The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

EDUC 4230-The Middle Grades: Assessment & Instruction

Summer 2016 CRN: 31188 3 credit hours
Instructor:
Office Hours:
Phone:
E-mail address:

Erin Hungenberg
Please make an appointment
970.302.0421
erin-hungenberg@utc.edu

Textbook: Dean, C. B., Hubbell, E. R., Pitler, H., & Stone, B. (2012) Classroom Instruction that Works:
Research Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Catalog Description of Course:
Classroom diagnostic and prescriptive teaching; linking middle grades reading, assessment, decision-making and
instruction; in-depth study of selected assessments, instructional strategies, materials, and management procedures.
Course Objectives:
1. Examine the components of effective middle schools, emphasizing teaching methodology and assessment.
2. Analyze information obtained through assessment and plan appropriate instruction in the content areas.
3. Propose a rationale for informational literacy, art, music, and physical education being considered an integral part
of the middle school curriculum.
4. Develop an understanding of proposed methods of responsive middle school curriculum.
5. Provide reasons for developmentally responsive teaching methods and strategies that reflect young adolescents
physical, psychosocial, and cognitive developmental characteristics.
6. Identify and discuss issues in assessment in middle school education.
7. List and discuss assessment instruments, such as tests produced by teachers, state departments of education,
textbook publishers, as well as standardized tests.
8. Understand bullying, middle schoolism, and middle/junior high school comparisons.
9. Explore relationships of the middle school concept to academic performance, and a teachers preparation to
success in the classroom.
Course Topics:
1) Curriculum, instruction, and assessment in middle schools, 2) Curriculum standards for middle schools, 3) Middle
school core curriculum and related domains, 4) Middle school case studies, 5) Block scheduling and related teaching
strategies, 6) Planning and implementing instruction, 8) Traditional and alternative methods of assessment: issues and
arguments, 9) Managing the middle school classroom and the overall educational environment.
UTC Communication on Blackboard:
As this is an online course, it is imperative that you are checking Blackboard and your email daily. You will have weekly
assignments due and I will post comments and suggestions frequently to assist you.
Course Requirements:
Participation on Blackboard is required!!! You will upload all assignments to BlackBoard under Course
Materials.
All assignments must be typed/word-processed and are due on the assigned dates. Points will be deducted for all
late assignments (-1 point per day). University policy indicates that use of writings and/or other materials in any
form without documentation is plagiarism and may result in a grade of F for the course.

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It is the responsibility of the student to keep informed of changes, new material, and missed content material. The
instructor has the right to make adjustments to the evaluation activities listed below.

Course Assignments
1.

Professional Reading and Reflections: Students will read, reflect upon, and respond to a current periodical article
on a topic related to middle school education-such as bullying, standards, age appropriate instruction, assessment,
teaching teams, advisory, scheduling, and curriculum. Students will write a 1-2 page summary (article review) of a
chosen journal article. The assessment rubric will be attached to the assignment. (5 points)
2. Classroom Instruction Practice Reflections: Each week (approx.), we will discuss classroom instruction practices.
At the end of each week, students will write a short reflection explaining how/if the practice will fit into his/her
future classroom. (10 points)
**For this course, you will be creating a hypothetical class that you will be preparing for. All of the following assignments will be
done with that class in mind. Each will also become part of your Assessment Portfolio, which is due at the end of the course There is
no busy work here! Everything you complete has a purpose and will be included in your final project!.**
3. Unpacked standard: Unpack a chosen standard. Please pick a grade level and core subject to focus on. Examples
will be posted. (5 points)
4. Class Syllabus: Students will develop a syllabus for a class in line with area of specialization. Syllabus will need
to address expectations, class rules, procedures, etc. Examples will be shared prior to assignment due date. (5
points)
5. Unit Plan: Students will develop a unit plan based on the grade level and subject area chosen by the student. This
unit plan should be indicative of the type of unit the student will choose to work on in the assessment portfolio. (5
points)
6. Lesson Plan: Develop and submit a lesson plan by referring to the state of Tennessees curriculum standards.
Lesson plan should be intended for a particular middle grade level (4-8) and core subject (math, social studies,
science, language arts). To obtain the standards refer to the state of Tennessee website for the Department of
Education: http://www.tn.gov/education/curriculum.shtml. Your unit-related lesson plan should follow the format
provided and include the teaching strategies and activities that you will use to meet these standards. You will submit
this a total of three times (original and two revisions). (5 points)
7. Pre Assessment & Explanations: Student will develop a pre assessment to go with a unit of study of his/her choice.
Students will also submit an explanation for the distractors used on the pre-assessment. Examples will be posted.
(5 points)
8. Pre Test Data Analysis: Student must find 10 people to take pre-assessment and analyze the data, create graphs to
make findings clear, make a plan for how to address findings, and write a prescription for what they will do now.
(5 points)
9. Pre/Post Test Data Analysis: Student will analyze and compare pre and post test data. The student will make
graphs, answer key questions regarding instruction, and search for root causes of student performance. Examples
will be posted. (5 points)
10. Assessment Portfolio: Student will use an online portfolio program to develop a comprehensive example of lesson
plans, learning outcomes/objectives, assessments, rubrics, and a data analysis. Examples will be shown. (50 points)

Evaluations and Grading Scale

Course Evaluations:

There will be no Final. Your final will be your assessment portfolio.

Grading Scale:
*I strive to make failing not an option! If you do not complete an assignment fully, you will redo that assignment until it
meets the requirements. As you will (probably) be student teaching soon, it is crucial that you understand how to correctly
complete all assignments in this course, as you will be asked to complete them in the classroom.
There is a total of 100 points possible in this course.
Your assessment portfolio is worth 50% of your grade!
Grades will be based on the scale below.

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A: 90-100 B: 80-89 C: 70-79

D: 60-69

F: 59 and below

Plagiarism Statement:
Plagiarism is the unauthorized use of another persons work, or the misrepresentation of another persons work
as your own. Specific examples include but are not limited to: purchasing a research paper, reusing a
paper/assignment written by another student, copying directly out of a book or article without proper citation,
improper citation of direct quotes, or paraphrasing without proper credit given to the source (See APA manual,
pp. 95-98 and 292-294). No credit will be given to any work that is plagiarized, and the student could be
reported in violation of the Student Honor Code.

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Course Calendar
The following schedule is TENTATIVE. It is subject to change and you are responsible for noting any changes
that take place. Any changes made will be announced in class.

DATE
Week
1
5/18-5/24

TOPICS

Week
2
5/25-5/31

Week
3
6/1-6/7

Week
4
6/8-6/14

Week
5
6/15-6/21

Read

Assignments due

Introduction to class,
Syllabus discussion,
questions answered;
Middle School: What is it
and Why teach it?
Unpacking your
standards: What it really
means

Syllabus
Chapter 8: Identifying
Similarities & Differences
Chapter 6: Summarizing
& Note taking
Chapter 2: Reinforcing
Effort & Providing
Recognition
Lesson Planning
Chapter 7: Assigning
Homework & Providing
Practice
Chapter 5: Nonlinguistic
Representations
Chapter 3: Cooperative
Learning
Assessment: Making &
Administering your Pre
test
Interactive Student
Notebook
Pre-Test Graphs & Data
Analysis
Pre/Post Graphs & Data
Analysis
Chapter 1: Setting
Objectives & Providing
Feedback
Chapter 9: Generating &
Testing Hypothesis

Chapters 8, 6,
2 and Slides 161 of Marzano
PP

5/26: Syllabus
5/31: Unit Plan
5/31: Reflection on Strategies
(Chap. 8, 6, 2)

Chapters 7,
5, 3 and
slides 62114 of
Marzano PP

6/3: Lesson plan #1 (original)

6/5: Lesson plan #2 (1st
revision)
6/7: Reflection on Strategies
(Chap 7, 5, 3)

Interactive
Student
Notebook
PP

Chapters 1,
9, 4 and
slides 115153 of
Marzano PP

Syllabus
Honor Code
PowerPoint on
how to unpack
standards

5/18: Student Profile

5/20: Honor Code (Click on
Academic Acknowledgment on
left side of Blackboard and
Complete the Syllabus &
Honor Code Activity)
5/22: Article Review
5/24: Unpacked Standard

6/8: Lesson plan #3 (2nd

revision)
6/11: Pre test & Distractors

6/18: Pre test graphs &

analysis
6/21: Post Test graphs &
analysis
6/21: Reflection on Strategies (
1, 9, 4)


Week
6
6/22-6/28

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Chapter 4: Cues,
Questions, & Advance
Organizers

6/28: Assessment Portfolio

Assessment Portfolio Assignment

Purpose of Portfolio: the assessment portfolio is an evaluation tool used to document the learning that occurred during
the assessment course. It serves as a collection of learning that shows evidence of your knowledge of instruction and
assessment as you prepare to student teach.
Requirements of Portfolio:
Bound in a 3-ring binder or like folder
Each item below (excluding the title page) needs to have a tab.
The use of page protectors is encouraged
Content of Portfolio
Title Page Assessment Portfolio, Name, Course, Date
Table of Contents
o Class Syllabus
o Unit Plan/Outline
One unit only
o Unpacked Standards
All standards addressed in the unit need to be unpacked! This should be approximately 3-8
standards.
One standard/page.
o Essential Questions
Please include a list of at least 5 essential questions you could use for your unit.
o Lesson Plans
Include ALL lesson plans contained in the unit. This needs to be at least 5 lessons
o Pre Assessment & Reflection
Pre-test
Pre-test with explanations
1 page reflection
Why is assessment important?
Why is it important to develop a quality pre-test?
How will you use the pre-test to drive your instruction?
o Data Analysis (Pre-Test)
2 graphs with short summary with prescription
Question by question
% correct by standard
o Data Analysis (Pre/Post Test)
Using the data I provided, please create the following graphs
Pre/Post Comparison graph with explanation answering following 3 questions:
o What did I do to move students to be successful?
o What do I do NOW to move those who didn't get it yet?
o What will I do next time I teach this unit to move ALL students to be successful?
By standard (no explanation needed)
By grade (no explanation needed)

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Student Gains graph and explanation of 5 students using the following as a guide:
o Look at who the students are that missed each question. Look at their answers.
o Tell what they did and why you think they got the question wrong.
o Tell what you are going to do NOW to move them to "get it."
Reflective Essay/Personal Assessment Philosophy
How will you prepare your units of study?
How will you use assessment in your future classroom?
How will you provide feedback and motivation in your future classroom?
Assessment Practices (Formative vs. Summative)

Article Review Rubric

Category

Source

Theme

Authors Opinion

Readers Opinion

Exposition

Target

1 Point
Student adheres to
APA style with no
errors
Student states and
concisely explains
the central theme
of the article (4
pts.)
Student analysis of
the authors
opinion is well
developed and
includes evidence
from which the
student identifies
the opinion of the
author
The student
expresses his/her
own opinion(s)
and uses evidence
to support same
The paper is free
from errors in
grammar,
mechanics, and
spelling

Acceptable

Unacceptable

Point
One error

0 Points
Two or more errors

Student states the

theme

Student incorrectly
identifies the
theme or leaves it
out

Student analysis
includes evidence
from which he/she
identifies the
authors opinion

Poor or little effort

made by reader to
identify authors
opinion

Student
demonstrates that
he/she has a good
understanding of
the topic

Little or no
mention is made of
the students
opinion; no
evidence of
understanding of
the topic
The paper is
There are
generally free from numerous errors in
errors; existing
grammar,
errors are minor
mechanics, and
spelling

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