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Cameo Roman
Regent University
Introduction
Making sure that all of the necessary components of instruction are met is the key to
ensuring that effective learning can occur in the classroom. The teacher's ability to thoroughly
plan for teaching and assessing a SOL standard is one of the most crucial ways that separates a
great, responsible teacher from a careless teacher. To show how I handled my responsibility of
teaching the students addition, I included the following artifacts: three forms of assessments that
outline of the necessary content for addition; one lesson plan; a PowerPoint that I used for
instruction; and data that was recorded throughout the period spent on addition.
To ensure that my lessons were relevant to the SOL standards regarding addition, I first
took into account the assessments that I would use. After gaining a full understanding of what
the students were expected to know, I was able to determine what assessments were appropriate.
For the pre-assessment, I wanted to know if the students could solve simple addition problems
(in horizontal format) that had sums no greater than ten. I also wanted to see if they could solve
addition problems that included pictures and numeral equations. Both of these parts align with
The mid-chapter test asked the students to find the whole number when two parts were
presented, to solve various picture addition problems by writing the equation and its parts, to
write and solve vertical addition problems when given pictures of dominos, and to solve word
addition problems. The final assessment asked the students to identify the descriptions of
keywords and concepts; to solve vertical, horizontal, picture, and word addition problems; and to
create their own addition number sentence when given the sum.
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION & COLLABORATION 3
To help prepare how I was going to approach the instructional aspect, I wanted to really
make sure that I had in depth understanding of what I wanted the students to grasp. In an outline,
I wrote what I expected the students to understand, facts that they should know, what they should
be able to successfully do on their own, and essential questions to help foster their
understanding. This was beneficial for me because it helped ensure that everything I included in
my lessons were relevant and helpful towards getting the students to master the required skill.
To help keep track of the students progress, I documented how they did on their
assessments and on various activities done in class. The class average for the pre-assessment was
a 93%. The class average for the mid-chapter assessment was a 92%. Overall, the students have a
good grasp on the concept of addition, but there is room for improvement. A small handful of
students still need more practice with addition. I honestly believe that some of it are just careless
mistakes, but when the scores are compared individually, one can see significant improvement
I was able to use the data from the pre-assessment to help guide my instruction before the
mid-chapter assessment. After reviewing the pre-assessments, I was impressed on how much the
students knew about basic addition. Most of them did really well. I knew that I would still need
to cover the terminology, but I predicted that I would not have to spend a whole lot of
instructional time reteaching the basics throughout the given time frame. For the students who
were struggling, I made sure to include a variety of strategies within my lesson. I wanted the
students to visually see how easy addition could be through number lines, manipulatives, videos,
and by counting on with ones fingers. For those who breezed through my assignments, I
occasionally allowed them to practice addition problems that had higher sums.
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION & COLLABORATION 4
So much thought, preparation, and planning must go into developing and executing well-
rounded lessons. Not only have my courses at Regent University shown me how a diligent
teacher must set aside time for planning, my courses have also taught me what steps to take so
that this process is not as stressful as it may seem. One course in particular that comes to mind is
the Curriculum Design and Assessment Techniques course. What I really found to be valuable
was being shown how to develop unit plans, which is what helped my preparation during my
experience. Although I did not include a full unit plan, my outline that I included derives from
My perspectives on planning and preparing for lessons also changed when I was
introduce to the concept of focusing on the assessments first and building off of that.
Recognizing the relationship between the two elements of instruction really helped pave the way
to a better understanding of achieving student learning. In one of our required texts, authors
Norman Gronlund and Keith Waugh (2009) even emphasize an assessments ability to
There are many truths that God wants us to understand in life. God is the ultimate teacher
and sometimes He does give us challenges and in a sense, assessments. He always has the
desired outcome in mind, just as teachers should have the ending goals in mind too. This is what
authors Wiggins and McTighe meant when they discussed backwards design. Keeping the end in
mind and making sure that the assessments really inform teachers if the students understood the
content. Its about making sure that each activity and lesson are relevant to the assessment.
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION & COLLABORATION 5
Why are we asking the students to read this particular novel (Wiggins & McTighe,
2006). It reminds me of the times when I am being tested in life and I ask God, Why am I going
through this? I would hope that His response would be, Because I need you to grow more in
this way/trust me more/understand something a little better, etc. As a teacher, I will aim to
continue giving my all in preparing, planning, and using assessments and data to drive my
lessons. Just as God prepares, plans, and assesses me for the good, everything that I do will aim
to be beneficial to my students.
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION & COLLABORATION 6
References
Gronlund, N., & Waugh, C. (2009). Assessment of Student Achievement (9th ed.). Upper Saddle
Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2006). Understanding by Design (2nd ed.). Alexandria, Va: