More Than a Bakers Dozen: What Teacher Educators in Four Institutions Have Learned in Three Years of

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More Than a Bakers Dozen What Teacher
Educators in Four Institutions Have Learned in
Three Years of Experience with Teacher Work
Samples

• A Symposium Presented at the Annual Meeting of
  AACTE 2003
• New Orleans

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Symposium Panel Presenters

• Vickie Robinson
• University of Northern Iowa
• Jane Rudden, Donna Topping, Sandra
• Huffman
• Millersville University
• Toby Daniel
• Western Kentucky University
• Betty Jo Simmons, Nicole Fahey
• Longwood University

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Symposium Panel Critic/Discussant

• Barbara Burch
• Western Kentucky University

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A Flashback to Four Years AgoBecoming
Accountable for the Impact of Graduate on
Students and Schools Making Operational the
Shift from Teaching to Learning

• A Concept Paper for Discussion for a Symposium at
  the
• Annual Meeting of AACTE 1999
• Washington, DC

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The Renaissance Partnership Project for Improving
Teacher Quality 1999 - 2004

• A temporary system to facilitate and impact
  improvements in teacher preparation and quality

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The Renaissance Partnership1999 2003A Small
Stream That Has Deepened and Widened
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Project Goals

• Become accountable for the impact of teacher
  candidates on P-12 student learning
• Improve teacher performance in key areas and show
  an increase in teachers ability to facilitate
  learning of all students

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Project Objectives

• Accountability Systems
• Teacher Work Samples
• Team Mentoring
• Program Redesign
• Networking Across Project Sites
• Research that Links Teacher Performance to P-12
  Student Learning

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History of Renaissance TWS Development
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History of Renaissance TWS Development
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Year Four Work PlanTeacher Work Samples

• Five Year Objective
• All eleven Renaissance institutions will develop
  and implement the use of teacher work samples in
  their teacher education programs as a means of
  improving teaching skills and increasing the
  teachers impact on student learning

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Year Four Work PlanTeacher Work Samples

• Year Four Objectives
• Institutions will expand the implementation of
  teacher work samples toward the inclusion of all
  teacher candidates
• Institutions will increase the performance levels
  of student teachers on teacher work samples

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St. Louis Group Pix January 2001
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St. Louis - June 2001
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Teacher Work Samples Produced by Eleven Project
Institutions
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Candidate Performance on Teacher Work Samples
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Some Places Where Renaissance Partners Have
Shared Successes in 2002
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The Renaissance Teacher Work Sample Was

• selected by NCATE as one of seventeen teacher
  candidate assessments nationwide as an exemplar
  that meets criteria of quality established by the
  Assessment Examples Project Committee

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Teacher Work Samples

• Youve come a long way babybut you havent
  begun to reach your full potential

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University of Northern Iowa
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Scoring of Teacher Work Samples
University of Northern Iowa Fall, 2002
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Breakdown of Scores for Each Individual Indicator
Distribution of Scores (in percent)
Contextual Factors
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Breakdown of Scores for Each Individual Indicator
Distribution of Scores (in percent)
Learning Goals
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Breakdown of Scores for Each Individual Indicator
Distribution of Scores (in percent)
Assessment Plan
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Breakdown of Scores for Each Individual Indicator
Distribution of Scores (in percent)
Design for Instruction
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Breakdown of Scores for Each Individual Indicator
Distribution of Scores (in percent)
Instructional Decision Making
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Breakdown of Scores for Each Individual Indicator
Distribution of Scores (in percent)
Analysis of Student Learning
2 students missing this section 2,
percentages out of 89 work samples
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Breakdown of Scores for each Individual Indicator
Distribution of Scores (in percent)
Reflection and Self Evaluation
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What is treasured gets measured
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Millersville Universityof Pennsylvania

• Jane F. Rudden
• Donna H. Topping
• Sandra J. Hoffman

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If You Want High Performance, Start Early

• What pre-student teachers need to know and do to
  impact P-12 student learning

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Our Wish List

• Plan based on pre-assessment data
• Make informed decisions as they teach
• Evaluate pupil progress against learning goals
  and state standards
• Interpret post-evaluative data
• Reflect on the impact of their teaching on pupil
  learning, relevant to objectives and standards.

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The TWS Template Facilitated Curriculum Changes _at_
MU

• Helped us organize our thinking
• Guided us in time-lining the changes needed
• Opened our eyes to what we were already doing
  that supported the direction we were going
• Facilitated early changes in the program and
  called out the gaps

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Key Components of R-TWS and How our Program
Stacked Up Four Years Ago

• Contextual Factors
• Learning Goals
• Assessment Plan
• Design for Instruction
• Instructional Decision-Making
• Analysis of Student Learning
• Reflection and Self-Evaluation

• N/A
• Throughout program
• Mainly post-assessing
• Standards-based
• Mainly strategy lessons
• Limited to simple pre- post comparisons
• Throughout program assessment informs instruction

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Key Components of R-TWS and How Our Program
Stacks Up Today

• Contextual Factors
• Learning Goals
• Assessment Plan
• Design for Instruction
• Instructional Decision-Making
• Analysis of Student Learning
• Reflection and Self-Evaluation

• Frosh, Soph, Jr, Sr
• Frosh, Soph, Jr, Sr
• New course required
• Context, Assessment Data, Standards
• Emphasis on including formative measures
• New required course
• Emphasis throughout program that assessment
  informs instruction

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Linking Candidate Knowledge and Practice to
Student Learning

• Candidate Candidate use Effect on
• knowledge ? of knowledge ? learning in
• in
  practice P-12 students

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Target Performance

• Monitor student learning,
• Make appropriate adjustments to instruction,
• Analyze student learning,
• Have a positive effect on student learning

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Showing Credible Evidence of Student Learning

• Steps taken to provide instruction and
  opportunity to plan, implement, and evaluate
  learning progress
• Taking evaluation out of the paper/pencil mode

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The HURDLE

• Assessment
• and
• Analysis

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Convincing Them That...

• assessment does not have to equal a paper and
  pencil test!

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Instead...

• assessment and instruction should be seamless.

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For Example

• KWL
• Semantic maps
• Concept discussions
• Writing
• Hands-on
• Drawing
• Predict/Prove

• Different ways to do pre- and post-assessment

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For Example...

• Kidwatching
• Field notes
• Fist to Five
• Thumbs up, Thumbs Down, Flat Line
• Dot Voting
• Daily work
• Exit slips

• Different ways to do formative assessment

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Analyze Data??? Me???

• REREADING corpus of data again and again
• RUBRICS to quantify the seemingly unquantifiable
• RANGE AND VARIATION tables
• VIGNETTES, richly described
• BE CREATIVE and develop new ways

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Moving Toward Shared Responsibility in the
Department

• New assessment course
• Matching of instruction/assessment terminology
• Consistency from ELED100 through Student Teaching

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SCALING IT UP...

• AND OUT

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A View From the Professional Block II Coordinator

• Am responsible for coordinating Professional
  Block II
• Was not involved in R-TWS from the beginning
• Am able to give a view through new eyes

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Immediate Plans Spring 2003

• Pilot section of 25 students
• Placement in two school districts
• Reconfigured field work
• Context Factors, Learning Goals, Assessment Plan,
  Design for Instruction to be done before extended
  3-week field placement through 3 extra days in
  the field early in the semester
• Hired readers

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Future Plans Fall 2003

• Required of all Professional Block II students
  (approximately 140)
• Reconfigured field work (based on the findings of
  Spring 2003)
• Use of full-range of school districts

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Unanswered Questions

• Effect on placements?
• Training implications?
• Readers?
• Timeline for reading and grading by the end of
  the semester?

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More Than a Bakers DozenCritical Student
Performances Western Kentucky University

• AACTE
• January 25, 2003
• New Orleans, LA

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Presenters

• Tabitha Toby Daniel
• tabitha.daniel_at_wku.edu
• Sam Evans
• sam.evans_at_wku.edu

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Kentuckys New Teacher Standards for Preparation
and Certification

• Standard I Designs/Plans Instruction
• Standard II Creates/Maintains Learning
  Climates
• Standard III Implements/Manages Instruction
• Standard IV Assesses and Communicates Learning
  Results
• Standard V Reflects/Evaluates
  Teaching/Learning
• Standard VI Collaborates with
  Colleagues/Parents/Others
• Standard VII Engages in Professional
  Development
• Standard VIII Knowledge of Content
• Standard IX Demonstrates Implementation of
  Technology

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Westerns Performance Assessment System

• Aligned with Kentucky Teacher Standards
• Based on Four Levels of Critical Performance
• Uses Electronic Portfolios to record, store and
  manage performance data
• Uses Teacher Work Samples in student teaching as
  evidence of candidates ability to facilitate
  learning

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What are Critical Performances?

• Specific descriptions about what teacher
  candidates must know and be able to do at
  different levels of growth and development toward
  one or more teaching standards.

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Four Levels of Curriculum and Evaluation of
Performance

• Level I Knowledge/Comprehension
• (classroom settings)
• Level II Application
• (simulated settings)
• Level III Analysis/Synthesis
• (controlled/limited real-life settings)
• Level IV Synthesis/Evaluation
• (real-life settings/student teaching)
• As a student progresses through the program,
  continuous assessments at progressively higher
  levels are experienced

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Teacher Work Samples

• A process that enables teacher candidates to
  demonstrate teaching performances directly
  related to planning, implementing, assessing
  student learning and evaluating teaching and
  learning a standards-based instructional unit.

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Key Processes of Teacher Work Samples

• Contextual Factors
• Learning Goals
• Assessment Plan
• Design for Instruction
• Instructional Decision Making
• Analysis of Student Learning
• Self-Evaluation and Reflection

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Teacher Work Samples in Student Teaching

• A major source of data for Level IV critical
  performances that provide evidence of candidates
  ability to facilitate learning of all students.
• Students shall develop their abilities to connect
  and integrate experiences and new knowledge from
  all subject matter fields with what they have
  previously learned and build on past learning
  experiences to acquire new information through
  various media sources.
• Specific descriptions about what teacher
  candidates must know and be able to do at
  different levels of growth and development toward
  one or more teaching standards.

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New Teacher Standards for Preparation and
Certification New Teacher
Standards
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Backward Mapping Planning Form
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Critical Performances Profile for an Elementary
Education Major
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Electronic Portfolio Data Screen (For Each
Courses Critical Performances)

• Record of completion of Critical Performances
  aligned with Kentuckys New Teacher Standards
  that includes
• Performance scores
• Performance exhibits
• Time of completion
• Number of attempts toward completion (being
  added)

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Enhancing Critical Performances

• Faculty development, discussion, and adoption of
  Alignment Maps
• Filling gaps on Maps
• Re-evaluating alignment and purpose of existing
  critical performances
• Obtaining faculty feedback and student data to
  begin establishing reliability and validity

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Westerns Progress on Performance Assessments

• Teacher Work Sample implemented
• Most critical performances identified
• Electronic portfolio operational
• Course/experience alignment in process

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Experiences With Teacher Work Sampleat
Longwood What We Have Learned From Practice

• by
• Betty Jo Simmons

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Presentation Overview

• What / Where is Longwood?
• What is the program like?
• How is Teacher Work Sample Used?
• How do teacher candidates view TWS?
• What has been learned from students?
• Presentation by Nicole Fahey from Longwood
• Student teacher survey

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Candidates for the Teaching Profession Also Take

• 24 credit hours in professional courses

• 16 credit hours in field experiences

• Field experiences include

• Practicum I (Freshman)
• Practicum II (Sophomore)
• Partnership Program (Junior)
• Student Teaching (Senior)

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During Their Junior Year, Candidates for the
Teaching Profession Spend an Entire Semester at
One of the Universitys Four Partnership Schools
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Virginia
Longwood University and Its Partnership Schools
Buckingham County
Prince Edward County
Cumberland County
Charlotte County
Longwood University
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Presently Candidates for the Teaching Profession
Are Expected to Complete

• First Teacher Work Sample
• in the Partnership Experience
• and
• Two additional Teacher Work Samples
• in Student Teaching

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What We Are Learning from Practice Good and Not
Good

• Partnership School Feedback
• The Voice of TWS Presentation from Nicole
  Fahey, Longwood Student
• Student Teaching Feedback
• The TWS Survey from Fall 2002

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What Is Good?

• TWS is terrific in the partnership semester
• Assessment data is important
• Contextual information is essential
• TWS leads to improved teaching strategies

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What Is Not So Good?

• The amount of work required
• Doing two TWS during student teaching
• Not having enough trained mentoring during
  student teaching
• Not having enough time to implement TWS fully
  during student teaching

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Expectations for the Future

• Use one TWS during partnership and only one
  during student teaching
• Continue to provide training adequacy of
  training cannot be taken for granted
• Emphasize TWS as teaching processes, not just an
  assignment/product
• Continue to capitalize upon TWS as the best
  vehicle for enhancing our NCATE model of
  teachers as reflective leaders

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TWS The Longwood Story

• Once upon a time, we were skeptics
• Today we are vocal TWS advocates
• It does promote best practice, reflection and
  accountability!!!!!

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Reflections on Four Years Since Washington, DC
1999

• Barbara Burch, Provost
• Western Kentucky University

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Discussion Questions

• What do you think is the most important
  contribution of teacher work samples?
• What have you found to be the greatest challenge
  in implementing teacher work samples?
• What would you advise other teacher educators who
  are considering introducing teacher work samples
  as performance assessments for teacher candidates?