Orsborn Masters Portfolio 1

Instruction and Assessment

Effective instruction is measured by student assessment, the instruction however has to

meet the needs of the students, be understood, and be engaging in order to be effective. Working

with underserved students with different needs requires differentiated instruction, quality

authentic material, and a drive to connect to the students. My Teacher Work Sample employs all

of those characteristics which were required to connect with this group of students. I utilized my

assessment needs to build the lessons that would teach maps and mapping skills to second

graders through Understanding by Design planning.

Students were assessed at the beginning of the lesson to understand their knowledge of

maps and mapping. This process allowed me to scaffold the lessons for a diverse learning group.

Using UBD (Understanding by Design) allowed me to teach and check while we moved through

the unit. Asking what it is that we want students to understand by the end of the lesson is

paramount when using the UBD approach (Sumrall and Sumrall, 2018). Using this method also

allowed me to assess students as we went in order to continue to differentiate or reteach a

specific part for total understanding.

Scaffolding the material allowed my really low students to stay on course with the higher

performing students. First, learners build new learning experiences on their prior knowledge and

experiences. There is a good deal of evidence that learning is enhanced when teachers pay

attention to the knowledge and beliefs that learners bring to a learning task, use this knowledge

as a starting point for new instruction, and monitor students' changing conceptions as instruction

proceeds (National Research Council, 1999, p. 11). Using the new learning experiences, I

incorporated previous knowledge and hands on learning to solidify the new experiences. As

each lesson built upon the previous, the students were able to make connections to the material.
Orsborn Masters Portfolio 2

Research by Tina Seidel, Rolf Rimmele, and Manfred Prenzel (2005) states “First, students shift

attention to learning contents, to activate prior knowledge and to actively transfer information

from working memory to long-term memory; second, to construct and integrate new learning

contents students have to build internal connections to existing knowledge structures as well as

to integrate new contents with respect to higher order structures.”

I was able to incorporate visual and audio material in the lessons so those that need this

type of aid in learning had it. This material was beneficial to all learners and was also useful for

the assessment process. According to Gangwer (2015) “Since vision develops rapidly in the

infant and so governs human sensory, it soon evolves into the dominant means through which

children learn about their world” (p. 15). After watching short videos and discussing map

applications all students were able to transition that learning to the assessments that

corresponded to the lessons. Some students benefited more form the visual experience than

others simply because they had never seen material like it before. I believe the visual aids were

beneficial to students because they retained information that was seen rather than just heard.

The unit I developed was an engaging unit in learning since students had to create things

as well as understand basic facts. I chose engaging materials to keep the kids interested.

According to Elizabeth Foster (2018), “Engaging with materials can shape the teaching

experience, teachers’ practices and mindsets, and, ultimately, students’ learning experiences” (p.

20). I believe that all material needed to be as authentic and engaging as possible for this group

of students to learn and retain. I wanted deeper understanding and higher-level thinking in the

classroom. I believe I accomplished that through scaffolding lessons, authentic material, hands

on activities, and differentiated lessons to accommodate all learners in the classroom. Acording

to Lee Crockett and Andrew Churches (2017), “Teachers should respond to student performance
Orsborn Masters Portfolio 3

to guide the learning process. This happens through mindful assessment, being conscious and in

the moment, seeing the situation clearly, and using assessment to confirm or create this clarity”

(P. 3). This statement is how I manage the learning in my classrooms then and now.
Orsborn Masters Portfolio 4

References

Crockett, L.W. and Churches, A. (2017). Mindful Assessment: The 6 Essential Fluencies of

Innovative Learning. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Foster, E. (2018). Design Principles Guide Educators in Choosing and Using Curriculum

Materials. The Learning Professional, 39(1), 20-23. Retrieved from

https://learningforward.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/design-principles-guide-

educators-in-choosing-and-using-curriculum-materials.pdf

Gangwer, T. (2015). Visual Impact, Visual Learning: Using Images to Strengthen Learning.

New York, NY: Skyhorse Publishing.

National Research Council. (1999). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school.

Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Seidel, T., Rimmele, R., & Prenzel M. (2005). Clarity and coherence of lesson goals as a scaffold

for student learning. Learning and Instruction, 15(6) 539-556. Retrieved from

https://ac.els-cdn.com/S0959475205000678/1-s2.0-S0959475205000678-

main.pdf?_tid=00636cf1-c911-4569-94ff-

caa3dda1b120&acdnat=1536629669_aa737463e4a00f5616cadac489f16328

Sumrall, W. & Sumrall, K. (August 2018). Understanding by Design: Using the Understanding

By Design model and NGSS in Concert to Plan and Instruct in Science. Science and

Children, 48-54. Retreived from

http://eds.a.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.uas.alaska.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=

5292c0d8-1675-4bb2-8a1f-7f410b42e1ad%40pdc-v-sessmgr06