Running head: PLANNING, PREPPING, INSTRUCTION, AND ASSESSMENT page 1

Planning, Prepping, Instruction, and Assessment

Christina Tucker

Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 495 Field Experience ePortfolio, Spring 2020

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Introduction

Using data from assessments to plan instruction is an important skill for educators to

have. “This process of critically examining curriculum and instructional practices relative to

students' actual performance on standardized tests and other assessments yields data that help

teachers make more accurately informed instructional decisions” (Mertler, 2014, p. 2). There are

many helpful ways to incorporate data into instructional planning in order to help students to get

the most out of each lesson.

Rationale for Selection of Artifacts

My first artifact is a homework sheet from the Pythagorean Theorem unit. This sheet had

them label the parts of a right triangle, write the Pythagorean Theorem formula, find a missing

side of a right triangle and verify the Pythagorean Theorem. These are all questions that align

with the Virginia SOL 8.9. I used homework sheets as a way to not only have students practice

what the skills from the unit, but also to see what students are still struggling with. When there is

a commonly missed question, I would create different warm-up questions for the next class so I

can reiterate what was taught and let students open up about their questions. This reinforces

learning and helps students to take control of their learning.

My second artifact is a table of data that I made to show the number of students that

missed each problem on the homework sheet. This data shows that over half of the students who

turned their homework in missed question 7 and a similar amount missed question 6. These were

both questions where students needed to use the three side measurements given and use the
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Pythagorean Theorem to show whether it was or was not a right triangle. When I saw that many

students had not grasped this concept, I made a warm-up slide for the next day just focused on

verifying the Pythagorean Theorem. When I wrote my lesson plan, I made sure to think about

questions that were deeper level and would make students critically think. Questions I asked

were “why do we use the Pythagorean Theorem to verify right triangles” and “what does it

actually mean when we plug these numbers in and the sides are not equal?” These questions

make students think past just the process they have learned.

Reflection on Theory and Practice

As an educator, being able to analyze data to maximize student learning is very

important. Data and assessments are everywhere in education and “within the current

accountability-oriented landscape, teachers must be able to use assessment data to monitor and

scaffold student learning” (Piro et al, 2014, p. 19). In the data I attached, I was looking for which

what the most commonly missed concept was. I also took note of which students missed the

vocabulary. Usually, since numbers 1 and 2 were so similar, a student either got them both right

or both wrong. With the students that I noticed missed the vocabulary questions, I made sure to

ask them during individual practice time during class what the vocabulary words meant. With

the information and data I received throughout my time in student teaching, I was better able to

better plan instruction and support students in the skills they were struggling with.

Sometimes “data may also be used for encouraging self-directed learning by giving the

data to students” (Schildkamp & Kuiper, 2010, p. 484). In the middle school I was at, students

were supposed to keep track of their mastery of each SOL on a chart. On certain days, usually,
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when we finished a unit, I would give the students their mastery charts back and they would go

into their Schoology class. In the class, it would show them their different grades under each

SOL strand and they calculated the average. This helped the students to see what their lowest

skills were so they could practice them further. Students who know what skills they’ve mastered

and what skills need improvement are able to take control of their learning.
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References

Mertler, C. A. (2014). The data-driven classroom: how do I use student data to improve my

instruction? Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Piro, J. S., Dunlap, K., & Shutt, T. (2014). A collaborative Data Chat: Teaching summative

assessment data use in pre-service teacher education. Cogent Education, 1(1). doi:

10.1080/2331186x.2014.968409

Schildkamp, K., & Kuiper, W. (2010). Data-informed curriculum reform: Which data, what

purposes, and promoting and hindering factors. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(3),

482–496. doi: 10.1016/j.tate.2009.06.007