Running header: Planning, Preparation, Instruction and Assessment

of Learners

Planning, Preparation, Instruction and Assessment of Learners

Ashley LeGrand
Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 495 Field Experience ePortfolio, Fall 2015

Running header: Planning, Preparation, Instruction and Assessment

of Learners

Introduction
As an instructor, there is nothing worse than not being prepared. Planning and
preparation go hand-in-hand with one another. It takes a lot of time and effort to prepare,
but doing so will make any lesson go smoothly. When an instructor executes a lesson, a
key component to understanding is assessment. Assessment is a tool used by teachers in a
classroom to determine if a student understands what has been taught to them. There are
many ways to assess a student on whether or not they understand what has been taught. I
think documenting whether a student understands the goals within a lesson is the best
way to assess and check for understanding. Formative assessment and summative
assessment is a great way to analyze what a student has learned.
Rationale for Selection of Artifacts
I chose to do two artifacts that go together well. My first artifact is a lesson within
reading for small groups. For my lesson, I chose two non-fiction textbooks for small
groups. One textbook is about Wetlands and the other book, which is a lower leveled
book, is a book about how animals in the Ocean survive by tricking and trapping their
predators and prey. Within my lesson, it was important for the students to be able to
determine what text features were within the book. So, I made a word sort with all the
text features that were in the book. The students had to take the text features and mark
their books in small group according to the text feature within the word sort. After the
students showed me at least three text features, they had to pick one for the following
activity. In the following activity, they had to make a prediction about what they were
about to read within the text of the book based on what text feature they chose. Once,
they made a prediction, they had to read the text, and revise their prediction. If their

Running header: Planning, Preparation, Instruction and Assessment

of Learners

prediction was correct, they had to give me more detail, and if their prediction was
wrong, the students had to correct their prediction.
Conducting this specific lesson was a struggle for the students. I decided that it
was necessary to give a post-assessment on the students, so I could determine who really
understood and who needed remediation. It was a difficult lesson, because there were
three key components to master proficiently in order to understand how to take a text
feature and make meaning out of the text with the text feature. Most of the students could
determine the text feature, and I think the word sort helped every student understand what
a text feature was.
However, six of the students could not make a prediction independently, and
thirteen of the students could not revise their prediction on their own. I gave all 24
students a P for proficient or a DP for developing proficient based on each of the three
components. This helped me determine who understands, who needs remediation, and
how can I remediate with the student if they understand two components but not the third
component. In this inclusion class, about half of the students are Special Education. With
that said, the class did ok, but only about half of the students were proficient; meaning
they could do each component on their own without the help of an instructor.
Reflection on Theory and Practice
As a novice teacher, Regent University has adequately taught me how to plan and
prepare my lessons for the students. In a lot of my classes, the professors stressed how
important it is to use the time given on any occasion to prepare, and to plan out the
lessons accordingly. This is important, because if a teacher is unprepared to teach the

Running header: Planning, Preparation, Instruction and Assessment

of Learners

material, and does not plan accordingly, the students will be able to see that and the
classroom will shamble to chaos and confusion.
Furthermore, Regent has taught me how to make my own lessons creatively and
differentiate them according to the standards given by the state. My curriculum design
professor taught me that I cannot write a lesson properly until I have started with the
outcome of the lesson first (J. Flannagan, personal communication, September
13, ]]]2012). An affective teacher should think about the desired results of what he or she
wants the learners to reciprocate rather than what has to be taught primarily. To properly
design a lesson, a teacher must design backwards. Designing a lesson backwards
withholds three stages: first, identify desired results; second, determine acceptable
evidence; third, plan learning experiences and instruction (McTighe and Wiggins, 2006).
The first stage, identifying desired results, is indicating what the standards are
given by the state and determining what the goals are according to the curriculum. The
second stage, determining acceptable evidence, is discovering if the students are
understanding the learning targets proficiently. Assessment is gathering evidence over a
period of time according to how the students perform academically. Through observation,
verbal communication, testing, and students assessments of themselves, are all key
components to assessment. Finally, the third stage, plan learning experiences and
instruction, indicates how a teacher will instruct and what activities the teacher can use to
meet the learning targets given to the students according to their needs. I have learned
about these components in depth to adequately prepare, plan, and assess students at any
grade level (McTighe and Wiggins, 2006).

Running header: Planning, Preparation, Instruction and Assessment

of Learners

References
Flannagan, J. (2012, Septemeber 13). Personal Interview.
Wiggins,G.,&McTighe,J.(2006).Understandingbydesign(Expanded2nded.).Upper
SaddleRiver,NewJersey:PearsonEducation.