Professional Goal: Step 3

Samantha M. Smith

College of Education, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

CIL 543: Literacy Instruction II

Dr. April Douglass

May 5, 2021
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Professional Goal: Step 3

For my professional goal, I set out to improve my student Henry’s vocabulary skills by

providing differentiated learning materials. I planned on using data acquired from assessments

such as the Flynt and Cooter Assessment Experience and easyCBM to help tailor the appropriate

instruction and learning materials that would be most efficient in improving Henry’s vocabulary

knowledge.

Upon reviewing the progress put forth, I have concluded that I did not meet my

professional goal in increasing Henry’s vocabulary knowledge. I based this conclusion off of

data collected through the progress monitoring site, easyCBM. These monthly vocabulary

assessments, which were conducted from February to April, showed that Henry did not make any

progress during this semester. Despite our meetings and one-on-one activities, I believe that the

main obstacle to this circumstance was distance learning. Henry is a student who deeply benefits

from social interaction and in-person attention, but this has been impossible to provide through a

computer screen. Because of this, Henry seemed more distracted and less able to grasp the

objective of our activities together. Despite these challenges, I still enjoyed my time with Henry

and feel as though conducting these assessments only served to help rather than hurt his

academic progress. If I had another opportunity to work with Henry, I would aim to do so

in-person so that he can receive the proper teaching and attention that he thrives on. Additionally,

I would aim to administer weekly vocabulary assessments rather than monthly. In doing so, I

would gain a much more accurate picture of my student’s vocabulary goals on a week-by-week

basis as opposed to longer periods of time with the monthly basis.

Although I did not meet my professional goal this semester, I still feel as though I gained

invaluable knowledge through both my knowledge of literacy instruction and instructional

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methods. For example, working with Henry gave me the continued experience of administering

literacy assessments and analyzing the data that came with it. I specifically got to practice this by

finding my student’s reading levels in the Flynt and Cooter Assessment Experience. However,

this class taught me how to properly utilize the data in order to drive instruction through

one-on-one activities with Henry. These activities, which came in the form of word studies, small

group reading, and vocabulary assessments, allowed me to analyze my student’s current needs

and aim to improve his literacy abilities. In the future, I hope to hone in on my literacy

instruction through self-reflection; I plan on focusing on what I did well, such as building

relationships and delivering instruction, and what I need to improve on, such as choosing

appropriate literacy activities, in order to create the most effective literacy plan for students who

need it the most.

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Evidence of Personal Goal

VCCV Word Study List

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Long & Short Vowel Word Study Worksheet

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Flynt & Cooter Assessment Experience Protocols

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Word Decoding Worksheets & Dice Activity

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Word Sort Activity & Example Text

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Spelling Word Lists (spelling tests given virtually)

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easyCBM Vocabulary Measures and Data Chart

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