Tonya Bettineschi

Impact on Student Learning

EDCI 419
Dr. Foster
 Contextual Information

1. Knowledge of characteristics of students

● Age-Range, Gender, Total number of students
· 10th grade social studies classroom. For the most part, the students are all 10th
graders, there are some 11th graders that we teach throughout the day. These students
are either retaking the class because they had failed last year, or they are transfers from
other schools and have to take this course because they have not done so yet. On
average, the students that we teach are aged 15 through 17. There are about 700
students that attend Lafayette High School and the school continues to grow at a
significant rate each and every year. As a result, Mr. McLaughlin teaches about 97
students between all 5 World History classes. There are an additional 15 students who
take Mr. McLaughlin’s 4th period Advanced World Geography class as well, bringing the
total number of students to 112. There about 61 are male and 51 are female students.
In first period, 24 students: 15 female, 9 male In 3rd period there are 15 students: 7
female and 8 male. In 5th period there are 23 students: 12 female and 10 male. The 6th
period class has 22 students: 12 female and 10 male, and the 7th period class has 13
students: 5 female and 8 male.

● Achievement Levels (Remedial, Average, Advanced/ Accelerated, or specify range in

percentiles or grade-equivalent)
Lafayette High School prides itself in educating the “whole student”. The school stresses
the importance of academics in addition to sports and extracurricular activities as well. As a
whole, Lafayette High School has been ranked as a “superior” school according to the
Mississippi Department of Education. In the high school there are about 250 students, about 10%
of the students, who have an Individualized Education Program (IEP). These students receive
accommodations in the classroom in order to aid them in the process of learning. Of course, not
every aspect of the school is going to be superior. In Mr. McLaughlin’s class, there are some
students who are still struggling in the subject or who simply lack the motivation to succeed in
the classroom. All students are given the opportunity to learn in the classroom. Mr. McLaughlin
arranges the seating chart at the end of every 9 weeks to make sure that students who are
struggling are moved to the front of the classroom. This is his strategy to make sure that a
student’s grade is not determined by seat placement. Struggling students are moved to the front
to hopefully gain their attention and hold them more accountable for their performance in the
class.

● Socio-Economic Description
Throughout the entire Lafayette School District, there are about 2,500 students.
Approximately 58% percent of the students in this district are on free and reduced lunch. The
school however, sees students of many different economic backgrounds, mostly students come
from middle class families. A large majority of the students have their own cell phones,
computers, and cars that they drive to school.

● Typical Demeanor of Students

The students in Mr. McLaughlin’s class are very respectful and well-behaved. There are
hardly any behavior issues that we have to address during the class period. The students come
into class and they seem to know how to act. If they see a Bell Ringer on the board, they know
how to go about answering it and the process of completing their work. They are aware of what
Mr. McLaughlin expects from them and their work and they usually get down to business
immediately. The students know to put their phones away in the phone holder which is on the
wall, but this is their choice. If they decide to hold onto it, they know they must keep it in their
pockets or it will be taken from them. For the most part, phones are never an issue in the class.
The students all seem to have a great attitude towards learning, however, it is sometimes hard to
gain and keep their interest. I noticed while teaching sometimes that the students are bored,
rolling their eyes, or daydreaming. When I am able to notice this I try to pick up the pace, speak
louder, and sound more enthusiastic. By doing this, I have noticed that students perk up more. I
begin to see more faces light up and they seem to be more engaged. Throughout my lesson, I try
to incorporate lessons and activities that are going to keep the students involved in the lesson. I
am going to use group work, videos, discussions, in order to spark their interests.

● Typical Interest and Involvement of Students

· I created an interest survey that I passed out to every World History class. I asked the
students to fill out the questions as honestly as possible. Some of the questions asked the students
about their interests in their personal lives. I asked them what they did after school. For the most
part, students responded that they participated in after school activities on the campus of
Lafayette High School. Many of the students participate in school sports such as football,
baseball, cheerleading, and basketball. A very large majority of the students said that they are
members of the school’s Junior ROTC program. I noticed prior to this survey that ROTC is a
very important part of the school. They whole practices in the hallway after school is out,
students are required to wear their uniforms on Thursdays, and many students expressed their
interests in continuing ROTC once they go off to college. In addition to sports, many of the
students are members of other clubs. Many of the students wrote that they are members of
Young Life programs and theatre groups. For the students who said they do not participate in
after school activities, many of them said that they like to go home and watch tv or play on their
computers. I also asked the students if they had any responsibilities besides school. I learned that
many of my students hold jobs and are responsible for household chores.

2. Knowledge of students’ varied approaches to learning (Include information from

learning styles inventory)
In this survey, I also wanted to get to know about the student’s academic interests. I
asked the students how they liked to learn. A lot of them said they liked working in small groups
so they can express their ideas and ask their peers for help. For the students that said they prefer
to work alone explained that they do not like groups because they feel other students copy their
work and slack off. Learning this about my students was beneficial in drafting my unit plan
because I brainstormed ways in which to include group work but avoid students copying. I have
incorporated group work that is based off of a think, pair, share style or in a reverse style where
students brainstorm together but then have to answer questions and finish the activity on their
own.
 I also asked them what they wanted to learn about in history and what was their favorite
part about this class. Many students said they enjoy learning about wars and global conflicts.
Some said they like ancient civilizations and many others said that they were simply not
interested in history class. I learned a lot about the students through the survey and by talking
with some of them individually before class starts. I wanted to incorporate their interests into my
lesson plan and so I also asked them to describe a lesson they can remember and that help them
to learn the specific material. Through this, the students actually gave me a lot of ideas to include
in my lesson. Throughout this unit plan, you will see activities and learning strategies that were
suggested by the students. Things such as Socratic Circles, Hands On and Interactive Lessons,
Social Media Activities, and Trashketball Review Games were all suggested by the students and
I decided to incorporate these activities throughout my lesson in hopes to spark the students
interests and desire to learn about The Cold War.

3. Knowledge of students’ skills and prior learning

Many of the students in Mr. McLaughlin’s class have not taken a World History class
since middle school. For the most part, many of the students have very little knowledge about the
material we discuss in the class. Many of the terms and concepts discussed are new to them.
However, it seems that as we move closer and closer towards the 20th century, the students seem
to know a little bit more about each topic. For example, the students had little interest and
knowledge about nationalism and revolution in Russia. However, as we began talking about
World War 1 and the Great Depression, students seemed to have a little more background
knowledge than they did in previous lessons. World War 2 sparked the most interest out of any
of the lessons and moving into The Cold War, I am expecting students to know the most
considering it happened during the late 1945 and the effects continued on throughout the 1990’s.
These are just my assumptions, in order to actually calculate what they students know
about the Cold War era and what they do not know, I will include Diagnostic Assessments
throughout my unit plan. On day 1, there will be a pre-test given to see what the students know
about the end of World War 2 and the events that led into the Cold War. I will also perform
Formative Assessments that will measure what the students are learning throughout the lesson
and find what needs to be explained in more detail.

4. Knowledge of community and school district (Include a description of the community

and school district)
According to a census taken in 2010, the population of Lafayette County is just over
51,000 people. The governmental center of the county is in Oxford, MS. Oxford is home to the
University of Mississippi which continues to grow and attract thousands of students, faculty, and
tourist every year. Due to the growing popularity of the University of Mississippi, the population
of Oxford and therefore Lafayette County grows each and every year. As a result, the Lafayette
School District continues to grow as well. Throughout the years, Lafayette High School had to
make an extension on the building in order to hold all of its students grades 9 through 12. Every
year, the number of students in each grade increases.

Unit Summary
Throughout this unit, students will learn about The Cold War and its impact on the world. This unit is divided into 5
sections, each detailing specific events that occurred from 1945 to the 1990’s. At the beginning of the unit, students
will observe the effects of World War 2 and how this lead into increased tensions between the United States and the
Soviet Union and how they competed for dominance in the post war world. This unit will cover everything
mentioned in the textbook “Modern World History: Patterns of Interactions” that the students use in the classroom,
but we will go into far more detail about each event. Not only will students look at the two main players: The USSR
and the USA, but they will also see how the actions taken by these two countries led to massive consequences for
other nations as well. We want to make sure that the students fully understand the extent to which the Cold War was
fought and the significance it had on the world. By the end of this unit, students will be able to identify the causes of
the Cold War and how it brought about new international relations and policies.

Overall Goals

World History From the Age of Enlightenment to the Present

Domestic Affairs
1. Understand different political systems in the Modern Western World and their impact on the
respective societies that adopted them.
a. Compare and contrast governmental forms (Democracy, aristocracy/oligarchy,
absolutism, constitutionalism, totalitarianism, monarchy and republic) as practiced by the
societies that adopted them over time. (DOK2)

Global Affairs
3.Understand causes and consequences of contact, cooperation, and conflict (e.g.,diplomatic,
economic, political, cultural/ethnic, military, biological) between various societies, nations, and
groups of people.
b. Critique the successes and failures of initiatives to create international security (e.g.
League of Nations, United Nations, etc.) (DOK 3)
c. Analyze the causes, effects, and unique features of World War I and World War II in
terms of the changes in diplomatic relationships among the various countries involved.
(DOK 3)
d. Describe the causes of the Cold War and its effects on contemporary world
affairs.(DOK2)

4. Understand that increased interactions among people have resulted from:

technological and communication innovation, political and economic change, and demographic
and climate change.
a. Analyze the international developments in the post World War II world in terms of global
economic, military, and political power shifts (e.g., developments of nationalism in
Africa and the ―Middle East‖, the effects of the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan
in Southeast Asia, the collapse of the Soviet Union, etc.). (DOK4)

Civil Rights/ Human Rights

1.Understand rights in society and changing conception of rights (civil or human).
a. Identify and distinguish between the methods of proponents of civil or human rights and
the methods of their opponents since the Age of Enlightenment (e.g.,
Rousseau,Wollstonecraft, Blanqui, anarchists, Gandhi, Ho Chi Minh, Cesar Chavez).
(DOK 2)

Economics
6. Understand the economic causes and patterns of global change in the era of New
Imperialism in Africa, Southeast Asia, China, India, Latin America, and the
Philippines.
a. Analyze the role of imperialism, geography, and market economies in the development of
the economies of ―third world‖ nations in Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America and the
Philippines. (DOK 3)

7. Understand the development of various economic systems through time and place and how
those systems have shaped global relations.
a. Analyze the integration of countries into the world economy and roles of the
informational, technological and communication revolutions (e.g., steamship, the
telegraph, television, satellite, and computer) in that integration. (DOK 3)
b. Cite evidence of how the world has evolved from a multitude of economic systems to a
global interdependent economy. (DOK 3)
c. Draw conclusions using examples of how governments, international institutions
(e.g.,Napoleon‘s Continental System, GATT), and private corporations (e.g., East India
Company) have sought to regulate economics since the Age of Enlightenment. (DOK 3)

United States History From Post-Reconstruction to Present

Global Affairs
3. Understand how the global position of the United States has evolved as a result of
imperialism, economics, technological changes, and involvement in international wars and
conflicts.
a. Analyze the origins and development of the Cold War between the United States and the
Soviet Union and their respective allies, including ideology, technology, economics, and
geography. (DOK 3)
b. Explain and analyze America‘s role in international organizations, humanitarian
relief,and post-war reconstruction efforts throughout the 20th century. (DOK 3)

Integrated Mathematics iii : Geometry

G-CO.12.
Make formal geometric constructions with a variety of tools and methods (compass and
straightedge, string, reflective devices, paper folding, dynamic geometric software, etc.).
Copying a segment; copying an angle; bisecting a segment; bisecting an angle; constructing
perpendicular lines, including the perpendicular bisector of a line segment; and constructing a
line parallel to a given line through a point not on the line.

Critical Thinking
● Examples of higher level thinking questions that I incorporated into my lesson plans. I
included many others as I went along but the following questions were what I made sure
to hit on. The students were asked these questions and I would have them answer
questions like these in their Bell Ringer assignments.

● Why Was the Cold War called the Cold War?

● How do you think Vietnam and Korea would be similar or different? What problems
might they face?
 ● How does the “Forgotten War” represent the American attitude towards this war ?
● How do you think the music reflects the tension during this time period?
● If you were President Kennedy and you found out about the missiles in Cuba, which
option would you probably choose to do?
● How were missiles in Cuba going to be a threat to the United States?
● What do the students think about the actions that the United States government took to
prevent a nuclear war?
● Do you think the policy of Detente would be successful or unsuccessful? Do you think it
was a good plan?

Assessment Plan

Formal Assessments:
● Terms and ID’s
○ Graded work that is collected on test day. The students, at the beginning of the
chapter, are given a list of vocabulary words and key figures. The students need
to do research on and define these terms. When they turn it in, they are graded
on the accuracy and amount of the information that they have written.

Informal Assessments:
● Questions asked during the lesson
○ Before beginning a new lesson each day, I asked my students what they learned
prior to this and how that might relate. Below are a few of the questions I asked
on each day of my unit plan in order to check for understanding.
● Day 1 Exit Slip: How do you think WWII led to the Cold War?
● Day 2 Opener: What is a Metaphor? How is the Iron Curtain a
metaphor?
● Day 2 Exit Slip: List similarities and differences between the
Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan
● Day 3 Opener: Vocab pre-assessment game/ activity
● Day 4 Opener: The events of the Space Race
● Day 5 Opener: Why was the Cold War called the Cold War?
● Day 6 Exit Slip: What did you learn? What should we go back
over?
● Day 7 Exit Slip: True or False questions to see what they students
are confident in and what we will need to go back to work on
before the test.
● Day 8 Exit Slip: Yes or No poll to get the student’s opinions
● Reading Activity
○ Students read a document about the Containment Policy that was in place during
the Cold War. The students were to read them on their own and rewrite the
paragraphs in their own word. Having the students summarize what they read
allowed me to see if they understood it or not. The students also seemed more
likely to participate and understand the containment policy after this activity.

Traditional Assessments:
● Chapter Test
 ○ The Chapter 17 test included multiple choice and matching questions about the
material that was learned throughout the entire chapter.

Academic Prompts:
● Daily Bell Ringers.
○ These bell ringers are questions that will ask the students to recall information
from the prior day’s lesson and to expand upon what they have learned. The bell
ringers are then incorporated into either the opening for the days lesson, or used
to make a connection between two different events that happened during the
span of the Cold War. The bell ringers allow the students to think deeper about a
topic then they would just writing down notes. It helps them to see some
similarities and differences between the events and people that we are learning
about in class.

Pre and Post Tests

● Kahoot Quiz
○ The students took this on the first day of the lesson. It asked basic questions
about The Cold War. The students took it so that I could see where they stood on
prior knowledge about the Cold War.
● Exit Slips
○ These were used as post-lesson checks. I would ask the students questions
about the lesson they just learned. It would not include yes or no questions.
Instead, these questions were open ended. I did this to ensure that the students
actually understood what was going on in the lesson. I would use these exit slips
to see what I needed to quickly review on the following day.
● Kahoot Quiz
○ The Kahoot Quiz used on the first day was also incorporated into the end of the
chapter test. I did this to see how the students grew throughout the course of the
unit.
Performance Tasks

● Examples of performance tasks used in my 10 day lesson plan include

○ Yalta Conference Group Activity
■ Students get into groups of 3 and they read an article that relates to what
each country (USA, Britain, and USSR) needed or wanted after World
War II came to an end. The student would have to decide what was the
most important for the success of their country and they would have to
bring it to the negotiation table as if they were a big three leader at the
Yalta Conference.
○ Think, Pair, Share: The Iron Curtain
■ Political Cartoon activity where the students have to analyze the picture
and create questions to ask the other students
○ Berlin Wall Simulation Game
 ■ Students come into the classroom and are handed a card with vocabulary
words on them. They have to go around the room and ask each student
individually the definition on their card until they find the match. This is a
performance task because the students are not allowed to stop until they
know every vocabulary word.
■ While this activity is happening, the teacher has assigned a certain number
of students to serve as the secret police. They will be going around the
classroom until the lights shut off. At this point, they will line up in the
middle of the room essentially blocking the students in half. The students
will then be told what is going on.
■ This is a simulation of what happened in Berlin when the Berlin Wall was
constructed. The students will then be asked questions about what life in
Berlin might have been that day. Hopefully they will be able to relate a
“wall” in their classroom which is preventing them from going back to
their desks or bags to how people could not go back to their families or
jobs. This performance task will allow the students to see what happened
in real life.
○ Cuban Missile Crisis Maps
■ The students will use compasses in order to draw out the range of the
nuclear weapons that were placed in Cuba during the Cuban Missile
Crisis. They will research the range of destruction and convert it on the
map using the map’s scale. They will then pick out a city and research the
population and the significant events that were happening in that specific
location in 1962.
○ What Would You Do Simulation
■ This activity allows the students to see the five options President Kennedy
had when dealing with Soviet Missiles in Cuba during the Cuban Missile
Crisis. They will first write on the board what they think they would do or
what they think might be the best option to diffuse the situation. Then,
they will be able to use the website in order to find out what actually
happened and why.

Student Work Samples

● Students were given a pretest and a post test. The reason I decided to do this was to
see how the students improved throughout the course of the lesson. On the first week of
learning about the Cold War, I gave the students a unit test that included just about
everything that we would cover. Then on the last day, the students actually took the test
for real. The results of the post test showed that the students improved over time.
● I also included videos throughout my unit plan. I thought it was important for students to
see the important events of the Cold War for themselves. I asked the students to first
write down what they initially thought of the video. The next day, I asked them again to
try to remember important things that the video said and right down more. Again, the
grades went up as I asked the students to right not only facts, but things that were
interesting. The students seemed to remember the more interesting than factual
information from the videos.
● Another pre/post test activity I incorporated was a Kahoot. Before a lesson, I would have
the students use their phones to take a quick quiz. Then, as a closure activity I would
have them retake it. It showed how much they actually learned throughout the class
period. Kahoot was also helpful because it allowed me to see what the class was
struggling on and what I should do to improve the lesson for the next class.

Analysis
 The first graph pictured shows the student’s results on the pre-tests. The second graph
shows the analysis of the student’s achievement on the questions that were taken from the
pretest, reworded, and added onto the end of the chapter test. The students, for the most part
all improved from the pre to the post test. There were some questions, like #6, where the
students seemed to have difficulty in answering. This shows me that the next time I teach this
lesson, I need to go back and find a simpler or more efficient way to describe the concept of
satellite countries to the students.

Reflection

I think that analyzing student achievement on tests and performance tasks throughout the
course of the unit was very useful. I was able to see how the students improved over time. I
could also see what might be an issue for the students going further. When using classroom
analysis, you must first test the students prior knowledge before you get started on the unit. If
you do not do this, then it will not be effective.
I think that my strengths in the pre-assessment and the post-assessment were that I
incorporated the questions that were on the Kahoot on day one into my final unit test. Although I
used these questions again, I did not tell the students I was doing this. It was a long unit and so
I only reworded the questions on the test and I kept the content the same. I thought doing this
was very effective because it almost disguised the questions from the students. It was not
obvious that I was asking the exact same thing. I liked this idea because it prevented the
students from recalling what they had answered on the Kahoot and using the same answer.
This could have happened often, however, I made sure it didn’t. To the students, it was almost
like a question they had not seen before and so they had to rely on what they have learned in
order to answer. It was so useful because I was then able to compare their original answers to
what they wrote on the test and see if there were any improvements.
My major weakness during assessment analysis was that I did not have the ability to
submit the student grades into the school’s system myself. Keeping track of student’s grades
and work throughout the semester was very hard to do. If I could go back to the beginning of the
semester, I would try to ask my C.I. for help with tracking student achievement throughout the
course of each 9-week semester. I believe that this is a weakness in which I can overcome in
the future. I am sure that when I have my own classroom, I will be able to keep records of such
things and it will be more accessible to me.
Another thing I can work on is having more activity, assessments, lessons which student
improvement can be more easily tracked. For the most part, I rely on informal assessments in
my classroom. We take a lot of notes and so throughout each day’s lesson, I ask the students a
number of yes/no and open ended questions in order to evaluate their knowledge throughout
the lesson. I should come up with better ways to assess their knowledge instead of just have
conversational checks. This would allow me to enhance my student achievement analysis.