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Norda, Inc. - Alternative Certification & Professional Development for Teachers and Administrators

EDWN 601 Assessment and Modifications of Instruction

Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs
Norda Program

Spring 2012
3 credits Blended Course

Course Meetings: Course meets twice during semester. Each meeting is Friday 6-9; Saturday 9-4

Prerequisite: Admission to Norda Alternative Licensure Program

Instructor: Margaret Foss, Ph.D.
Available by phone, M-Th 9-4: 715-532-608; by email 24 hours.

Course Description
This is one of two courses in the teacher certification process for participants in Project Teaching, an alternative certification program approved by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Participants learn about the conceptual framework for teacher licensure in Wisconsin and are guided in their development toward “proficient performance in the knowledge, skills, and dispositions in each of the 10 Wisconsin Teacher Standards” required for licensure. This course emphasizes assessment and modification of instruction.

Student Learning Objectives
On completion of the course students are expected to be able to do the following.

These course objectives are aligned with the Wisconsin Teacher Standards and are numbered accordingly.

Textbooks

Texts are handed out during the first class meeting. Texts also include websites listed on the Project Teaching home page
Various supplemental material will be handed out.

Online resources are listed with reading assignments.

Topical Course Outline


Session

Class meeting

Topics

Reading Assignments

Written Assignments

Prior to Session 1

 

Assessment
Minority Relations

http://www.s-tests.com/glossary/
http://kidsource.com/kidsource/content2/stand.testing.html
http://school.familyeducation.com/educational-testing/study-skills/34555.html Several links of interest here in plain language.
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/SER/ASP/stude.html
http://www.projectappleseed.org/standardtest.html
http://my.execpc.com/~presswis/assdbt.html
http://www.mcsdk12.org/curr/standardized_test_preparation.htm

Minority Relations:

  1. history, culture, and tribal sovereignty of American Indian tribes and bands located in Wisconsin,

http://www.kstrom.net/isk/maps/wi/wisconsin.html
http://www.mpm.edu/wirp/ICW-162.html (click on tribes on map, too)
http://treaty.indigenousnative.org/
http://www.native-languages.org/wisconsin.htm
http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/wisconsin/index.htm

  1. history, culture and contributions of women and various racial, cultural, language and economic groups in the United States; philosophical and psychological bases of attitude development and change; the psychological and social implications of discrimination, especially racism and sexism in the American society; evaluating and assessing the forces of discrimination, especially racism and sexism on faculty, students, curriculum, instruction, and assessment in the school program

http://books.google.com/books?id=1VOGlufZHlMC&pg=PA11&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=0_0
http://www.tolerance.org/teach/
http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/
http://nameorg.org/resources/articles-interviews/
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/ (search "multicultural" pick an article or two)
http://ericir.syr.edu/cgi-bin/print.cgi/Resources/Subjects/Social_Studies/Multicultural_Education.html
http://riponimmigration.blogspot.com/ A participant wrote these articles about immigration in Wisconsin

Wisconsin DPI Resources for Culturally Responsive Instruction and Pedagogy http://dpi.wi.gov/sped/doc/disp-res-cultural.doc

Minority Relations Paper

 

Session

Class meeting

Topics

Reading Assignments

Written Assignments

Session 1

Friday evening, Saturday

Program Orientation & Logistics
Assessment

  • General background on assessment and evaluation
  • Standardized testing
  • Teacher created tests & Performance assessment
  • Grading and other student evaluation

Reflective Practice
Issues in Education

[following session 1, review materials in Curtin chapter 8]

 

  • Assessment Paper

Prior to Session 2

 

Curriculum planning

Curtin chapters 1-3
Lemov chapters 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and view video examples

Semester plan Sample assessment

Session 2

Friday evening, Saturday

Modifications used in Education

  • Multicultural experiences/opportunities
  • Working with Special Education students, IEP process
  • English Language Learners (ELL) and English as a Second Language (ESL)

The following will be helpful:
Response to Intervention
http://dpi.wi.gov/rti/index.html
http://www.learningpt.org/greatlakeswest/rti/rtiresourceguide.pdf
http://www.jimwrightonline.com/php/rti/rti_wire.php
Special Educational Needs
http://curry.edschool.virginia.edu/go/cise/ose/categories/ld.html
http://www.ncld.org/
http://www.slc.sevier.org/inclbhav.htm
English Language Learners
http://www.teach-nology.com/tutorials/teaching/esl/
http://www.everythingesl.net/inservices/
http://www.wested.org/policy/pubs/fostering/
Links Related to Co-Teaching

 

After Session 2

 

 

 

Special Education Teacher Interview.

General modifications for Special Education

Written work details Assignments will be received and responded to primarily by email. If for some reason that doesn’t work, the U.S. mail service will be used. All written work should be submitted in APA style and should include supporting citations whenever appropriate. Feedback will be provided on all work. When work is completed and final edits made, all papers should be inserted into the Portfolio 1 in Efolio.com, using the “basic” template in order to cut and paste the papers directly into the online portfolio.

Minority Relations Papers

Background paper: Write a 3-5 page descriptive paper on your understanding of (standard 2) minority group relations including Native American history and one or two of the remaining general topics:

Characteristic

Wow - 5

OK – 4

Oops - 3

Native American historical information

An clear effort is made to describe the historical plight of at least one WI Tribe

Brief mention of the history of several tribes occurs in the paper

Native American history is discussed, but is quite general, not WI focused

Prejudice and its implications

These are discussed thoroughly as they affect Native Americans or other minorities in WI

Prejudice is discussed in broad terms that do not relate to WI groups

A brief statement about prejudice is made, but is not expanded in a meaningful way

Writing quality

The writing is clear and concise, using proper APA style for citations and references

Writing is clear and concise, with some minor APA errors

No effort is made to properly cite works in the paper.

Experiences paper: Write a 2-3 page reflection on your personal experiences with minority group relations (standard 10), addressing both of these topics and using personal anecdotes where possible.

Characteristic

Wow - 5

OK – 4

Oops - 3

Discuss how discrimination affects schools

Clearly discusses prejudice and its effect on students, faculty, instruction and assessment

Discussion overemphasizes one or two of the 4 areas stated in ‘Wow’  

Discrimination and prejudice are discussed in very general terms,

Personal experience

Thorough description of personal experience with a minority group or as a minority and lessons learned through the experience

Personal experience is described, but lessons learned are not explicitly stated

General experience of minority relations discussed, no personal example.

Writing mechanics

Few, minor errors

Some errors

Many errors

Assessment Paper

Write a 3- to 5-page discussing ways to incorporate standardized assessment in planning instructional approach. Include the following in your discussion:

Characteristic

Wow - 5

OK – 4

Oops – 3

Your impressions on Standardized assessment

Discussion shows a clear understanding of standardized assessment and its use in education

Comments indicate an unclear understanding of standardized assessment.

Standardized assessment is used in ways that are inconsistent with its common definition

WKCE interpretation

A school’s WKCE scores are discussed thoroughly for all subjects in one year and some comparisons are drawn to at least one other year

WKCE scores are discussed for only a few of the provided subjects or only for one year

WKCE scores are discussed in ways that are inconsistent with the terms used for reporting

Demographic data

Demographics are thoroughly discussed  for the reported school’s data, especially paying attention to how student performance varies in the subgroups for that school

One particular demographic category is discussed in detail, the others are only mentioned briefly

Demographic data is glossed over in generalities

Writing mechanics

Few, minor errors

Some errors

Many errors

Curriculum unit components

Standard 7: Outline a semester plan for one class and indicate where this curriculum unit fits into the semester plan. Connect topics to the Wisconsin Model Academic Standards: http://dpi.wi.gov/standards/disciplinaryliteracy.html

Characteristic

Wow - 5

OK – 4

Oops – 3

Long range plan fits student needs

Plan is clearly written and logical in its progression

Plan has some detail and logic, but is unclear in some minor way

Plan is too general for actual use

Plan supports WI standards

Plan shows links to WI state standards, with standards numbers listed by topics

Only most general topics have standards listed

Plan is not linked to the WMAS in a consistent way.

Writing mechanics

Few, minor errors

Some errors

Many errors

Standard 8: Formative and summative assessments including at least one performance assessment.

Characteristic

Wow 5

OK – 4

Oops – 3

Rubric

Rubric is well written, with clear differences between levels of performance

Rubric is too general to be a learning tool for students

Rubric does not assess primary components of the task

Other assessment

Directions and information is clear and focused on meaningful learning goals

Some of the assessment is focused on trivial ideas, not important learning goals

A significant portion of the assessment is focused on surface level learning like definitions

Writing mechanics

Few, minor errors

Some errors

Many errors

Standard 3: Describe modifications you would make to daily lesson plans for students with special needs and English language learners.

Characteristic

Wow 5

OK – 4

Oops – 3

Modifications for special needs including explicitly planned RtI and/or co-teaching.

Good general descriptions of several modifications that could be made for struggling learners in activities and assessments. RtI and co-teaching strategies are included

General descriptions of modifications that could be made for struggling learners in activities and assessments.

only one type of modification is described, little flexibility of strategy use

Modifications for English language learners for all learning activities

Several modifications appropriate for ELL’s are included specifically

Modifications for ELL’s seems to be the same thing over and over

Nothing really provided to help ELL students achieve

Writing mechanics

Few, minor errors

Some errors

Many errors

Special Education Teacher Interview

Standard 9: Interview a special education teacher and write a description of the interview and your response to the ideas, which should include the following.

Characteristic

Wow - 5

OK – 4

Oops – 3

RtI

The role of RtI is described, along with additional steps in referring a student for SpEd

Either RtI or referral explanation is not fully described

RtI steps are mentioned, but not explained enough to be usable

Roles of Reg Ed and Sp Ed teachers

The roles of both Reg and SpEd teachers are described, especially in terms of what each does to aid student learning

Teachers’ roles in student learning are not fully elaborated

Teacher roles are highly stereotypical or poorly described

IEP

Description of the IEP process is clear and detailed

IEP process is a little confusing or unclear

IEP is only briefly mentioned

 Co-teaching

Detailed description of actual co-teaching or an idealized view of what co-teaching would look like, if the teacher hasn’t done this

Co-teaching description is incomplete or unclear

Idealized view is completely unrealistic and no actual co-teaching was discussed

Writing mechanics

Few, minor errors

Some errors

Many errors

Grading Criteria

Grade will be based on overall percent of points earned.

Grading Scale

A

90-100%

B

80-89%

C

70-79%

NC

below 70%

Writing Center & Library Services

Saint Mary’s University’s Twin Cities Campus Library is available to help students access online and print resources, develop search strategies, find scholarly sources, evaluate information, and more.  Please see the Library Web page. For further assistance, contact a librarian at the Twin Cities Campus Library at 612-728-5108 or toll-free at 866-437-2788, ext. 108.

 

Norda Policies for Successful Completion

Portfolio
Progress in our certification program is based on two portfolios:

Twenty (20) Hours Pre-Practicum Experience Requirement

(Standard 9) Complete a practicum with the minimum of twenty (20) hours in a school of your choice. This can be accomplished in the following ways: by substitute teaching, “permit” teaching with a placement minimum of twenty (20) hours, or through classroom observation. This practicum must be monitored by an experienced teacher or a school administrator. Include observations/experience with the special needs student population in an inclusive classroom. (Practicum can be completed when enrolled in either EDWN 601 or EDWN 600. It must be completed prior to the student teaching placement.)
Write a daily or weekly reflective journal detailing your practicum experiences. Include descriptions of classroom/inclusion instructional activities, modifications/adaptations for exceptional students, events, student behavior management that you observe or participate in. Finally reflect on your experiences, by describing ways in which they have helped you understand and participate in teaching experiences.

To validate your practicum experiences, the mentor teacher or administrator must sign off on your experiences on the 20-Hours Documentation form.

Additional Assignments for Specific Certifications

Early Childhood Early/middle childhood practicum experience (Standard 3) This applies only to teachers to be licensed in birth to age 21 (agriculture, art, business, English as a second language, family & consumer education, music, health, physical education, technology, theatre, and world languages).

  • Write a 2- to 4-page paper describing your experiences in an early/middle childhood practicum.

Cooperatives PI 34.15(4)(a) Cooperative marketing and consumer cooperatives. (Standard 4) This applies only to teachers to be licensed in agriculture, economics, or social studies.

  • Read the web sites at http://norda.com/cooperatives.aspx and write a two-week instructional unit using age-appropriate concepts about cooperative marketing and consumer cooperatives. Unit should include: objectives, target age/grade level, 10 days of activities including an assessment.
Environmental Education PI 34.15(4)(b) Environmental education including the conservation of natural resources. (Standard 4) This applies only to teachers to be licensed in agriculture. science, or social studies.
  • You must attend a Project Wild, WET or PLT workshop. We offer two, face-to-face workshops each year or you can attend one offered by other facilitators.
  • Use the curriculum materials you receive at the work shop to design a two-week instructional unit to help students learn some of the major conceps of environmental education. Unit should include: objectives, target age/grade level, 10 days of activities including an assessment.