College of Arts and Sciences

Department of Education

Candidate Assessment of Performance (CAP) Observation Form

Candidate Name: Hannah Richards Date: 10/11/18

Observation #: _1___ Type (Announced/Unannounced): Announced

Observed
Raymond Ostendorf (Program Supervisor) and Sable Johnson (Supervising Practitioner)
By:
1.A.4: Well Structured Lessons
2.B.1 Safe Learning Environment
X (#1 Announced, #1
(#1 Unannounced)
Unannounced)
Focus 1.B.2: Adjustments to Practice
2.D.2 High Expectations
Elements: (#2 Announced, #2 X
(#1 Announced)
Unannounced)
2.A.3: Meeting Diverse Needs
4.A.1 Reflective Practice
(#2 Announced)
Date of
10/11/18 Time (start/end): 8:16 – 9:08 AM
Lesson:
Content Topic/Lesson Objective: BTEOTL, SWBAT delineate and evaluate the argument made in the Texas
v. Johnson majority opinion. The objective is posed in the back of the room on a white board near
Hannah’s desk.
Small Group
X Whole Group X One-on-One Other
(pairs)

Active Evidence Collection (see attached documentation including lesson plan and data collected during
observation) occurred during the observation and is synthesized and categorized below.

Element Evidence

Sable: “Transitions are smooth from quiz to journaling allowing students to either work
ahead or take more time. Should put journal prompt on the board or ELMO so students
can be more successful in catching up/moving from one task to the other.”

Sable: “Too much wait time for a journal that doesn’t seem connected.”

Sable: “Too much time to talk at times.”

1.A.4
There was a general flow to the lesson, with evidence of routines that are familiar with
the students – entering the classroom and quietly starting a quiz to assess the two
chapters of To Kill a Mockingbird (TKAM) that were assigned the night before, followed by
a journal entry to set the stage for the lesson today – tying in with the reading and the
lesson (Hannah asks the students to journal about “what is happening in the trial right
now – facts, opinions, any of that stuff.”). The quiz, announcements, and the journaling
go from 8:16 – 8:34 (a little long), Hannah cuts the discussion to adjust.

Lesson featured a close reading of the Texas v. Johnson court case from the textbook,
 with student volunteers (roughly 4-5) who volunteered or offered to read a passage from
the text.

Students were encourage to check-in with a partner, seated alongside of them or

behind/in front of them, when there was only the same few volunteers answering
Hannah’s comprehension questions. This approach solicited more volunteers (roughly
double) when the class regrouped.

Agenda is posted for the lesson (10th Honors: Quiz, Texas v. Johnson, HW. Ch. 20 + 21).
Not explicitly referred to within the lesson, but written at the front whiteboard of the
classroom.

Essential question is listed as: “Are we, as human beings, willing to accept people who
are different from ourselves?” – written at the front whiteboard of the classroom, but not
explicitly referred to within the lesson.

Informally, Hannah made adjustments due to time in her lesson, cutting a planned
discussion of the journaling. The journaling and the quiz took longer today because the
students had took the PSATs the day before.

The exit ticket was modified from the original plan because the week was unusual (class
1.B.2 missed the day before because of the PSATs, virtual reality experiment planned for the
next day). The exit ticket became the opportunity for students to write about their
opinions about the ruling on the American flag. Hannah also permitted the follow, “your
train of thought, your opinion, if you’re confused about anything you can write that, too”
– representing an adjustment from what was planned that was more specific and related
back to TKAM.

Students were encouraged to check-in with a neighbor when only a few of the same
students were volunteering to answer questions.

A handout “Courtroom Vocabulary” was provided to all of the students before the close
2.A.3
reading. It was not explicitly mentioned or referred to to the students after it was
distributed. It also could have been used as a way to help support student learning if
drawn upon by Hannah (modeling how to use it for the lesson) and asked whether the
students are using it more explicitly when circulating.
College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Education

Sable: “When students seem quiet and embarrassed Hannah allows them time to bounce
ideas off of each other (turn + talk). Hannah then checks in with each group of students for
understanding and that they are on task.”
2.B.1
Sable: “Encouraging of student involvement and participation as a whole class. Twice as
many students raised their hands after talking to one another. Turn + talk really increased
participation. I appreciate Hannah’s adjustments when students weren’t participating in a
more traditional sense.”

Sable: “Waited for a ‘new’ hand with a different student to answer her question.”

Sable: “Posted expectations and agenda. Students are unsure if they should take notes – it
seems like an option, is it an option?”

Hannah circulated around the room and check-in with each pairing of students. She asked
question to follow up and listened to her students as she circulated. During the times when
this was offered (2-3 times) she made a complete rotation around the room.
2.D.2
There were several instances when the students developed a summary and met your
expectations in the debrief after reading a passage from the court case overview. Typically,
the feedback that was provided was supportive, affirming, and repeated back the message
Hannah had received from the student. This can be a good opportunity to ask some
probing questions, like “how did you know that?” and “why” to keep the expectations high
and the deepening of the discussion/reasoning even further. All can stand to benefit from
it! J

Hannah will be completing a CAP Self-Reflection form. She also is developing a personal
SMART goal for her practicum this semester. Therefore, evidence of this element of CAP
could be forthcoming.
4.A.1
She added, in her lesson plan, that through featuring a lesson using the Collections
textbook, she is providing an example of featuring an English department-wide SMART goal
to use the textbook more often in the lessons.

Focused Feedback
Reinforcement
Area/Action: Well-Structured Lessons – there was a general flow to the lesson, it had a
(strengths) blend of a quiz, reflective journaling, close reading, checking-in with a neighbor
and discussion, and a final written prompt designed that can relate to the
content from the lesson – and, eventually, linking it with TKAM.

Safe Learning Environment – The turn + talk / think-pair-share strategies can

be helpful to support your students in feeling safe, “trying on the skills from the
lesson you’re wanting them to try,” and break up the silences. Keep at it! Also,
remember to remind them to use the resources you’re providing when they get
stuck (like the Courtroom Vocabulary – it was available but not referred to, in
part because it wasn’t modeled as an option or shown how it can be helpful in
the lesson).

It’s also clear that the students feel comfortable with Hannah in the teaching
role! Lots of value-sharing and individual check-ins, which helps lay the safe
learning environment foundation down. J

Meeting Diverse Needs – More examples featuring this in your lesson will be
helpful. As you get to know your students strengths and weaknesses even
further, indicate this insight in your lesson plans specifically and teach using it.
Right now, everything felt like it was whole-class – let’s discuss next time we
meet, and there will be lots of time still to practice!

High Expectations – Find ways to have your students elaborate on their

thinking even further. Continue to find ways to gently probe your students
when they are offering contributions by asking questions like, “wow – how did
you know that?” – “why” – “what lead you to find that…” – and other ways to
push the thinking/discussing even further. It can benefit the whole class.
Refinement
Area/Action:
Technical pieces:
(areas for
improvement)
For the next observation, please post the lesson objective in the front of the
classroom or have your students refer to it as written in the back of the
classroom. That way, the students are also aware about the purpose for the
lesson.

We discuss this in the debrief – but, I’d strongly encourage to not phrase some
of your directions as questions, instead make them more directives. It will
come by with time, practice, and comfort. But, I noted quite a few statements
like “do you guys want to take our your journals again?” and there was an
option to take notes that was a little unclear – by asking these things as
questions, the students might simply decline, coast… and not know that it’s an
expectation for that time in the lesson.