‭EDEE 490 11‬

‭Using the InTASC Model Core Teaching Standards to Support Focus Students‬

‭Standard 1 Learner Development‬

‭1(b)‬‭The teacher creates developmentally appropriate‬‭instruction that takes into account‬

‭individual learners’ strengths, interests, and needs and that enables each learner to advance and‬

‭accelerate his/ her learning.‬

‭What information can you provide about your focus student(s)?‬

‭Focus student one‬‭is a male and is one of the‬‭lowest students in class academically. He‬

‭has an easy going personality and is respectful to adults. His parents are very supportive of his‬

‭learning and work with us to improve his academic growth. He has just started after school‬

‭tutoring with the school for mathematics instruction. Since the beginning of this semester I‬

‭have been working with him in math and I think this in addition to the tutoring has really‬

‭helped him. Until recently he was unable to count in order on his own and now he can add.‬

‭I think his strengths lie in his temperament. Usually when students are unable to‬

‭understand concepts they become frustrated or may even shut down, but he is able to keep a‬

‭cool-head and continue accepting help. I also think he is very organized and has neat‬

‭handwriting. I know this student also likes Spiderman and he likes physical activity.‬

‭Focus student two is a female‬‭. She performs‬‭slightly below grade level, however I feel‬

‭this is due to her attention span and lack of confidence. In whole group instruction she‬

‭daydreams and she struggles to retain directions. When she speaks she does not enunciate‬
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‭words clearly and she is very soft spoken. I chose her as my other focus student because I‬

‭believe she lacks the confidence to work independently, and often is unable to do simple tasks‬

‭unless you assure her she is doing it correctly. I also felt she would need extra attention since‬

‭the stories are only given orally and she struggles with remembering.‬

‭This student is very playful during free time and is easy to joke around with. She‬

‭enjoys drawing during her free time.‬

‭Standard 2 Learning Differences‬

‭2(a)‬‭The teacher designs, adapts, and delivers instruction‬‭to address each student’s diverse‬

‭learning strengths and needs and creates opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning‬

‭in different ways.‬

‭2(f)‬‭The teacher accesses resources, supports, and‬‭specialized assistance and services to meet‬

‭particular learning differences or needs.‬

‭Standard 3 Learning Environment‬

‭3(b)‬‭The teacher develops learning experiences that‬‭engage learners in collaborative and‬

‭self-directed learning and that extend learner interaction with ideas and people locally and‬

‭globally.‬

‭How will your environment affect your students’ learning experience?‬

‭The students will be creating stories with peers of their choice on the carpet (where whole‬

‭group instruction occurs). I think this environment will work well for my focus students‬

‭because it will push them to share their ideas in a collaborative space. In addition, at the carpet‬
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‭all the students are easily visible and at a close proximity to me so I can prompt them to‬

‭engage in discussion if I see them not participating. At their desk they will work independently‬

‭to write down the equation that matches the word problem and show it with her manipulatives‬

‭(a picture of the manipulatives the students will be given in included Appendix A). Each table‬

‭group ranges from three to six students and they are placed together in a heterogeneous‬

‭manner. This environment especially benefits my male focus student because his table mates‬

‭are always offering him support. As for my female focus student, she is really shy so she does‬

‭not ask her peers for help and the people around her are also more introverted. To improve her‬

‭growth I should encourage this table group to be more open with asking one another if they‬

‭need help.‬

‭Standard 4: Content Knowledge‬

‭4(b)‬‭The teacher engages students in learning experiences‬‭in the discipline(s) that encourage‬

‭learners to understand, question, and analyze ideas from diverse perspectives so that they master‬

‭the content.‬

‭4(f)‬‭The teacher evaluates and modifies instructional‬‭resources and curriculum materials for their‬

‭comprehensiveness, accuracy for representing particular concepts in the discipline, and‬

‭appropriateness for his/her learners.‬

‭4(g)‬‭The teacher uses supplementary resources and‬‭technologies effectively to ensure‬

‭accessibility and relevance for all learners.‬

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‭What will your focus student do to engage in learning activities? Describe how you will support‬

‭the focus student during the lesson. For example, what instructional strategies will you use?‬

‭What learning strategies or tools can the student use?‬

‭During the lesson I felt the use of tangible manipulatives would be helpful for my focus‬

‭students and for the rest of my class. I think the manipulations were a simple way for my other‬

‭students to check their work and slow down. For focus student one I think the manipulatives‬

‭will help him physically process his thoughts. For focus student two I feel using the‬

‭manipulatives will be an effective way to reinforce the concepts of addition. Another‬

‭differentiation strategy I will use is having the students create stories with partners and then‬

‭randomly selecting a student to share.. This way the focus students will be able to hear their‬

‭peers' stories and hopefully get a better idea of how to tell an‬‭addition tale‬‭. Furthermore, by‬

‭having them talk to a partner they must actively participate and come up with an answer‬

‭themselves as well. I think talking with a partner will allow them to keep engagement up, get‬

‭more practice creating their own stories, and allow them to wiggle around for a little.‬

‭Standard 6: Assessment‬

‭6(b)‬‭The teacher designs assessments that match learning‬‭objectives with assessment methods‬

‭and minimizes sources of bias that can distort assessment results.‬

‭6(h)‬‭The teacher prepares all learners for the demands‬‭of particular assessment formats and‬

‭makes appropriate accommodations in assessments or testing conditions, especially for learners‬

‭with disabilities and language learning needs.‬

‭What will your focus student do to demonstrate learning of your learning goal?‬
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‭My focus students will be doing the same assessment as the rest of their classmates. Their‬

‭assessment will require them to listen to an addition word problem within 10 and fill in the‬

‭correct equation and find the total. They will also need to correctly represent the problem with‬

‭their manipulatives. This assessment is appropriate for my learning target— I can solve‬

‭addition problems up to 10 using manipulatives — as it tests whether or not the students can‬

‭solve addition problems and represent the problem with manipulatives. I expect both of my‬

‭focus students to be able to accurately do the problem, but they will take a bit longer. I think‬

‭for them to succeed I will have to personally go up to them and retell the story to them. Their‬

‭learning target will be the same but I will provide them with extra guidance. I may do things‬

‭like read the problem while putting heavy emphasis on the numbers. I might read the equation‬

‭slowly enough so they can fill in their work while I am speaking. If the students are unfocused‬

‭I predict they may have problems getting the manipulatives and equations correct.‬
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‭Appendix A (Manipulatives)‬
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‭Appendix B (Focus Student 1’s Baseline Data)‬

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‭Appendix C (Focus Student 2’s Baseline Data)‬

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‭Appendix D (Focus Student 1’s Sample Work )‬

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‭Appendix D (Focus Student 2’s Sample Work )‬