PLANNING, PREPARATION, INSTRUCTION, AND ASSESSMENT 1

Planning, Preparation, Instruction, and Assessment

Joanne Van Zyl

Regent University
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Introduction

Planning, Preparation, Instruction, and Assessment are key components to teaching.

Quantitative results are first taken of students to test what they already know regarding any given

subject. Lesson plans are then altered to meet students needs, while following the guidelines of

SOL objectives. Small groups are pulled to address students’ needs individually. Summative

assessments are then conducted during the unit to gauge which students are proficient or

developing proficiency in the subject. Finally, a formal assessment is conducted to assess

students final knowledge at the end of the unit, followed by data collection from the teachers to

form instruction going forward. These aspects of teaching make up the day to day

implementation of content and are highly based in students’ academic success. Organization,

patience, and discipline are necessary skills in order to fully implement instruction.

Rationale for Selected Artifacts

The first artifact I have chosen is a sample of a summative assessment given to assess the

student’s knowledge on structures of nature, according to their developmental level. The

assessment outlined the SOL objectives specific to Virginia Beach standards. The student scored

proficiency in two specific areas, developing proficiency in one area, and an advanced

proficiency in another. On the assessment, I provided much feedback to the student and was able

to give the assessment back to them for them to review and correct. This part of instruction was

crucial, as I was able to collect data on the competency of students in specific areas, while also

allowing students to fully grasp the material before moving onto the second half of the unit.

Because most students only scored adequately in this area, especially in regards to the different

levels of an ecosystem, I made a point to spend a day using visual aids, and having students
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interact with the lesson to express their new understanding of the topic. This artifact shows one

piece of the result of my instruction, and allows me to explain how it affected the rest of the unit

and student understanding moving forward.

The second artifact is quantitative data collected from a Math Quarterly assessment. The

score reports were thoroughly discussed in teacher collaboration sessions. Ms. Crichton and I

then resolved to separate students into small groups to focus on each of their areas of struggle.

We also altered our instruction to provide for more time spent on guided practice with students to

help them show their thought process, rather than teaching them memorization strategies to solve

computation problems. The data was also used in the students’ morning work, where they

practice these skills that they struggle everyday, regardless of unit taught during the designated

math block, to increase their understanding of the particular skill.

I have included two additional artifacts to this competency that relates to my preparation

and data analysis of SOL standards. The first artifact includes a data analysis of five word study

quizzes given over the course of five weeks. This chart I have constructed documents the growth

and progress of students studying long vowel sounds for word study. Due to this data, three word

study groups were formed in accordance to their competency in this skills. Students practice

these skills throughout the week with various word sorts. From this data, I have also been able to

form a separate word study focus group who are in the 0-50 percentile. Every morning, I pull this

group aside and practice long and short vowel sounds, so they may receive extra practice in this

area. At the end of the week, I evaluate them on their growth in these skills, until they have

achieved mastery in this area. My additional artifact is a sample of a word study plan I have used

for this group.

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Reflection on Theory and Practice

The article “Why Teachers Must be Data Experts” (Morrison, 2009) discusses the

importance of data implementation into all realms of instruction and emphasizing that data

collection should not only be applied to end of the year standardized testing scores but for

summative assessments, pre assessments, exit tickets and student response journals as well.

Morrison (2009) explains that this form of data collection should be seen as a beneficial way for

teachers to ensure the learning styles of their particular students to achieve success, and provides

a way to constantly improve and differentiate instruction. I fully agree with Morrison’s (2009)

approach as I believe that instruction is completely dependent on measuring students’

competencies in every area of comprehension, as I have had constant experience with applying

assessment results to my daily instruction.

The chapter “The Critical Importance of Well-Prepared Teachers for Student Learning

and Achievement” (National Research Council, 2000, pp. 45-48) explains the importance of

teacher preparation to student success. The chapter explains how many teachers regard their

students’ successes to their own academic capabilities and take less and less responsibilities for

their students’ achievements and failures. I agree with this chapter’s premise as it is quite

difficult to accept responsibility for so many students’ success, especially given students with

intellectual disabilities, compliance issues, and attention deficit disorders. However, a teacher’s

willingness to differentiate instruction so every student has the potential to succeed provides a

much smaller gap between students who are struggling and those who are thriving.

The article “Best practices in summative assessment” (Kibble, 2017) describes the

different elements that make up a summative assessment, and why collecting data from these
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assessments is just as crucial as collecting formal and standardized data. Kibble (2017) explains

how summative assessments measure students’ thought processes and should always be

measured to state and localized guidelines, lead a clear objective of quality work depending on

the students’ final product, and showing an accurate representation of student comprehension. I

have graded quite a few summative assessments in my student teaching experience, and I have

noticed the difficulty of measuring one student’s comprehension to another, as student verbiage

and learning styles vary immensely. However, through practice and careful guidance of my

cooperating teacher, I have been able to accurately assess students by the local standards in their

summative evaluations.

Psalm 32:8 (ESV) states “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I

will counsel you with my eye upon you.” This verse’s context is referring to God’s counsel and

guidance over us. The verse defines how instruction is not only to present new information, but

to carry students throughout the learning process by providing close moderation and assessing to

their overall needs so that their full potential as learners can be met. Although paying the same

attention to each individual student’s academic success may be difficult, I use this verse as

inspiration to provide guidance to my students by collecting data on their areas of comprehension

that could be improved and knowing how to use their learning styles to help them excel in my

future classroom.
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References

Kibble, J. D. (2017). Best practices in summative assessment. ​Advances in Physiology

Education,41​(1), 110-119. doi:10.1152/advan.00116.2016

Morrison, J. (january 2009). Why Teachers Must Be Data Experts. ​Data: Now What?,66​(4).

National Research Council. (2000). The Critical Importance of Well-Prepared Teachers for
Student Learning and Achievement. In ​Educating Teachers of Science, Mathematics, and
Technology: New Practices for the New Millennium​(pp. 44-48). Washington, DC: The
National Academies Press. doi:10.17226/9832