Running head: PLANNING, PREPARATION, INSTRUCTION, AND ASSESSMENT 1

Planning, Preparation, Instruction, and Assessment

Olivia Shedd

Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 495 Field Experience ePortfolio, Fall 2019

Running head: PLANNING, PREPARATION, INSTRUCTION, AND ASSESSMENT 2

Introduction

The topics of planning, preparation, instruction, and assessment are arguably the

most critical topics to tackle before anything else as a teacher. The way you adequately

prepare or not for your classroom guides how everything else will be added, taken away,

enriched, or made simpler. In particular, to best instruct students, a teacher has to

understand and plan for the types of learners that will enter the classroom. “The specific

ways of facilitating and scaffolding learning depend on our understanding of the learning

process and knowledge of the background experiences, perceptions, and values of the

particular learners” (Hollins 2011). Furthermore, it is important for every teacher to

understand the standards each grade level is required to meet, how the students are or are

not meeting those standards, and which styles of instruction need to be tweaked or

changed to reach every struggling student. In the article, “Teacher Preparation for Quality

Teaching,” the author enforces the idea that great teaching starts with exceptional

preparation. “Deep knowledge of the learning process includes the ability to identify the

basic principles and tenets of particular perspectives, to recognize different perspectives

in practice, and to use different perspectives in planning learning experiences and the

social context for learning and in solving learning and instructional problems” (Hollins

2011). In my time of student teaching, I have had experience with each of these areas of

competency as I have had to plan and prepare my lessons, give pre-assessments that

guide my instruction, give both formative and summative assessments, and provide

remediation instruction and assessments for struggling students. The following artifacts

demonstrate different aspects of the planning, preparation, instruction, and assessment

competencies.
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Rationale of Selected Artifact

Artifact #1

My first artifact is an example of how minor, formative assessments help pre-

assess student’s knowledge and accurately plan for future lessons. The first example is of

a morning work data collection sheet that I have also used to collect the scores of Quizziz

exit tickets, scores of an assessment done on an online program, (Education Galaxy), as

well as random notes from independent work. Each morning upon arrival, the students

have a morning work math problem to complete on an individual index card. This

problem is usually either an introduction to a new objective, or a review from the day

before. Once the student has had two, un-assisted tries at their work, I record the data that

then helps me plan for whole group instruction. Depending on how the students did, I

may spend more or less time on a certain concept, so as to not waste the time of the

students during whole group. If certain students still do not comprehend the concept,

those students are pulled later in a small math group. These minor assessments help me

prepare more accurately for further instruction.

The second example is of a math exit ticket the students completed after a whole

group math lesson. The concepts covered on the ticket were a review of an entire week of

instruction, and were designed to mirror the longer formative assessment to come. The

outcome of this formative assessment gave me the data necessary to instruct further in

large and small groups before giving the students a summative assessment. The examples

show some of the data that guided my preparation for later instruction.
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Artifact #2

My second artifact is an example of remediation instruction following a

summative assessment. A minor amount of students failed their assessment, presenting

me the opportunity to pull small groups aside and let them re-test. The photo is an

example of a small math group, and the attached assessment can be separated into cards

that I could use to help students with specific objectives they missed on the assessment.

In Unit 1, the students learned the concepts of place value, including decomposing as

well as expanded, written, and standard form. The remediation assessment cards cover

different style questions that students missed on the summative. This is an example of

thorough instruction with the intent to make sure no student falls through the cracks when

it comes to understanding objectives.

Artifact #3:

I included a third artifact to show planning, preparation and instruction in a

reading small group format. This artifact is a chart in which to plan details for small

group work. Reading groups are critical for Elementary level students as it allows the

teacher to individually see where students are in their reading capacities, as well as

differentiate instruction for low versus high readers. The small group lesson plans include

sections for fluency practice, word study, reading, before, during, and after reading

comments or questions, as well as sections to highlight desired vocabulary words and

comprehension skills. Each reading group has a different plan written for them that spans

the whole week. These detailed plans guide my instruction and give me a place to write

notes of what I observe to use to guide my instruction in whole group or small groups the

next day. Taking time to plan adequately for reading is critical for student literacy
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success. “Students should learn best when provided enough time in explicit instruction

from the teacher who is interactive, responsive, organized, and focused on providing

targeted language and literacy content in ways that facilitate language and vocabulary

learning” (Connor, Spencer, Day, Giuliani, Ingebrand, McLean, Morrison 2014).

Reflection

The three artifacts included show a range of competencies from planning and

preparation, to thorough instruction, to both formative and summative assessment

examples. As I have been in the classroom, I have realized more than ever the importance

of formative assessment as the key to exceptional preparation for instruction. The use of a

variety of formatives help the teacher know how to best utilize their time and the time of

the students in large group instruction, and which students to prepare to teach in a small

group format. As shown in the artifacts, examples of formative assessments can be

creative and unique. Some examples I have utilized include Quizziz, Kahoot!, Education

Galaxy, math morning work index cards, Schoology assessment, and exit tickets. In the

article, “Review of Computer‐ Based Assessment for Learning in Elementary and

Secondary Education,” the author stresses the importance of formative assessments and

the multiple ways technology helps in this endeavor. “The possibilities created by

advances in the learning sciences, measurement, and technology have paved the way

toward new assessment approaches that will support personalized learning and that can

accurately measure and support complex competencies” (Shute, Rahimi 2017).

Each of these competencies is linked to the other. Effective instruction is only

possible with adequate planning and preparation, which is only possible through data

collection from assessments. In preparing for success in the classroom, a teacher has to be
Running head: PLANNING, PREPARATION, INSTRUCTION, AND ASSESSMENT 6

well rounded in understanding of how to use these competencies together for educational

growth.
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References

Connor, C. M., Spencer, M., Day, S. L., Giuliani, S., Ingebrand, S. W., McLean, L., &

Morrison, F. J. (2014). Capturing the complexity: Content, type, and amount of

instruction and quality of the classroom learning environment synergistically

predict third graders' vocabulary and reading comprehension outcomes. Journal

of Educational Psychology, 106(3), 762-778. doi:10.1037/a0035921

Hollins, E. R. (2011). Teacher Preparation For Quality Teaching. Journal of Teacher

Education, 62(4), 395–407. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487111409415

Shute, V. J., & Rahimi, S. (2017). Review of computer‐ based assessment for learning in

elementary and secondary education. Journal of Computer Assisted

Learning, 33(1), 1-19. doi:10.1111/jcal.12172