (except for a juvenile
disposition or adjudication), kidnapping, sodomy, or soliciting another for prostitution.
• Leading, enticing, or carrying away a child under 14 years of age.
• Pandering.
• Any other violation of a state law or local ordinance constituting a sexual offense against an
individual less than 18 years of age.
• An offense committed by a sexually delinquent person.
• An attempt or conspiracy to commit one of the offenses listed above.
• Any offense under the laws of the United States, any other state, or any other country or tribal or
military law, that is substantially similar to a listed offense.
What Student Teachers Must Know About Substitute Teaching
During Student Teaching
1. Student teachers must be full-time (9 or more credit hours).
2. Student teachers must apply by September 20 or January 20.
3. Student teachers must complete ten full weeks of successful student teaching first.
4. Student teachers must be approved by both their cooperating teacher and university supervisor to be
eligible for substitute teaching.
5. Student teachers must have an EMU GPA of 3.0.
6. Student teachers must pay any fees required for the day-to-day permit or criminal check.
7. Student teachers will be evaluated on both student teaching and substitute teaching.
8. Student teachers can be removed from substitute teaching by the university supervisor, building
principal or the Director of Student Teaching.
9. Student teachers may substitute teach no more than TWO days per week, ten total days during student
teaching.
10. Student teachers must substitute in the building where they are student teaching.
11. Student teachers may be evaluated on their substitute teaching by either the university supervisor,
building principal or the Director of Student Teaching.
12. Student teachers are not required to substitute teach.
13. Student teachers must keep a log of the days they substitute teach; student teachers must submit the log
(or a copy) to their university supervisor.
To apply to substitute teach while student teaching, please use the “Substitute Teaching While Student
Teaching” form available here: http://www.emich.edu/coe/forms
Preamble: Society has
charged public education
with trust and responsibility
that requires of professional
educators the highest
ideals and quality service.
The Michigan State Board
of Education adopts this
Code of Ethics to
articulate the ethical
standards to which
professional educators
are expected to adhere
in their job performance.
Ethical Standards: The following ethical standards address
the professional educator’s commitment to the student and the
profession.
1
Service toward common good
2
Mutual respect
3
Equity
4
Diversity
5
Truth and honesty
Ethical Principle: The professional educator’s primary
goal is to support the growth and development of all
learners for the purpose of creating and sustaining an
informed citizenry in a democratic society.
Ethical principle: Professional educators respect the
inherent dignity and worth of each individual.
Ethical principle: Professional educators advocate the
practice of equity. The professional educator advocates
for equal access to educational opportunities for each
individual.
Ethical principle: Professional educators promote crosscultural awareness by honoring and valuing individual
differences and supporting the strengths of all individuals
to ensure that instruction reflects the realities and diversity
of the world.
Ethical principle: Professional educators uphold personal
and professional integrity and behave in a trustworthy
manner. They adhere to acceptable social practices,
current state law, state and national student assessment
guidelines, and exercise sound professional judgment.
Approved by State Board of Education December 3, 2003
School Personnel Guide for Reporting Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect
YOU are a
mandated reporter.
Michigan law requires that certain persons report any case of suspected
child abuse or child neglect to the Michigan Department of Human
Services (DHS). The definition of mandated reporter includes all
school administrators, school counselors, and
school teachers.
Why this is your responsibility
School personnel play an important role in the lives of
children. You are in a unique position to observe and
interact with children on a daily basis. You see changes
in children that may indicate abuse or neglect. Because
children often confide in you, you may learn information
that indicates a child is being abused or neglected.
Once you file a report, the child and family may become eligible to receive a wide variety of
services that will improve the family’s ability to care for the child. The family may be provided
parenting classes, counseling, treatment for substance abuse, medical services, anger
management education and other services designed to meet the family’s specific needs.
The legal standard for reporting
M
ichigan law requires that you must file a report when you have reasonable cause
to suspect abuse or neglect. This is an extremely low legal standard. Elsewhere in
this pamphlet is a description of certain signs of abuse and neglect. However, you
must keep in mind that you are not required to determine whether abuse or neglect has
actually occurred. DHS is responsible for investigating reports of abuse and neglect and for
determining how each case progresses. You must make a report whenever you suspect that
abuse or neglect may have occurred.
Your liability for failure
to report
You CANNOT be “punished”
for filing a report
If you fail to file a report of suspected abuse
or neglect, you will be subject to both civil
and criminal liability. In a civil action you
may be held liable for all damages that any
person suffers due to your failure to file a
report. In a criminal action, you may be found
guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by
imprisonment for up to 93 days and a fine
of $500.
When you file a report in good faith, you cannot be
held liable to any person for any damages they may
suffer. You are also immune from any criminal liability
that could otherwise result. When you file a report,
you are PRESUMED to have acted in good faith. An
aggrieved person would have the burden of proving
that you made a report for some reason unrelated to
the well-being of the child who was the subject of your
report. An aggrieved person could never meet this
burden if you filed a report due to your concern for a
child’s well-being.
Notifying your supervisor or other agency
administrator DOES NOT satisfy your legal
obligation to file a report with DHS.
There are NO excuses
for failing to report
You may believe that filing
a report will not lead to any
benefit to the child involved. You
may believe that filing a report
may actually place the child at
an increased risk of abuse or
neglect. You may feel uncertain
that abuse or neglect has actually
occurred. Such concerns of any
nature DO NOT discharge your
legal obligation to file a report.
Such concerns WILL NOT
protect you from liability for
failing to report.
Further, you cannot be dismissed or otherwise
penalized within your agency for making a report
required by the Child Protection Law or for
cooperating in an investigation.
Your identity must be
kept confidential
When you file a report with DHS, your
identity may not be shared with any
person unless you agree in writing
to that disclosure or a judge orders
such disclosure. Your identity may be
disclosed to a child protective agency
or a law enforcement agency that is
investigating the alleged abuse or
neglect. Any concern that a parent
may discern your identity DOES NOT
discharge your obligation to file a report.
What constitutes child abuse or neglect?
T
he legal definitions of child abuse and neglect are set forth below. At times it may be a
challenge to translate and apply legal definitions and standards to a particular circumstance. Most importantly, keep in mind that you are not required to determine whether
these legal standards are met in your case. If you in good faith believe that circumstances in
your situation may constitute abuse or neglect, then you MUST file a report with DHS.
The following list of common indicators of abuse and neglect IS NOT
exhaustive. Use common sense, and always err on the side of caution
by filing a report when in doubt.
Physical abuse. Harm or threatened harm to
•
a child through non-accidental injury. Examples of
physical abuse include beating, kicking, punching,
and burning.
•
Common indicators of physical abuse
• Questionable, recurring bruises and/or welts
on various parts of the body or in various
stages of healing
• Bruises or welts in the shape of an object
(electric cord, belt)
• Bite marks
• Bald spots, missing clumps of hair
• Cigarette or cigar burns
• Burns in the shape of an object (iron, stove
burner)
• Immersion burns (legs, hands, buttocks)
• Questionable, multiple, or recurring fractures
Neglect. Harm or threatened harm to a
child’s health or welfare due to failure to provide
adequate food, shelter, clothing, or medical care.
The failure to protect a child from a known or
potential risk of harm is also considered neglect.
Common indicators of neglect
• Persistent hunger
• Stealing or hoarding food
• Abrupt, dramatic weight change
• Persistent poor hygiene
• Recurring medical issues untreated
• Ongoing lack of supervision
Consistently
inappropriate dress
Excessive school
absences
Sexual abuse and sexual exploitation.
Engaging in sexual contact or sexual penetration
with a child (as defined in the criminal code)
constitutes sexual abuse. Sexual exploitation is
defined as allowing, permitting, or encouraging a
child to engage in prostitution or to be depicted in
a sexual act (as defined in the penal code).
Common indicators of sexual abuse
and sexual exploitation
• Age-inappropriate knowledge of sexual
behavior
• Sexually explicit drawings and behavior
• Unexplained fear of a person or place
• Unexplained itching, pain, bruising or
bleeding in the genital area
• Age-inappropriate seductive behavior
• Pregnancy 12 years or under
• Venereal disease, frequent urinary or yeast
infections
Maltreatment. Treatment that involves
cruelty or suffering that a reasonable person would
recognize as excessive. Examples include forcing
a child to eat dog food as punishment, locking
a child in a closet, or teaching a child to assist in
criminal activities.
How to make a report
U
pon suspecting child abuse/neglect, you must both report to DHS and to the person
in charge of the school. DHS is generally prohibited from discussing the details of any
investigation stemming from your report. You should receive a very general letter,
stating whether or not the case was assigned for investigation. Do not assume a lack of
“follow-up” with you indicates nothing was accomplished. Although DHS may be unable to
share with you details about an ongoing investigation, you should continue to report any new
concerns that might arise after your initial report.
Step 1: Oral report
You must immediately make, by telephone or
face-to-face, an oral report of the suspected child
abuse and neglect to DHS, followed by a written
report. (DHS contact information and written
requirements are provided in this pamphlet).
You should be prepared to provide, if known,
the following information when making a verbal
Children’s Protective Services report:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Child’s current address as well as past
addresses if known and the address where
the alleged incident happened if different.
If the alleged perpetrator lives with the child.
Alleged victim’s full name, birth date, and
race.
Alleged perpetrator’s full name. If known,
provide the relationship of the perpetrator to
the child.
Statements of the child’s disclosure and
context of the disclosure. For example, was
the child asked about the injury, or did they
volunteer the information?
History of the child’s behavior and patterns
of attendance may be helpful to the
investigation.
Why you think the child is being abused,
neglected, and/or maltreated.
You SHOULD NOT attempt to investigate the
matter yourself. Investigation and appropriate
action are the responsibility of Children’s
Protective Services, a division of the Michigan
Department of Human Services, the state agency
responsible for child welfare.
Step 2: Follow-up written report
Within 72 hours after making the oral report,
the reporting person shall file a written report
with the DHS office in the county where the child
is found or resides. The report must be mailed or
otherwise transmitted
to this DHS office. The
local county DHS office
can be found through the
statewide DHS hotline or
DHS web site, both listed
in this pamphlet. The
72-hour period includes
weekends and holidays.
For the written report,
DHS encourages reporters
to use its Form DHS-3200,
which includes all the information required under
the law. You should complete form items 1-21. One
report from a school will be considered adequate to
meet the law’s reporting requirement.
Step 3:
Reporting obligations to person
in charge of school
You must notify the person in charge of the school
of the suspected abuse/neglect that the report has
been made with DHS. You must provide the person
in charge with a copy of the written report.
Note: Reporting the suspected allegations of child abuse/
neglect to the person in charge of your school does not
fulfill your mandated requirement to report directly to
DHS.
Reference and contact numbers
The Department of Human Services (DHS) toll-free number is
1-855-444-3911.
DHS-3200 Form can be accessed at: www.michigan.gov/dhs
or www.michigan.gov/documents/FIA3200_11924_7.pdf
If a mandated reporter is dissatisfied with the DHS response,
he or she may call the Mandated Reporter Hotline
at 1-877-277-2585.
Childhelp USA, National Child Abuse Hotline
1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-412-4453)
Childhelp hotline is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a
week, by professional crisis counselors who have access
to a database of emergency, social service, and support
resources.
National hotlines and helplines
National Domestic Violence/Abuse
Hotline
1-800-799-SAFE
1-800-787-3224 TDD
Michigan Office of Children’s Ombudsman is
charged with the oversight of Children’s Protective
Services, adoption and foster care services.
1-800-642-4326
National Runaway Switchboard
1-800-RUNAWAY
1-800-786-2929
Child Pornography Tipline
1-800-843-5678
National Suicide Hotline
1-800-SUICIDE
1-800-784-2433
Common Ground Crisis Line
1-800-231-1127
248-456-0909
No Abuse Helpline
1-800-996-6228
Listening Ear Crisis Hotline
517-337-1717
Rape, Abuse, and Incest National
Network (RAINN)
1-800-656-HOPE
Michigan Assault Hotline
1-800-NO-MEANS-NO
Michigan Parent Help Line
1-800-942-4357
RAPLine (Michigan Runaway Assistance
Program)
1-800-292-4517
School Violence Hotline
1-800-815-TIPS
This pamphlet was inspired by the dedication and donation of
Judith Mynsberge, a classroom teacher for 32 years, and by
Marcie Schalon, an MSU alumnus whose care for children
is further informed by her background in child welfare.
For more information, contact:
MSU Chance at Childhood Program
610 Abbot Road
East Lansing, MI 48823
Ph. 517.336.8088 Fax 517.336.8089
http://chanceatchildhood.msu.edu
This pamphlet was prepared by
the Michigan State University
Chance at Childhood Program
with assistance from the Michigan
Department of Human Services, the
Michigan Prosecuting Attorneys
Association, and the Lansing
School District.
The Chance at Childhood Program is sponsored by:
Richard C. Overbaugh
Lynn Schultz
Old Dominion University
Bloom's Taxonomy
In 1956, Benjamin Bloom headed a group of
educational psychologists who developed a
classification of levels of intellectual behavior
important in learning. During the 1990's a new
group of cognitive psychologist, lead by Lorin
Anderson (a former student of Bloom's), updated
the taxonomy reflecting relevance to 21st century
work. The graphic is a representation of the NEW
verbage associated with the long familiar Bloom's
Taxonomy. Note the change from Nouns to Verbs
to describe the different levels of the taxonomy.
Note that the top two levels are essentially
exchanged from the Old to the New version.
NEW Version
Old Version
Remembering: can the student recall or remember
the information?
define, duplicate, list, memorize, recall, repeat, reproduce state
Understanding: can the student explain ideas or
concepts?
classify, describe, discuss, explain, identify, locate, recognize, report, select, translate, paraphrase
Applying: can the student use the information in a
new way?
choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write.
Analysing: can the student distinguish between the
different parts?
appraise, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test.
Evaluating: can the student justify a stand or
decision?
appraise, argue, defend, judge, select, support, value, evaluate
Creating: can the student create new product or point
assemble, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, write.
of view?
Michael Pohl's Website about Bloom's Taxonomy
Example of Questions at different levels (done using OLD taxonomy)