THOMA MASTER’S PORTFOLIO 1

Instruction and Assessment Statement

An effective educator is one that can create engaging and developmentally appropriate

lessons based on suitable and accurate assessment data. This is my Teacher Work Sample, a

detailed math lesson and assessment plan modified to meet the unique needs of my students. I

used pre-and post-assessments as well as formative assessment throughout so that I could have a

thoroughly guide my teaching throughout the lesson and in the future.

I not only used assessment data to drive my planning, I also build positive relationships

with every student, allowing me to better assess them formatively and create lessons that are

specifically designed based on their personalities and scaffolding requirements. It also helps

students because those that have a positive relationship with their teacher are more successful

academically (Ihtiyaroglu & Demirbolat, 2016). Students in this same study were more

committed to school and engaged in learning when they had a positive relationship with their

teacher or other adults at the school. Further, third and fourth grade students in a recent study

who reported to have a close relationship with their teacher were also more likely to be engaged

in lessons (Archambault, Vandenbossche-Makombo, & Fraser, 2017). Creating and nurturing

mutually respectful relationships with my students allowed me to identify their strengths and

weaknesses, coupling that information with various assessment data to create this differentiated

lesson with appropriate scaffolding and enrichment.

I utilize assessment data to create lessons, but it is also very important to be able to create

assessments that are appropriate in that they are related to the lesson and that they examine the

suitable skills and knowledge. I utilize a written exam in order to test skills before and after the

lesson that assess the same skills to determine growth, which was significant after the completion

of the lesson (pp 17-19). I also utilized extensive formative assessments; this helped me to assess
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their knowledge throughout the lesson and in a more genuine way because it was done while

they were participating in learning activities. Formative assessments done in this way gives more

opportunity to collect data points and is less stressful on students (Haelermans, Ghysels, &

Prince, F, 2015). It also allowed me to determine how to modify the lesson by adding and/or

changing scaffolding during the lesson and provide feedback to the learners, increasing student

success. When children are learning by playing games, especially those that provide feedback,

they have higher post-assessment scores and more positive outlooks on their learning (Delacruz,

2010). Because of this, I utilized games to formatively assess and provided immediate feedback

to children. This allowed me to create and implement a lesson that was extremely effective.

Creating effective assessments for each lesson and unit is only useful if that assessment

data is used to guide future teaching, or even to change the way you are teaching in the moment.

The scaffolding and enrichment provided in the above lesson was based on my analysis of

previous assessment data I had collected on these students. There is extensive data on the

effectiveness of this practice. Abbott and Wren’s (2016) data on performance data-driven

instruction in middle schools led them to the conclusion, “Based on the outcome of our

investigation, we believe performance assessment has the potential to change teaching on a scale

that curricular revisions and typical professional development activities cannot achievement.” I

use these types of assessments on a daily basis and adapt my lessons to give my students the best

opportunity to reach their full potential. In addition, I utilize multiple data points to determine

student deficits, giving me the most accurate view of my students’ needs. In 2018, Toste &

Filderman compiled a detailed and data-rich guide to assessment driven instruction, stating that

“Once enough data points are collected a trend line can be drawn to compare a student’s growth
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with the goal slope.” They also argue that effective assessments are closely tied to the

curriculum, which this lesson and every lesson I create, is.

References

Abbott, A.L., & Wren, D.G. (2016). Using performance task data to improve instruction.

Clearing House, 89:1, 38-45. Retrieved from EBSCOHost.

Archambault, I., Vandenbossche-Makombo, J., & Fraser, S. (2017). Students’ oppositional

behaviors and engagement in school: the differential role of the student-teacher

relationship. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26:6, 1702-1712. Retrieved from

EBSCOHost.

Delacruz, G. C. (2010). Games as formative assessment environments: Examining the impact of

explanations of scoring and incentives on math learning, game performance, and help

seeking (Order No. 3446784). Available from Education Database. (857971525).

Retrieved from https://egan.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-

com.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu/docview/857971525?accountid=44766

Filderman, M.J., & Toste, J.R. (2018). Decisions, decisions, decisions: using data tomake

instructional decisions for struggling readers. Teaching Exceptional Children, 50:3, 130-

140. Retrieved from EBSCOHost.

Haelermans, C., Ghysels, J., & Prince, F. (2015). A dataset of three educational technology

experiments on differentiation, formative testing and feedback. British Journal of

Educational Technology, 46:5, 1102-1108. Retrieved from EBSCOHost.

Ihtiyaroglu, N. & Demirbolat, A.O. (2016). Analysis of relationships between school climate,

teacher effectiveness, and students’ school commitment. International Online Journal of

Educational Sciences, 8:4, 255-270. Retrieved from EbscoHost.