Teacher Work Sample
Valdosta State University
Early Childhood and Special Education
Click the section you wish to view:
 I. Contextual Factors
 II. Learning Goals and Assessment Plan
 Assessment Concepts for the TWS
 III. Design for Instruction
 IV. Analysis of Student Learning and Reflections
Contextual Factors
Teacher Work Sample Part I
Contextual Factors
 The teacher uses information about the
learning-teaching context and student
individual difference to set learning goals
and plan instruction and assessment.
 Discuss relevant factors and how they may
affect the teaching-learning process.
Include any supports and challenges that
affect instruction and student learning.
Contextual Factors include:
I. Community, School System,
School Factors
 How would you describe your community
to someone who had never visited? What is
unique about your community that most
communities do not have?
List and Describe the Unique
Features of Your Community
 Name and describe the unique features and
then write 3 or 4 sentences about each
feature. Do not use abbreviations.
Where would you find the information
needed?
 Your community Chamber of Commerce
web page
 Interview long term residences of the
community
 Your mentor
 Local library or historical society center
or web page
Contextual Factors include:
Contributions of the Community to
the School
 Visit the web page of your local school
system.
 Interview your school’s Community
Partners in Education chairperson to get a
list of what the community contributes to
the school.
Contextual Factors include:
School System
 Visit the local school’s web site to obtain
the information related to the school system.
Contextual Factors include:
School Factors
 Investigate the web page of your local
school to get the necessary information.
 Visit the special education coordinator of
your school to determine the special
education services delivery model for your
school.
Contextual Factors include:
School Factors
 The collaboration/team model describes a school
that incorporates the special education teacher
coming into the classroom in collaboration with
the regular education teacher.
 The resource room describes the students being
taken out of the classroom to work with the
special education teacher.
Contextual Factors include:
II. Classroom Characteristics
 The reading and math scores can be
obtained from the assessments given by the
mentor teacher.
Classroom Organization Definitions:
 Homogeneous – Refers to ability grouping of
students.
 Heterogeneous – Refers to mixing of abilities in
one classroom.
 Self-contained – The students are instructed by
the same teacher except for electives.
 Team Teaching/Departmentalized– Teachers
teach several sections of the same content areas,
for example, science and math.
 Co-teaching/co-lab – The special education
teacher comes into the classroom to support the
learning of the special education students in the
classroom.
Contextual Factors include:
III. Student Characteristics
 Information for A,B,C,D,E can be obtained
by looking at the permanent/cumulative
records of the students or from your mentor
teacher.
Contextual Factors include:
IV. Individual Differences
 Information for A,B,C:
These are students who are identified and
receiving services. Information can be
obtained from your mentor and
permanent/cumulative records.
Contextual Factors include:
V. Students’ Prior Knowledge
Specific To This Unit
 List previous learning of the Learning Outcome or
Essential Question of the lesson.
– See Common Core Georgia Performance
Standards/Georgia Performance Standards or
Georgia Pre-K Program Content Standards.
Contextual Factors include:
V. Students’ Prior Knowledge
Specific To This Unit
– Ask previous teachers, mentor teachers,
parents, and students.
Please note: This would not include the
standard for the lesson you are teaching.
Prior Knowledge includes other
sources of content knowledge
 In what other settings might the students
have gained content knowledge (for
example, field trips, books, trips with
family, and/or camps etc.)?
Example: Students’ Prior Knowledge From
Other Sources of the Content for Your Unit
The students in my classroom have lived in
their home county for their whole lives. Most
of them have not traveled outside of the
county. I do have a few students who have
been to Stone Mountain and/or the
Okefenokee Swamp. Because they do not
have background information, the information
that I teach will have to include examples,
visuals, and explanations using student
engagement.
Contextual Factors include:
VI. Instructional Implications
 Address specifically how the contextual factors of
the community, classroom, and students will
impact your lesson planning, instruction,
assessment, and classroom management.
 Describe how the students’ prior knowledge of
the content will impact your lesson planning,
instruction, assessment, and classroom
management.
Example of Instructional Implications
for Individual Differences
I have one student who has been identified as having
a behavioral disorder, and he needs to move around;
I will seat him in the back of the room so he will not
be a distraction to others. I will allow him to stand
when he needs to as long as he does not disturb the
others. I will teach near his desk when possible and
offer verbal encouragement to him. He will be
assessed individually, but he is capable of
completing all assignment with the class or with his
parents in the evening.
Example of Instructional Implications
from Community Factors-Lesson Planning
Because the school has volunteers who come
weekly to the school, I will sign for my
students to get individual tutoring in their
multiplication facts.
Example of Instructional Implications from
Classroom Characteristics-Instruction, Assessment,
and Classroom Management
Because two of my students are reading below
grade level, I will read all test items to the
students and tape material for the students for
content knowledge. I will assess them
individually, and they will be given support
and positive praise for accomplishments.
Example of Instructional Implications for
Students’ Prior Knowledge - Planning
 Describe how the students’ prior knowledge
of the content of your unit will impact your
planning.
Example: Because they have not been taught
this multiplication skill, I will build upon their
knowledge of addition facts. I will plan to use
manipulatives, games, and various strategies
for both the visual and auditory learners.
Example of Instructional Implications for
Students’ Prior Knowledge- Instruction
 Because students are difficult to engage, I
will spark their interest in the content with
riddles, poems, and raps. I will instruct with
manipulatives, small group work, and
visuals.
Example of Instructional Implications for
Students’ Prior Knowledge – Assessments
The formative assessments will determine if I
need to repeat the lesson using a different
strategy or use a short review. The formative
assessments will be short and explicitly assess
the Learning Outcome/Essential Question for
the day. The unit test will be given over two
days with fun activities planned for each day
at the conclusion of the assessment.
Example of Instructional Implications for Students’
Prior Knowledge – Classroom Management
To maintain good management, I will
continue to follow the classroom rules, using
lots of positive praise, acknowledging correct
answers, and stressing that I know it is
exciting to learn new content knowledge.
Learning Goals
and
Assessment Plan
Teacher Work Sample Part II
Learning Goals and Assessment
Plan
The teacher sets:
significant,
challenging,
varied,
and appropriate learning
goals.
Topic and Content Areas

List the topic.
 Identify the main content area.
Example:
Topic: Metric system
Main Content Area: Mathematics
Common Core Georgia Performance
Standards/Georgia Performance Standards
 List the CCGPS/GPS that are aligned with
each learning goal.
 List the CCGPS/GPS for main content
areas.
(Note: Use what your mentor uses.)
■
Sometimes a standard is an appropriate
learning goal. Sometimes it is too broad to
be addressed in a unit as stated, and you
have to select only part of it as a learning
goal.
Common Core Georgia Performance
Standards/Georgia Performance Standards
GPS Standards and Resources
www.georgiastandards.org
 CCGPS
https://www.georgiastandards.org/Common
-Core/Pages/default.aspx
Established Goals
List the Established Goals
 Develop 2-6 Learning Goals
 Goals will guide your assessment and your
lesson planning.
 In broad terms, tell what you expect
students to know & be able to do at the end
of the unit.
 These are not activities.
Established Goals: Science
 Example:
Students will identify properties,
characteristics, and uses of rocks and
minerals.
 Non-example:
Students will list at least five different
minerals.
Established Goals: Social Studies
 Example:
Describe the struggles and successes of
the colonists attempting to establish and
develop the Jamestown colony.
 Non-example:
The students will locate Jamestown on a
map.
Understandings & Essential
Questions
List Understandings
– “Specific inferences, based on big ideas, that
have lasting value beyond the classroom.”
List Essential Questions
– “A question that lies at the heart of a subject or
a curriculum… and promotes inquiry and
uncoverage of a subject.”
Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2009)
Understanding by Design
Learning Outcomes
List the learning outcomes (LOs)
 Take the goal and break it down into
lesson-sized bites; state more specifically
what students should know and be able to
do at the end of the lesson. Use observable
and measurable terms.
 the LOs will be used as LOs on the daily
lesson plans
Example: Science
Learning Goal 2
Students will identify properties and uses of rocks and
minerals.
Learning Outcomes
1. Students will define the terms rocks and
minerals.
2. Students will name three properties or
characteristics of minerals.
3. Students will give at least four examples of the uses
of rocks and minerals.
Knowledge and Skills
List Knowledge
– The relatively straightforward facts and
concepts that are to be gained from the learning
and teaching activities
List Skills
– Discrete techniques, and also complex
procedures and methods
Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2009)
Understanding by Design
Explain Your Pre/Post Assessment Plan
 Refer to Stage 2 in the “Guidelines for Writing
ECSE Lesson Plans” to provide the following
information for each learning goal.
– Learning Goal 1
•
•
•
•
•
Students
Criteria
Assessment
Accommodations/Modifications
Adaptations/Differentiated Assessments
Example:
 Learning Goal 1
– Students: Students will identify properties of rocks and
minerals.
– Criteria: 8/10 correct – students meet LG1; 6/10 correct
– students partially meet LG1; less that 6 correct –
students do not meet LG1
– Assessment: 10 multiple choice questions
– Accommodations/Modifications: Items will be read
aloud to support struggling readers.
– Adaptations/Differentiated Assessments: Visual cues
will be provided for the ELL student.
Pre/Post Assessment Plan
 Complete information for Learning Goal 2 (and
additional learning goals, if applicable):
– Learning Goal 2
•
•
•
•
•
Students
Criteria
Assessment
Accommodations/Modifications
Adaptations/Differentiated Assessments
Assessment Concepts
Teacher Work Sample
Formative Assessment
Gather data throughout the unit to
describe students’ performances.
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Assessments for the TWS
Summative assessment:
– Develop and administer a pre- and
post-assessment that is
• valid,
• reliable,
• aligned,
• easily understood by children,
• feasible,
• diverse, and
• developmentally appropriate.
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Assessments for the TWS
 Summative assessment:
– Develop, administer, and analyze scores of pretest well in advance of planning and teaching
your unit, so changes can be made if necessary.
 Formative assessment:
– Gather data throughout the unit to describe
pupils’ performance and plan for remediation
instruction.
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Qualities Desired in All Written
Tests
 The item should measure the targeted skill.
 Make sure you have enough test items to
determine if the students have mastered the
learning goal.
 Ensure that the level of reading is below students’
ability.
 Scores on the test should reflect content
knowledge and not reading ability – unless, of
course, it is a reading test.
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Alignment
 The learning outcomes, the instructional
strategies, and assessment of pupils’
progress must be aligned.
 This ensures that pupils are
– taught the skills they are expected to master and
– assessed in a way that is consistent with how
they were taught.
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Constructing Your Pre/Posttest
 List your learning goals. Use your LOs to
remind you about what specifics you need
to include on your test.
 Consider a variety of formats or types of
questions, such as those on the following
slides.
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Constructing Your Pre/Posttest
 Word the item so that only a single or very
similar set of responses provides a correct
answer.
 Start with an answer and then word the
question or sentence stem.
 Place blanks at or near the end of the item.
Examples:
The capital of Georgia is _______.
Who is the President of the Unites States?_________
Multiple-Choice Items
 The question or stem is clear.
 Answers should be parallel in construction.
 Answers should be in alphabetical order.
Ex: Which of the following is the capital of
Georgia?
a. Atlanta
b. Chicago
c. San Francisco
d. Valdosta
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Multiple Choice Items
 Adjectives or adverbs are emphasized
when they reverse or alter the meaning of
an answer.
 The word NOT should be excluded from
multiple-choice items.
 Exclude options “all of the above” and “none
of the above.”
 Avoid words such as “all,” “always,”
“never,” and “no.”
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Alternate Answer
 Good for testing rules and concepts
 One of the two answers must be
unequivocally correct.
– Ex. Circle the correct choice to complete the sentence:
A toad is ______. an amphibian
a mammal
Where would you find the United States?
Northern hemisphere
Southern hemisphere
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Essay Questions
 Advantage – tends to measure more
directly behaviors specified by the
objectives.
 Also examines student ability to
communicate ideas in writing.
 Develop a rubric for scoring.
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Alternative Formats
 Different formats may be needed for certain students
and/or content. Students may indicate their answers to
oral questions by
– circling the correct picture that answers the question,
– drawing a line to match pictures that go together,
– coloring in the correct answers,
– reading a list of words,
– answering an oral question individually,
– or demonstrating learning with manipulatives.
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Pre/Post Assessment Plan
 Note
– Attach pre/post assessment, prompts, answer
key, and/or student directions in LiveText.
– On a master copy, type the corresponding
learning goal next to each item or section of the
text on the attached copy of the pre/post
assessment instrument. Include directions.
– Also attach any extras you use: scoring
rubrics/guides, observation checklists, rating
scales, item weights, etc.
Pre/Post Assessment for TWS
 If pretest indicates that most pupils met the
learning goals, then you would need to:
– Revise the learning goals and LOs,
– Develop a new pretest,
– Administer the new pretest,
– Analyze the scores on the new pretest,
and
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Design for Instruction
Teacher Work Sample Part III
Describe how you will design
your instruction related to
–unit goals,
–students' characteristics and
needs, and
–the specific learning context.
Analysis of pre-assessment results
 After administering the pre-assessment, analyze
student performance relative to the learning
goals.
 Depict the results of the pre-assessment using a
table and graph that allows you to find patterns of
student performance relative to each learning goal.
Attach table and graph in the appropriate section
in LiveText.
 Describe the information you find that will guide
your instruction or modification of the learning
goals. Attach the Word document in the
appropriate section in LiveText.
Create a table for Pretest results
Learning Goal #1
Student #
Pre
Post
Learning Goal #2
Pre
Post
Learning Goal #3
Pre
1
5/10
1/5
1/7
2
7/10
2/5
0/7
3
6/10
4/5
6/7
4
8/10
1/5
2/7
5
5/10
3/5
6/7
1
1
2
Number
Achieving
Goal
Assessment Criteria
LG 1--Students recognize 8 out of 10 vocabulary terms.
LG 2--Students label 4 out of 5 features on a map.
LG 3--Students will name 6 out of 7 continents.
Post
 Give assessment criteria for each learning
goal (at the bottom of your table):
Assessment Criteria
LG 1--Students recognize 8 out of 10 vocabulary
terms.
LG 2--Students label 4 out of 5 features on a map.
LG 3--Students will name 6 out of 7 continents.
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Create a table for Pretest results
Learning Goal #1
Student #
Pre
Post
Learning Goal #2
Pre
Post
Learning Goal #3
Pre
1
5/10
1/5
1/7
2
7/10
2/5
0/7
3
6/10
4/5
6/7
4
8/10
1/5
2/7
5
5/10
3/5
6/7
1
1
2
Number
Achieving
Goal
Assessment Criteria
LG 1--Students recognize 8 out of 10 vocabulary terms.
LG 2--Students label 4 out of 5 features on a map.
LG 3--Students will name 6 out of 7 continents.
Post
Graph your pre-assessment
results
7
6
5
4
Pretest
Posttest
3
2
1
0
LG1
LG2
LG3
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Designing your lessons
 Write a lesson plan for each lesson (10) in the
Teacher Work Sample.
 Follow one or more of the ECSE lesson plan
formats [“ECSE Lesson Plan Format for a
Didactic/Direct Instruction Lesson,” “ECSE
Lesson Plan Format for a Problem-based Learning
Lesson,” or “ECSE Lesson Plan Format for an
Inquiry Lesson”].
 The “Guidelines for Writing ECSE Lesson Plans”
must be used.
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Designing your lessons (continued)
 Include planning appropriate
accommodations for students with IEPs
 Attach lesson plans in the appropriate
section in LiveText
Analysis of Student
Learning & Reflections
Teacher Work Sample Part IV
Analysis of Student
Learning & Reflections
The teacher uses assessment data to
profile student learning and analyzes
factors related to student learning in
order to improve instruction.
On-Going Formative Assessment
Formative assessment:
The assessments that are part of your
daily lesson plans.
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On-Going Formative Assessment
 Explain the results of one formative assessment that
prompted you to modify your teaching
 Discuss the modifications you made in your
teaching after reflecting on the results of the
formative assessment described above
 Based of the formative assessment described above,
explain what you would do differently in the
following areas the next time you teach this
content: a) planning; b) teaching, c) assessment.
 *Post responses directly below each prompt in Live
Text.
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Pre/post assessment: Whole
class
 Add posttest results to your table that show
raw score data on every student for every
learning goal.
 List the assessment criteria for each
learning goal at the bottom of the table.
 Attach the table in the appropriate section in
Live Text.
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Student #
Learning Goal #1
Pre
Post
Learning Goal #2
Pre
Post
Learning Goal #3
Pre
Post
1
5/10
9/10
1/5
3/5
1/7
6/7
2
7/10
10/10
2/5
5/5
0/7
6/7
3
6/10
10/10
4/5
5/5
6/7
6/7
4
8/10
10/10
1/5
4/5
2/7
4/7
5
5/10
8/10
3/5
4/5
6/7
7/7
5
1
4
2
4
Number
Achieving
Goal
1
Assessment Criteria
LG 1--Students recognize 8 out of 10 vocabulary terms.
LG 2--Students label 4 out of 5 features on a map.
LG 3--Students will name 6 out of 7 continents.
Pre/post assessment:
Whole class
Add posttest results to your bar graph.
Show the number of students achieving
each goal on the posttest.
Attach the bar graph in LiveText.
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Number of Students Achieving Mastery
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Pretest
Posttest
LG1
LG2
LG3
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Create a new table that reports the overall
pretest/posttest results, including raw scores
and percentages. Attach the table in Live Text.
Student #
Pretest
Raw Score
Pretest %
Posttest
Raw Score
Posttest %
1.
9/30
30%
24/30
80%
2.
11/30
36.6%
20/30
66.6%
3.
2/30
6.6%
15/30
50%
4.
5/30
16.6%
19/30
63.3%
5.
14/30
46.6%
24/30
80%
Analyze performance of the whole class
on one selected LG
 Select one learning goal and discuss the
impact of the following on the
pretest/posttest results for the learning goal:
– a) teacher factors (e.g., planning, teaching,
assessment)
– b) student factors (e.g., effort, involvement,
reading level)
– c) contextual factors (e.g., home environment,
school environment)
 *Post responses directly below prompt in
LiveText.
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Your learning
 Examine the results you obtained on the
learning goal. Explain what you will do
differently the next time you teach this
content. Address these areas:
a) planning
b) teaching
c) assessment
*Post responses directly below prompt in
LiveText.
77
Pre/post assessment: Subgroups
 Select a group characteristic such as
– Gender
– Achievement level
– Socio-economic status
– Language proficiency
 A minimum of 5 students must be in the
group.
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A new bar graph: Subgroups
 Select one LG, not discussed in the whole
class section above, and create a bar graph
that shows the number of students in the
subgroup achieving the goal on the pretest
and posttest.
 Compare this performance to the rest of the
class’s performance.
 *Attach the graph in LiveText.
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Number of Students Achieving Mastery
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Number students in
EIP achieving mastery
Number of students
not in EIP achieving
mastery
LG1
LG1
Pretest Posttest
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 Discuss the impact of the following on the
pretest/posttest results for the learning goal:
– a) teacher factors (e.g., planning, teaching,
assessment)
– b) student factors (e.g., effort, attendance,
involvement, reading level)
– c) contextual factors (e.g., home/distraction
environment, school environment)
 Post responses directly below prompt in
LiveText.
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Your learning
 Based on the results you obtained on the
LG, explain what you will do differently in
the following areas the next time you teach
this content:
a) planning
b) teaching
c) assessment
 *Post responses directly below prompt in
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LiveText.
Impact on Student Learning
Follow the directions in LiveText for
downloading and completing the
“TWS Impact on Student Learning
Report ECSE.”
Celebrate!
You have completed your TWS.
Check that you have completed all
LiveText components and
requirements for the TWS.
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