10 Impact on Student Learning Project

Impact on Student Learning Project

Within this chapter, you will find helpful information that speak directly to Course Objective #8 (Plan and complete an “Impact on Student Learning” project that demonstrates your teaching knowledge, skills, and dispositions, as well as the impact your presence had on your students’ learning).

Purpose:

The Impact on Student Learning Project gives you the opportunity to:

• Determine the impact of your instruction on your students’ learning;
• Use assessments to make data-driven informed decisions about instruction;
• Analyze and communicate your students’ performance results; and
• Reflect on your teaching performance.

Overview:

You may hear other professors, or students, referring to the Impact on Student Learning Project as the Checkpoint 3 Portfolio. This was what it was called previously. However, it is now referred to as the Impact on Student Learning, or ISL Project. The purpose of the ISL Project is to provide an opportunity for you to demonstrate your ability to effectively plan, implement, evaluate, and adapt instruction to meet your students’ needs.

Throughout your student teaching placement, you will have many opportunities to plan for teaching and implement those plans in your assigned classroom. For this particular project, rather than focusing on all of those opportunities, you will narrow your selection to one specific unit, and this unit will become your case study detailing your instructional practice, your impact on your students’ learning, and your reflective practice.

Your ISL Project will consist of the following sections, and should be labeled correctly throughout the work:

• Cover Page
• Teaching Philosophy Statement
• Section One: Contextual Factors
• Section Two: Planning and Instruction
• Section Three: Pre/Post-Test Assessments
• Section Four: Analysis of Pre/Post-Test Assessment Data (Graphic and Narrative)
• Section Five: Professional Learning and Reflection

At the end of this section, you will find a Word document that follows the guideline explained below. You will use that Word document to complete the required ISL Project. If you have any questions along the way, do not hesitate to contact the instructor for help.

Sections Comprising the ISL Project:

• Cover Page – The cover page, otherwise known as the title page, contains your school and its address, the title of this class, your name, and semester/date of submission.
• Teaching Philosophy Statement – See previous section on how to write your teaching philosophy statement.
• Section One: Contextual Factors – This section includes basic demographics of your students, as well as the school and the classroom learning community. For some of you, the contextual factors may change depending on the day or the period (i.e., Secondary Teachers or Specialist Teachers). For others, it will remain the same all day, every day (i.e., Elementary Teachers).
  • Purpose: As you consider the IOSL Project, it is wise for you to reflect on all of the contextual factors because they will influence your teaching and your students’ ability to learn. As you develop your instructional plans, consider the characteristics of the school and classroom, as well as the individual needs of your students.
  • Task: List the relevant contextual factors including community and school information, classroom information, student characteristics, and accommodations/modifications – all of which will provide valuable information needed as you plan, teach, and assess. In addition, include any supports and/or challenges that may impact instruction and student learning.
  • Prompt: In the Contextual Factors Section, include the following in the table provided below:

• Section Two: Planning and Instruction – This section relies on the use of your IUSB-approved lesson plan templates as you create a series of lessons that comprise a unit of study. The plans must include developmentally-appropriate learning goals aligned with state standards, specific learning objectives, plans for communicating clear expectations to the students, overall methods of instruction, and how to assess your students’ learning during the process (including pre-tests, formative assessments, and post-tests). Furthermore, effective use of technology must be represented throughout the unit.
  • Purpose: Plan appropriate and challenging learning goals/objectives and develop measurable and observable objectives for your chosen unit of study. Consider varying the levels by using Bloom’s Taxonomy and Depth of Knowledge when planning measurable objectives. (Note: See section titled, “Creating Measurable Learning Objectives”.) Also include all components required by the IUSB-approved lesson plan templates.
  • Task: Using the appropriate Indiana Department of Education Standards, and after consulting your mentor teacher, think of an appropriate topic for the unit of study you will be creating. The topic will include overarching goals and a purpose for study. Underneath the overarching goals and purpose, you will create daily learning objectives and purposes. (Note: As you develop daily measurable and observable objectives, ensure that all are student-oriented, developmentally appropriate, and written in clear and understandable terms. Vary the levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy/Depth of Knowledge used to challenge the students on different levels.) Complete all lesson plans included within the unit of study.
  • Prompt: In the Planning and Instruction Section, include your daily lesson plans and using the IUSB-approved lesson plan templates.

• Section Three: Pre/Post-Test Assessments – This section includes the pre- and post-test assessments provided throughout, including formative and summative assessments.
  • Purpose: Provide an overview of your assessment plan depicting alignment between your unit’s purposes/goals and objectives, as well as the relationship between each daily purpose/goal and objective.
  • Task: Design an assessment plan to monitor student progress toward mastering objectives. Plan a pre-assessment, a variety of formative assessments, and a post-assessment (summative). Discuss how students’ progress was monitored and. how assessment results were communicated to your students.
  • Prompt: In the Pre/Post-Test Assessment Section, include the following listed below:
    • Assessment Plan Overview:
      • Provide an overview of the assessment plan. The purpose of this overview is to depict the alignment between purposes/goals, objectives, and assessments to meet the individual needs of students based on contextual factors  as identified in Part One.
      • Vary assessments by type. Instead of giving a quiz or the same type of assessment every day, use a variety of assessments.
      • Make sure each daily assessment assesses the objective for that day.
      • Describe the need for the accommodations/modifications based on individual needs of students based on contextual factors, for each accommodations/modifications to an assessment listed. If no accommodation/modification is necessary for an assignment, state that.
      • Include accommodations/modifications that may be made to the pre- and post-assessments (summative) to meet the needs of individual students based on the contextual factors.
      • Discuss alignment to objectives and include a rationale for each accommodation.modification based on individual needs of students or contextual factors.
    • Pre-Assessment and Post-Assessment (Summative Assessment):
      • Include copies of the pre-assessment and post-assessment (summative) and scoring guides (scoring rubric, answer key, etc.). Include any prompts, and/or student directions that may be needed.
      • Provide descriptions of the pre- and post-assessments (summative), how they are aligned with daily objectives, and when they will be administered.
      • Establish criteria that will be used to determine mastery for pre- and post-assessments (summative) that indicate high expectations (75% or higher on the assessment).
    • Daily Assessments (Formative Assessments):
      • Include evidence of the daily assessments (formative) that will be used each day (quizzes, journal prompts, exit tickets, observation checklists, etc.) and scoring guides (checklist, rubric, etc.).
      • Use multiple methods of assessments by type (Avoid using a journal prompt each day).
      • Describe how student progress using daily assessments will be tracked during the unit.
      • Explain the reasoning for selecting the daily assessments that will be used during the unit.
      • Discuss how specific assessments address individual differences.

• Section Four: Analysis of Pre/Posttest Assessment Data
  • Assessment Data:
    • Create a student assessment data table for tracking individual student progress on the pre-assessment, all formative (daily) assessments, and the post-assessment (summative) in an organized and easy to read format.
    • Establish criteria for determining mastery or non-mastery on the assessment for each assessment in your data table. Describe after your table.
    • Ensure that each daily assessment reflects mastery or non-mastery of the daily objective and is recorded on the table.
    • Discuss how students will be given opportunities to review and communicate about their own progress and learning.
  • Communication of Assessment Results:
    • Discuss a plan for communicating individual assessment expectations to the students.
    • Discuss a plan for communicating individual assessment results and feedback to the students. Include how students will know they are progressing throughout the unit and upon completion of the unit.
    • Describe a plan for encouraging students to monitor their own progression throughout the unit and take responsibility for their own learning.
    • Consider additional areas of discussion, which could include but are not limited to a variety of strategies for communicating feedback to all students.

• Section Five: Professional Learning and Reflection 
  • • • • Purpose for Part Four: Consider the contextual factors, characteristics of the classroom, individual students, and design appropriate instruction that utilizes research-based strategies and technology to help students master objectives for the unit of study.
        • Reflective Task: Provide the instructional unit. Describe the pre-assessment results and implications based on the pre-assessment results. Describe instructional strategies that engage students in critical thinking, problem solving, and provide differentiated instruction to meet the needs of diverse students as outlined in the Contextual Factors section. Describe research-based strategies and technology that will be used throughout the unit. Describe a plan for communicating individual student progress to parents/guardians.
        • Writing Prompt: In the Instructional Design section, include the following:
          • 4.1. Accommodations/modifications to instruction based on pre-assessment data analysis:
            • Analyze student performance relative to the learning goals and objectives, after administering and evaluating the pre-assessment.
            • Create a table to help analyze the data. In the table, record students’ responses or scores to individual questions on the pre-assessment or to groups of questions based on the objective assessed.
            • Determine patterns in the data that will show implications for making accommodations/modifications to instruction once student responses are recorded.
            • Describe any pattern found that will guide instruction.
            • Consider including a research-based rationale for the accommodations/modifications.
          • 4.2. Differentiation:
            • Describe at least one example from your unit where you developed a meaningful and authentic learning experience that includes differentiation. Describe how you differentiated the instruction to accommodate developmental and individual needs of each learner in the group.
            • Ensure that the activity is learner-centered and provides differentiation to meet the specific needs of individual students as described in the contextual factors section.
          • 4.3. Technology – Teacher Candidate:
            • Describe how technology is used to facilitate and analyze student learning (learning management systems, interactive websites, virtual learning, videoconferencing, digital learning, interactive tutorials, mentoring, and collaboration).
            • Describe how the use of technology will facilitate higher level skills such as analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating and not just by playing games online.
          • 4.4. Technology – Student Use:
            • Describe how students use technology for learning and understanding. Students should use technology to research, create, communicate, and present. Students should use technology to facilitate higher level skills such as analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating and not just by playing games online.
          • 4.5. Plan for Parent/Guardian Communication:
            • Describe the plan for disseminating general information about the unit and how specific information about individual student progress was provided to parents/guardians.
            • Provide copies of any parent/guardian communication created for the unit.

As promised, here is the Word document that follows the above structure. The associated rubrics are also included below.

Impact on Student Learning Project

ELED ISL Rubric

English ISL Rubric

ENL Conc ISL Rubric

Foreign ISL Rubric

InTASC ISL-IEP Rubric

Math ISL Rubric

Science ISL Rubric

Soc Studies ISL Rubric

SPED IEP Rubric