Factor 1: Learning Environment and Contextual Information

Stefania Sarkic

Teacher Work Sample

Maryland School for the Deaf Spring 2021

Dr. Daniels
Factor 1: Learning Environment and Contextual Information

Introduction: Maryland School for the Deaf

Maryland School for the Deaf (MSD) is a public school for the deaf and hard of hearing

students in Maryland. MSD has two schools: one in Frederick and one in Columbia. The school

on Frederick campus is for deaf and hard of hearing students enrolled in middle and high school

levels while the school on Columbia campus is for dead and hard of hearing students enrolled for

kindergarten to elementary level. Their goal is to create a diverse, bilingual community, in

partnership with families and provide an equitable and exemplary education in a nurturing,

engaging, and challenging environment to ensure the students achieve personal excellence and

become responsible lifelong learners (n.d.).

In Mr. Joshua Doudt’s classroom, there are six students. In my Teacher Work Sample,

student, classroom, school, community factors influencing the instructional plans will be

expanded in detail.
 Learner Characteristics and Instructional Plan

In Table 1.1, 6 students’ characteristics are recorded into data. There are five female and

one male students. As for the ethnicity, majority of students in this class are Caucasian and one is

Black. The students use American Sign Language in school as it is their native language.

Table 1.1

Studen Ag Race Gende IEP or Section Achievemen Hobbies and Languag Cultur Family
and 504 plan Interests e (In e Involvem
t e Ethnicit r ts class) nt
y
Learne 17 Caucasia Femal  Needs On grade Sports ASL
n e more level in math Academic
r1 confidence Bowl
but is
meeting all
the
standards
Learne 17 Caucasia Femal  No On grade Challenging ASL
e concerns level in math problems
r2 n  MAP score
for Math is Sports
258 which
is 12th
Math
grade level

Learne 16 Caucasia Femal  Distance On grade Sports ASL

e learning is level in math
r3 n challenging Loves
 Calculators helping
or other
 calculation people
technologie
s needed
for support
 Need to be
able to
retract old
mathematic
al skills to
apply new
mathematic
al concept
Learne 18 Caucasia Femal  Ask for 12th grade ASL
e help when level in math
r4 n need it
 No math
goals
needed
 Would like
to see her
be more
assertive
Learne 16 African Male  ADHD Below grade Theatre ASL
America struggles level in math
r5 n with Sports
following
through Video games
steps
toward
completing
writing
assignment
s or
projects
 Struggles
to show
work in
math

Learne 17 Caucasia Femal  Hard year On grade  Hangi ASL

e for her but level in math ng
r6 n continue to with
thrive friends
 Not used to
 Distance
learning,
prefer in
person
because it
is more
motivating
 Improved
MAP math
score

Learner 1

Learner 1 is a seventeen-year-old Caucasian female student with an IEP. She is on grade

level in math and uses American Sign Language inside and outside of the classroom. Learner 1

do well with group discussions but do like to work by herself when new math concepts are

presented. She has good mathematical skills and does not need any math goals, but she dislikes

making any random guesses or trial and error. She does her work on time.

Learner 2

Learner 2 is a seventeen-year-old Caucasian female student with an IEP. She is on grade

level in math and uses American Sign Language inside and outside of the classroom. Learner 2

likes to work by herself when new math concepts are presented but do well with group

discussions if needed. She completes her assignments on time, display good mathematical skills,

and have great mathematical foundations to solve various math problems.

Learner 3

Learner 3 is a sixteen-year-old Caucasian female student with an IEP. She is on grade

level in math and uses ASL as a means of communication. Learner 3 completes her assignments
on time and exhibits good mathematical operation skills. Though, she does not have strong

memory retention where some mathematical fundamentals are needed to use to learn new math

content areas. She will grasp the concepts after a few review sessions and tips from the teacher.

Learner 4

Learner 4 is an eighteen-year-old Caucasian female student with an IEP. She is on grade

level in math and uses ASL inside and outside of classroom. She has a good mathematical

operational skill and able to grasp new math content. Learner 4 do likes to see it step by step

sometimes to get a full understanding.

Learner 5

Learner 5 is a sixteen-year-old Black male student with an IEP. He is on grade level in

math and uses ASL inside and outside of classroom. Learner 5 demonstrated his strength areas in

calculations, solving equations, and algebraic thinking. He responds well with group discussion

and often will work by himself.

Learner 6

Learner 6 is a seventeen-year-old Caucasian female student with an IEP. She is on grade

level in math and uses ASL as a means of communication inside and outside of classroom.

Learner exhibits good mathematical operation skills and do well with group discussion. She

completes her assignments often on time.

Implications on Instructional Plans

 Mr. Doudt’s classroom is a total of six students. The routine is the same everyday with

beginning the class, the students have their laptops open for Zoom and to get in Google

classroom for the notes on today’s lesson. It is a hybrid learning so some of the students will

show up in person while others may choose to stay home and join in with Zoom. The class work

together through the guided notes until if some of the students have gotten the concept and finish

the problem faster than others then they may keep working individually and check with the

teacher for the answer and/or ask for help if needed. The class could be split into two group in

which one will be continue working individually while the other will work with teacher with step

by step of how to solve for more clearer picture.

Relevant Classroom characteristic and Instructional Plans

The Physical Features of Classroom

Desks are placed in a semi-circle in front of a white board. The classroom is filled with

whiteboards and posters and is shared with another class though there would be a wall between

them. There is a big tv monitor in the middle that is facing towards the whiteboard.

The Availability and Use of Technology Equipment and Resources

Since we are still being in the COVID-19 pandemic, the students and teacher rely on

technologies. MSD is doing a hybrid learning in which means some of the students may show up

in person, depending on which group they are in, and some of the students may decide to stay at

home still. They started with the hybrid learning in the last week of March. Students have the

choice to show up in person if they want; following the group assigned week. We are still using

our laptops for Zoom since not all students will show up in person and the students also have
iPads that they can use for Google classroom and to work on their assignments. Luckily, Mr.

Doudt is a savvy in technology, so he came up with a great way to use Zoom and conveniently

use the whiteboard so the students at home can feel like they are in the classroom. Students also

use Desmo, a website, for graphing and calculator for calculations.

Content Being Taught

Probability & Statistics and Algebra 2 are the contents being taught. Probability &

Statistics are taught for seniors while Algebra 2 are taught for two classes; one for juniors and

the other is for sophomores.

Approach to Differentiating Instruction Including of English Language Learners and Students

with Disabilities

Learner 1 and Learner 2 tends to work independently once they have grasped the concept

so teacher may have them to continue working on the notes alone and share their answers or ask

for help if needed while the teacher will still go through the problems as a class for other

students.

Learner 3 and 5 benefits from working through the problems with steps by steps. Learner

3 has a hard time remembering to use old mathematical skills to help apply new mathematical

concepts while Learner 5 does not show work.

Classroom Rules and Routines

There are six rules in Mr. Doudt’s class which is posted by having it written on the small

whiteboard for students to look back if needed. Students can see them when in class or teacher
mention them if needed. The six rules are to log in Google classroom, attend zoom since it is

hybrid, start on assignments, write notes, ask questions, and then finish the assignment. The class

is already structured with starting the class off on a guided notes and work through it together.

Implications on Classroom Characteristics

Allowing the rest of the class time for students to keep working on the problems by

themselves or with others and ask for help if needed. This is good as it is an honors class so most

of the students are self-sufficient but can be distracting if the students are off topic with their

peers instead of focusing on the problems. Teacher may check in with them to see how they are

doing as way to refocus their attention back to the notes.

School Characteristics and Instructional Plans

Characteristics of the School Population

The total enrollment of students at Maryland School for the Deaf is about 500 students.

According to ProPublica, there about 25% Black, 8% Hispanic, 58% White, 6% Asian, and less

than 2% are mixed or Native American (Lena Groeger 2018). Most of the students are white then

about a fourth are Black.

Services Offered by the School

Maryland School for the Deaf provide support services such as PBIS, audiology services,

autism services, counseling, enhanced services, speech-language services, transportation, and

physical/occupational therapy (n.d). They even offered some resources and services for families

such as Individual planning, ASL classes, summer camps, family support and resource center,

and student service-learning.

Special Programs Offered Within School

Maryland School for the Deaf offers after-school programs for all students in

kindergarten through high school. The After School Program provide a range of structured

activities to build interpersonal skills and to enrich the educational experience outside of

classroom. The activities include arts and crafts, athletics, bowling, cooking classes, dances,

drama, IM sports, Outdoor Education, Roller skating, Snow tubing, Student clubs/organizations,

swimming, and tutoring (n.d).

Curriculum and Standards

Maryland School for the Deaf uses HCPSS, Howard County Public School System, for

curriculum to follow. The name of the curriculum is Essential Curriculum, and it has categorized

the math curriculum into three grade level groups: elementary, middle school, and high school.

The curriculum provides teachers general unit plan and the standards to go with for each grade.

The secondary mathematics curriculum is to have students develop understanding of the

concepts to solve problems and communicate about mathematics in their world (n.d).

School Philosophy

Maryland School for the Deaf is all about producing responsible lifelong learners. Their

mission is to be a diverse bilingual community in partnership with families and to provide an

equitable and exemplary education in a nurturing, engaging, and challenging environment to

ensure our students achieve personal excellence and become responsible lifelong learners (n.d).

Implications on Instructional Programs

 Based on the factors such as the student characteristics, classroom, and program, I will

create a lesson plan that fits my students the best. The school philosophy and the curriculum

allow me to include a lot of engaging lectures that can get the students to be more curious and

motivated about learning.

Due to some of the students who like to take it step by step with solving the problems, I

will need to be aware and ensure my lesson plan reflect some flexibility. It is an honors class so I

should be prepared for the possibility of my students to already grasp the concept and can move

forward quickly. This means I could be done with the lesson within two to three days instead of

all four. I do have back up plan if that is the case and the plan is to introduce the new concept.

Mr. Doudt do say that his goal often is one lesson per day as it is expected of the students to keep

going. Though if some of the students are still slow with grasping the concept, I would have split

the class with some to continue working on the problems but individually and ask for help if

needed while the others will be with me reviewing the lesson again by taking it step-by step for

more clearer picture. The students are juniors so they are closer to being a young adult in which I

should be aware of making sure my students are given the opportunity to take control of their

learning.

As a teacher, I need to make sure my students are using their critical thinking skills when

learning. I need to ensure my lesson plan would allow the students to express in different ways

due to diversity and varied of learning styles.

References
Lena Groeger, A. W. (2018, October 16). Miseducation. ProPublica.
https://projects.propublica.org/miseducation/district/2400002.

Maryland School for the Deaf Home. Maryland School for the Deaf. (n.d.).
https://www.msd.edu/.

Mathematics Curriculum. Howard County Public School System Mathematics Curriculum

Comments. (n.d.). https://www.hcpss.org/academics/mathematics/curriculum/.