ALVERNO COLLEGE

SUPERVISORS OBSERVATION OF ED 215-R Field Student

Candidate: Stephanie Wilmore Assessor: Robin Gleason Cooperating Teacher: Kate Searing School: College Park Elementary - Greendale Planning and Preparation (AEA: Conceptualization, Diagnosis
WTS: 1,2,3,4,5,7 DISP: Respect) Plans instruction appropriate to students stages of development and learning styles. Plan includes a motivating opening. Activities and materials are well chosen. Plan reflects use of an effective theoretical model, such as Holdaway, Cambourne, Vygotsky, etc. Plan encourages student progress and engagement. Plan includes adaptations for students with specific needs and learning styles. Questions are planned in advance. A meaningful closure concludes planning process.

Check One: 1stObservation _X_ Date: 11/22/11

2nd Observation __

Number of Students: 22 Grade: K Subject(s): Writing Workshop Writing

Evidence (Candidate)
You planned a shared writing lesson using a morning message to focus on teaching children to use capital letters at the beginnings of words, end punctuation, high frequency words and sound segmentation when writing an actual message. The lesson was a continuation of the childrens learning how to use these concepts about print and sound segmentation to spell unknown words. In your plan, you provided a script for the sequence of steps for carrying out your instruction categorized under the heading of demonstration/participation/practice performance, reflecting a general application of a theoretical model for teaching. (This plan was really more of a demonstration/participation type of lesson.) Your plan also included an introduction and a closure that recapped the learning. (It would have been beneficial to provide a brief statement about why it is important for writers to know about capitals, etc.) Providing more of a script of your own think aloud may have helped you to rehearse your own language in prepare to teach this lesson. Your plan mentions that student needs were met because it was a highly scaffolded lesson. What other ways could you have planned to address the varied needs of the writers in your classroom? The whole plan kept the focus on the learning objectives. You planned for student engagement, especially during the participation and practice part of your lesson. You chose an appropriate message/text to teach to this objective. You were well prepared with your poster paper, markers and white boards and markers for the students. Think about how you could have planned for more of an actual practice part to this lesson, where the children could have applied the lesson objectives to their own writing. How could you have followed up the practice with a meaningful performance?

____Inadequate

__X__Emerging

____Proficient

____Distinctive

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Classroom Environment (AEA: Coordination, Integrative Interaction WTS: 1,2,3,4,5,6

DISP: Respect, Responsibility, Collaboration, Communication) Offers explicit praise to students.

Evidence (Candidate and Student)

You were a natural with children. You had an easy and relaxed way with them and they responded well to you. You called on them by name. You invited all of the children to draw on their white boards as you set up the area for your lesson. As you modeled, the children were actively using their white boards to copy down the message as it was being written on the poster paper. (You had planned to only have the children use their white boards to show you certain words, etc. You made a good decision to keep going with your lesson after a few attempts to redirect the students in how to use the white boards the way you had intended.) You kept the lesson fast-paced and spontaneously switched to an interactive writing lesson by inviting some children to come up to the front to write their responses. You invited certain children up to the board based on your observation of their responses on their white boards. You did a nice job of asking the children to explain their thinking and of transitioning the students from your lesson to washing their hands before snack time. Think about how you might set expectations for use of white boards in the future even before you start your lesson.

Teachers and students connect to one another by smiling, sharing and helping. Respects each child as an individual. Supports students as they work independently and collaboratively. Manages transitions efficiently. Effectively uses resources and curriculum materials to develop the ideas being taught. Manages student attention by engaging them productively in learning experiences. Clearly communicates expectations and procedures for behavior and assignments.

____Inadequate

____Emerging

__X__Proficient

____Distinctive

Copyright 2010. Alverno College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All rights reserved under U.S., International and Universal Copyright Conventions. Reproduction in part or whole by any method is prohibited by law.

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Instruction (AEA: Communication, Coordination, Diagnosis, Integrative Interaction WTS: 1,2,4,5,6,7,10 DISP: Respect, Communication) Demonstrates knowledge of content throughout delivery. Presents content in developmentally appropriate ways. Consistently demonstrates enthusiasm. Models and supports active listening, discussion and thoughtful responses in reading, writing & speaking. Challenges and supports student thinking by using: o different types of explanations o various levels of questioning and discussion techniques-Blooms Taxonomy o techniques that repeat and/or extend student responses o a variety of modalities (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) Focuses student attention on lesson objectives. Actively engages students in meaningful learning and keeps them on task. Adapts plans as needed. Varies role in instructional process (instructor, facilitator, coach, audience) in relation to content, purposes of instruction and needs of learners. (Holdaway Model, etc.) Is respectful of cultural and gender differences. Relates learning to students previous learning and/or to students personal experiences.

Evidence (Candidate and Student)

This was a fast-paced lesson. You taught to your lesson objectives, but in a slightly different way than you had planned. You were enthusiastic and involved the children a great deal by asking questions about why capitals are used at the beginning of sentences, leaving spaces, the use of exclamation marks, etc. The use of the white boards engaged each child in the learning. Based on your observations of the childrens responses, you invited some of them up to share in writing the message. You modeled some of your thinking sometimes, especially when you demonstrated how to write the word /math/ through sound segmenting and recording the sounds you heard in that word. This, therefore, was more of an interactive writing lesson. You altered your role from instructor to more of a coach at times. Great thinking on your feet. In the future, though, when planning a shared writing lesson, I suggest that you really script out what you are going to say in particular the thinking aloud that you are going to do to teach to your lesson objectives. It was clear that the students already had been practicing the lesson objectives you had for this lesson. Thats why it was easy for you to switch more of an interactive writing experience for them. When something is brand new, more modeling will be needed. A few more tips: Make sure to really slow down your teaching as you model your own thought processes focusing on just 1-2 lesson objectives at a time. Also, make sure to reread the sentences after you add another word, making sure to point to each word every time you read it. And, make sure to say each word as you write it. Even though these are not specific lesson objectives, you are immersing the children in certain print concepts. As was mentioned before, this lesson would have been even stronger if the children would have been able to go right into writing independently. That way, you would have been able to provide more coaching, as needed, as they wrote about topics of their own choosing.

____Inadequate

____Emerging

__X__Proficient

____Distinctive

Copyright 2010. Alverno College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All rights reserved under U.S., International and Universal Copyright Conventions. Reproduction in part or whole by any method is prohibited by law.

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Assessment (AEA: Diagnosis, Integrative Interaction WTS: 1,2,3,7,8,9 DISP: Reflection) Provides feedback to learners (oral and/or written). Focuses the students attention on the process of learning rather than just getting the correct answer or finishing an activity. Assessment relates directly to objectives. Students self assess (oral and/or written). Assessment was well chosen for lesson content. Uses information from lesson and assessment in planning of future lessons. Reflects on own performance in relation to student learning and WI teacher standards.

Evidence (Candidate and Student)

You provided positive verbal feedback to the students throughout the lesson. You planned to take anecdotal records of the childrens responses on the white boards. You were trying to do this, but the fast pace of the lesson influenced your ability to fully use this assessment method. You did make observations of the childrens use of popcorn words on the white boards, as you asked some of the students to come up and write them on the large paper. Were you able to jot down your observations of student learning after your lesson? It would be valuable to also jot down each childs thinking or partial response to better understand where he/she is developmentally. (Think about how you could do this in a systematic way by focusing in on a few children every day.) Think about how you will use the data gathered from this assessment to plan for future lessons. You realized in your self-assessment that providing time for independent practice with their own writing would have allowed you to gather more evidence of student learning. You analyze your performance in relation to the WTS and the AEA.

____Inadequate

____Emerging

__X__Proficient

____Distinctive

Copyright 2010. Alverno College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All rights reserved under U.S., International and Universal Copyright Conventions. Reproduction in part or whole by any method is prohibited by law.

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Professional Responsibilities (AEA: Communication, Integrative Interaction WTS: 1,2,6,7,9,10 DISP: Respect, Responsibility, Reflection, Collaboration, Communication) Demonstrates professionalism through timely completion of work for Classroom ____ Seminar ____ Demonstrates professionalism through regular attendance, arriving on time. School ____ Seminar ____ Relates professionally and effectively with students, cooperating teacher____, staff____, and supervisor ____ (including initiating conversation, and problem solving). (Social Interaction at Level 4) Completes self -assessments, reflecting on planning and implementing of lessons. Is willing to give and receive help. Demonstrates Effective Citizenship by attending a school/parent event and completing an accompanying log. Actively participates in seminar by offering ideas, sharing materials and supporting peers. (Social Interaction at Level 4)

Evidence (Candidate)
You are professional in your interactions with your CT, your students, your colleagues in seminar, and with your supervising teacher. You are organized and responsible in completing your assignments time. You are comfortable with easily sharing your ideas and experiences with your colleagues in seminar and often take the lead in this regard.

____Inadequate

____Emerging

__X__Proficient

____Distinctive

Additional Comments: Stephanie, you are learning a great deal in this field about effective literacy teaching and learning. You are certainly working toward putting your knowledge into practice in your lessons. Your understanding of the scaffolding aspect of Vygotskian Theory is clearly articulated in your self-assessment. There were many good things about this particular lesson, Stephanie, especially that you had the courage to tackle a shared writing lesson. You made great instructional decisions as you taught. Id just encourage you to slow down the teaching especially when thinking aloud to really explicitly teach to your lesson objectives (planning helps) - and to plan for a specific practice part of your lesson. You did point this out in your self-assessment. You are a natural with children. You are clearly in your element in the classroom.

Overall Performance: ____Inadequate ____Emerging __X__Proficient ____Distinctive

Copyright 2010. Alverno College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. All rights reserved under U.S., International and Universal Copyright Conventions. Reproduction in part or whole by any method is prohibited by law.

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