Running head: PLANNING, PREPARATION, INSTRUCTION, ASSESSMENT 1

Planning, Preparation, Instruction, and Assessment

Ahna Mitchell

Regent University
PLANNING, PREPARATION, INSTRUCTION, ASSESSMENT 2

Planning, Preparation, Instruction, and Assessment

Introduction

Planning and preparation is one of the most important parts of engaging students and

being an effective teacher. Creating lessons that engage students' makes the teaching aspect much

more manageable. Effective teachers choose substantial activities, tasks, and assignments that

spark student's interest, which results in more understanding and gain of the knowledge. Teachers

then need to assess students before, during, and after instruction to know the next steps that are

necessary to take for students to have a full understanding of the material.

During student teaching, I have learned how to be a successful educator by knowing the

level of understanding my students have of a standard both before and after my instruction. It is

impossible to plan a practical lesson unless I know what my students already know about the

topic. Also, it is impossible to know if a lesson was useful or not unless I know what my students

know about the subject after my instruction. To be a good educator, one must plan lessons based

on student's needs, interests, and academic level.

Rationale for Selection of Artifacts

For my artifacts, I chose two lessons that aligned together and followed the same SOL.

Each lesson catered to a different objective that laid in the same standard. For the past week, I

had been working on drawing conclusions and summarizing in poetry with my students. These

two lessons were developed to test how my students understood those standards. For the first

lesson, I tested my students on drawing conclusions and making inferences using the text as

support (ELA.4.5.2). The second lesson tested the students on summarizing plot events in poetry

(ELA.4.5.4). My cooperating teacher and I worked together to develop and plan how we were to
PLANNING, PREPARATION, INSTRUCTION, ASSESSMENT 3

execute these two lessons and exactly how we were to test our students' knowledge on each

standard objective.

The first lesson catered towards SOL ELA.4.5.2, drawing conclusions and making

inferences using the text as support. In this lesson, the students and I went back and reviewed

previous lessons and stories where we found narrative elements. We discussed the learning

target, which was that we could draw conclusions in poetry by noticing the narrative elements in

the text. We did this by going through a poem titled 'Birdfoot's Grampa' by Joseph Bruchac.

During the reading, I stopped and discussed with my student's different types of narrative

elements that are in the poem. While talking, I displayed the poem for the students on the

promethium board and gave each student their copy as well. The students and I highlighted, and I

had them turn and talk to their neighbors while I rotated around the room to see if students were

articulating the narrative elements.

Once the students were done discussing, we moved on to a poem titled 'The Great

Woolly Bear Hunt' by Jim Walling/Alamy. Once I read the poem, the students independently in

partners discussed the narrative elements that they noticed. After the students had a few minutes

to discuss and highlight what they needed, I gave them all an exit ticket on 'The Great Woolly

Bear Hunt' that tested their knowledge on identifying narrative elements and drawing

conclusions. The data that I got back from these exit tickets helped me to review with my

students on the next day. It also helped me to see where my students were and who may need

some small group time on drawing conclusions on narrative elements.

For my second artifact, I chose the part two of the lesson above. This lesson focused on

SOL ELA.4.5.4, summarizing plot events. During this lesson, my students and I went through

'The Great Woolly Bear' poem again and fill out a graphic organizer together to determine the
PLANNING, PREPARATION, INSTRUCTION, ASSESSMENT 4

series of events and summarize the poem. We discussed the narrative events and touched on

areas where I had noticed, from the exit ticket, some of my students needed to revisit. From

there, we moved on to filling our the organizer together, discussing narrative elements, and

determining the details that are most important to find the plot.

As a class, we then moved on back to 'Birdfoot's Grampa.' The students later received an

organizer and exit ticket. I used these two tools to determine the understanding of my students

thought process on summarizing a poem. With this data, my cooperating teacher and I learned

who needed more guidance in summarizing the plot. Those that did need more help were

grouped, and throughout the next week, met with me to discuss and assist in how and why we are

to summarize the plot in poems.

Reflection on Theory and Practice

Planning and preparation are indistinguishably linked with assessment and instruction. A

teacher cannot instruct or assess without bright and precise planning and preparation of lessons

and activities. I have learned through my planning and preparation classes at Regent that it is

exceedingly essential to plan with a balance between the course/subject expectations and the

needs of your students as well. "Effective planning must be accompanied and informed by

knowledge of the learners, assessment literacy, instructional literacy, and inclusive practices"

(Planning, Assessment, and Evaluation, 2011). To set your students up for success, it is vital to

meet them where they are academically before scaffolding into new learning.

A teacher's teaching begins before they even walk into the classroom. Before each lesson,

the teacher plans the content of instruction, gather materials, design activities, paces their

lessons, and maps out the instructional time, all while identifying the learning opportunities for

each student. Teachers also apply their knowledge of research-based practices to plan strategies
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and techniques for delivering instruction. "The most informative source for all of the

instructional planning is the student" (Instructional Planning). Once the learning objectives are

developed, teachers are then able to translate their instructional plans into action.

Classroom assessment that is fair and provides accurate information about student

achievement can serve to support instructional improvement and increase a student's motivation

and success. "Assessment is a central component of a teacher's professional practice, without

which it would be difficult for teachers to make evidence-based claims about student learning"

(Juhler, 2018). When assessment for learning has been used correctly, it has proved to contribute

to positive learning gains. While at Regent, I have learned that practical assessment occurs when

there is a clear understanding of the knowledge and skills students are expected to demonstrate

as a result of their learning in each grade. The main purpose and primary goal for all teachers is

to assess students to improve their knowledge and understanding on that particular subject.

Assessment is for the student to grow and achieve any goals that they might layout or be laid out

by the teacher.
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References

Instructional Planning. (n.d.). Teacher Keys Effectiveness System. Retrieved from

https://www.gadoe.org/School-Improvement/Teacher-and-Leader-

Effectiveness/Documents/TKES LKES Documents/TKES Fact Sheets/Fact Sheet TKES

Performance Standard 2.pdf

Juhler, M. V. (2018). Assessment of Understanding: Student Teachers' Preparation,

Implementation, and Reflection of a Lesson Plan for Science. Research in Science

Education, 48(3), 515–532. https://doi-org.ezproxy.regent.edu/10.1007/s11165-016-

9574-2

Planning, Assessment, and Evaluation. (2011). Retrieved April 6, 2020, from

https://www.bgcdsb.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_5912063/File/NTIP/Ministry

docs/Plan_assess_evaluate.pdf
PLANNING, PREPARATION, INSTRUCTION, ASSESSMENT 7

Woolly Bear Hunt Exit Ticket Data

Table 1

Lesson 6

Students All Right Missed 1 Missed 2 Missed 3 Absent

Student 1 X
Student 2 X
Student 3 X
Student 4 X
Student 5 X
Student 6 X
Student 7 X
Student 8 X
Student 9 X
Student 10 X
Student 11 X
Student 12 X
Student 13 X
Student 14 X
Student 15 X
Student 16 X
Student 17 X
Student 18 X
Student 19 X
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Birdfoot's Grandpa Exit Ticket Data

Lesson 7

Students All Right Missed 1 Missed All Absent

Student 1 X
Student 2 X
Student 3 X
Student 4 X
Student 5 X
Student 6 X
Student 7 X
Student 8 X
Student 9 X
Student 10 X
Student 11 X
Student 12 X
Student 13 X
Student 14 X
Student 15 X
Student 16 X
Student 17 X
Student 18 X
Student 19 X