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Nellie Vansant
Pipkin Middle School
8th Grade

LEARNING CONTEXT

Missouri Pre-Service Teacher Assessment (MoPTA)

Task 1 Contextual Factors Chart
This chart is designed to help you understand the many factors that affect
teaching and learning. Such factors include the community, classroom procedures,
student demographics, and the physical environment in which teaching takes place.
Understanding these factors as they relate to your teaching will help you determine the
instructional strategies and approaches that will support your students learning. In this
chart, address the factors listed as they pertain to your teaching assignment. The
subcategories listed with each factor are just suggestions: there may be other
subcategories that you would like to address, or there may be a subcategory
listed that does not apply to your situation.
You must attach this document as an artifact.
Types of Factors: Community,
District, School, Classroom
Demographics, and Knowledge of
Students

Contextual Factors

General Context of Your Students

(All subcategories listed in this box
are required.)
Students grade and developmental
levels; the age range of students; the
content area being taught; any other
factors that are pertinent to
understanding your class
assignment

8th grade US History students, one

average classroom and one advanced
classroom of students. Pipkin is an
International Baccalaureate middle
school and the most diverse of the 9
middle schools in Springfield.

Community
(e.g., whether the area is urban,
suburban, or rural; socioeconomic
information; census data for the
community)

Pipkin Middle School is in an urban part

of Springfield, Missouri with low
socioeconomic status

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Types of Factors: Community, District,

School, Classroom Demographics, and
Knowledge of Students

Contextual Factors

District
(e.g., enrollment; percent of students
receiving free or reduced-price
lunches; graduation rates; ethnicities;
percent of students with IEPs; percent
of students who are ELLs; per-pupil
expenditures)

Enrollment: 24, 858 Students

Ethnicities: 78.8% White, 7.7% Black,
5.8% Hispanic, 7.7% Other Races
Lunch: 46.42% Free, 8.17% Reduced
Graduation Rate: 89.4% 4-Year
Graduates
Per-pupil Expenditures: $9,942

School
(e.g., enrollment; percent of students
receiving free or reduced-price
lunches; MAP scores and AYP data;
ethnicities; percent of students with
IEPs; percent of students who are
ELLs; the teacher-to-student ratio)

Enrollment: 572 Students

Ethnicities: 74% White, 17% Black, 6%
Hispanic, 3% Other Races
Lunch: 71.19% Free, 8.04% Reduced
MAP Scores: 40.4% Proficient/Advanced
8th Lang. Arts, 9.5% Proficient/Advanced
8th Math, 38.7% Proficient/Advanced 8th
Science
Students with IEPs: 27%
Students who are ELLs: 7%
AYP: 50.6% Proficient or Above
Student-Teacher Ratio: 13:1

Classroom Demographics
(e.g., ethnicities; gender ratios;
special needs, including those of
gifted students, those of students with
physical needs, and those due to
cultural characteristics)

Ethnicities:
Class 1 - 15 white, 5 black
Class 2 - 20 white, 4 black/biracial, 2
hispanic
Gender:
Class 1 - 15 female, 5 male
Class 2 - 12 female, 14 male
Special Needs:
Class 1 - None
Class 2 - 1 gifted student

Knowledge of Students
(in terms of the whole class and
individual students)

Language Needs:
Class 1 - Literacy needs
Class 2 - None

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(e.g., language needs; approaches to

learning; prior learning and
experiences; academic
proficiencies/MAP scores; behavioral
differences; areas of interest)

Approaches to Learning:
Communication and collaboration Selfmanagement - organization and reflection
of students
Research - information literacy and media
literacy
Thinking - critical and creative
Prior Learning and Experiences:
8th grade students who have been with
the MYP program since 6th grade
Academic Proficiencies:
I-ready testing - 3 times/year
MAP in April
Behavioral Differences:
Class 1 - many behavior issues and
students with varying needs. Proximity to
students with behavioral issues is
essential.
Areas of Interest:
American Revolution and the Constitution

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One of the most important things a teacher can do for their students is get to
know them and where they came from. This is why knowledge of whether the area
students come from is urban, suburban, or rural is important. At the beginning of the
year, a teacher can assign a project for students individually such as students writing a
paper about themselves and where they come from. This way, the teacher can get to
know the students and their backgrounds. In different areas, the at-home environment
can be more or less enriching for a student. In a suburban area, students might be able
to learn well and share learning with neighbors and family because neighborhoods are
typically close knit and very communal. In a rural area, students are probably able to
study because there are not many distractions due to houses residing farther apart but
they might have less time to study due to a higher demand for them to work outside. In
an urban area, students might have more outside distractions that dont allow for easy
concertation. Therefore, an instructional strategy that can be administered after the
teacher knows about the environment from which their students come is to provide time
for homework in class and provide time before and after class for students to work and
get help. This way students can focus on learning where they learn best and if there are
outside distractions at home, they can turn to school to focus on work.
The most important district factor that teachers should be educated about would
be the percent of students with Individualized Education Programs. If a teacher has a
students in their classroom with an IEP, they need to adjust to fit the needs of that
student. Therefore, a teacher needs to know the percent of students in the district they
are teaching with IEPs in order to know the likelihood that a students with an IEP will be

LEARNING CONTEXT

in their class so they can make adjustments for them. An instructional strategy with this
would be to individualize learning; students can then focus the education programs that
best fit their needs. An activity that students and French teachers can partake in is
weekly conversations partially in French. This way the teacher can assess where the
students are and if they need to adjust or create an IEP.
Sometimes schools have a large number of students but not a large number of
teachers to equate with them. Teachers should be aware of the teacher-to-student ratio
in their school so as to know if they need to focus on giving their students more
attention. An activity for a French teacher in a school with a large student body but not a
large faculty would be to give students French conversations to take home and practice
with their parents. Since the students might not be receiving the attention they need
from busy teachers, they could turn to their parents to assist them as much as possible.
An instructional strategy here would be teaching the students to teach others. You know
that you are mastering a skill when you can teach it to other people so helping students
to teach French words to their parents would allow them to become proficient in
speaking French and allow them to receive the attention they require if a school has a
small teacher-to-students ratio.

Recognizing and addressing the special needs of students in a classroom is

important to ensuring that students are receiving the education that best fits them and
their needs. In Mrs. Haynes classes, she was aware of the different needs of her

LEARNING CONTEXT

students. In her first class, she had students with behavioral issues and some with
issues reading. In her second class, she had gifted students. Therefore, she would need
to be aware of these needs of her students so she could plan lessons accordingly. A
lesson for a French teacher that would address the special needs of students would be
to start out splitting them into groups depending on their special needs. For example:
the students excelling in the class who require an extra challenge to keep them
engaged would be put into a group; the students who struggle with learning a new
language would be put into a group; any students with physical needs that would
prohibit them from participating in any part of the activity would be put into a group. After
the students are separated out, instruction would be given that they are to research an
area of French culture extensively and plan a presentation to give to the class. Because
the students are in groups that support their special needs, they can take this
assignment as far as they are able. The students who do not learn another language
easily can get extra help from the teacher, the students who might have physical needs
can plan their presentation accordingly, and the gifted students can take the project as
far as will give them a challenge, possibly even giving the speech in French. This
addresses the issue of special needs in the classroom because the teacher is
knowledgeable of how the students learn best and the students are not held back or
dragged along by their peers.
When students are forced to always learn subject matter that doesnt entertain
them, they tend to get bored, not pay attention, and therefore not learn anything. That is
why, in addition to knowing the special needs of students, it is important to know the
areas of subject matter that they are interested in. A way to solve this problem is with

LEARNING CONTEXT

differentiated instruction by administering one activity in particular: four times a year

(once a term) each student will give a short presentation on something in the French
culture that interests them personally. This could be a student bringing in chocolate
eclairs to share with the class then explaining the history or how to make them, a
student giving a demonstration of a French ballet, or a student making a piece of French
clothing then displaying it to the class. This way students can learn more about what
interests them personally and they can stay engaged in their learning and take charge
of their education. This also fulfils the knowledge of students factor because the
teacher knows what interests their students, what gets them excited to learn, and what
will keep them engaged in class. Then the teacher can teach accordingly to ensure that
students are receiving a good education.

LEARNING CONTEXT

Missouri Pre-Service Teacher Assessment (MoPTA)

Task 1 Instructional and Support Resources Chart
A wide range of services and resources are available within a school system to support
instruction. This chart allows you to become familiar with what is available to you within
your teaching context. Complete the chart by listing available instructional materials and
resources.
You must attach this document as an artifact.

Type of Resource

One Example and Location

Community

The Aviary Downtown

Building/District Policies or Programs

District handbook

Support Staff

Special Education Teacher

Ex: Pipkins Special Education teacher is
Shelia Troutman

Instructional Materials

The French curriculum textbook

Type of Resource

One Example and Location

Curricular Programs

Springfield R-12 website (IB), curriculum,

instruction, and assessment section

Instructional Technology

Online resources such as websites,

articles, and videos
Ex. Hello-world.com online French games

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Access to Recorded Student Data

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Standardized testing results

Ex. MAP

Other

Discussing lesson plans with teachers

from other schools

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A French teacher should plan to make use of every French aspect of the city in
which they are teaching in their lesson plans and curriculum. One resource in
Springfield that could be used is the restaurant Aviary downtown. One could talk to the
restaurant at the beginning of the year and ask if a chef would like to come to a class
and do a crp demonstration. One could then teach about French food with ones
class and the students could experience gourmet French cuisine that exists here in
Springfield. This would help the students to be immersed in the French culture as
opposed to just reading about it in a textbook. Another resource that could be taken
advantage of would be the special education teacher in a schools building. They could
be used to ensure that students are learning the best way they can and that they are
understanding the material. A special education teacher might be able to observe
students learning in a way that the teacher cant. While the teacher is focused on
teaching, having someone trained to see learning disabilities focused on observing the
students would be a very useful tool.

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One classroom rule in Mrs. Haynes room - and in most classrooms - was no
talking while doing work. Although, in Mrs Haynes room, no talking really means
focus on your work. Every once and awhile a student would tell Mrs. Haynes about
something they did the night before and she would get excited and listen to their brief
story before telling them to get back to work. Or if Mrs. Haynes herself thought of
something funny, she would tell the class and everyone would share in a moment of
camaraderie in the midst of tiresome notes or worksheets. This flexible no talking rule
was very effective in a way that students knew they needed to accomplish their work but
they also enjoyed their work, their teacher, and the class in general. The fact that the
students knew they needed to stay focused on their learning allowed the teacher to
facilitate the activities they were working on with little disruption, but the allowance of
brief interjection also allowed the students to be comfortable asking questions about the
subject. This back-and-forth between students allowed the students to be more
engaged in the activity at hand and therefore take in more knowledge of the subject as
opposed to zoning out during class. Hence, the classroom has a more stimulating
environment while simultaneously enforcing focus towards schoolwork.
As students would finish typing papers on their laptops at different times
throughout the class, Mrs. Haynes would instruct them to visit iCivics.com to entertain
themselves while they wait for their peers to finish typing. This rule that students need to
continue using their time in class to further their education with the use of technology
was stimulating their learning. iCivics is an online game that entertains student while, at
the same time, teaches them about the US government. With the use of this website,
Mrs. Haynes can continue to facilitate learning without moving ahead in curriculum and

LEARNING CONTEXT

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leaving the working students behind. This enhances students learning because the
students who are ahead in class are not left to be bored and with nothing to do and the
students who are lagging behind are not rushed through their work. The learning
environment of the classroom is then more relaxing and, with an online activity that is
enjoyable for students, the learning environment is also more enjoyable.