Running head: DOMAIN B JUSTIFICATION p.

Domain B Justification

William Pomfret

National University

September 4, 2019
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Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to provide justification as to why artifacts were chosen to

demonstrate understanding and growth in the TPEs contained in Domain B. The TPEs contained

in TPE Domain B are:

 TPE 2: Monitoring Student Learning During Instruction

 TPE 3: Interpretation and use of Assessments

The artifacts selected all apply to at least one of these TPE areas and fall under Domain B, which

is making subject matter comprehensible to students. The justifications as to how these artifacts

apply are listed below.

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Artifact 1 Justification

The artifact included is a digital copy of an online test that I recently gave to my students.

Although for the purposes of this portfolio, I had to create a digital PDF copy, which makes it

appear to be arranged like a written test, it is actually very interactive on the computer and even

allows for tools to graph and has a pop-up calculator that can be enabled or disabled by the

teacher. These kinds of assessments are great because they are instantly graded and feedback is

sent immediately to both the teacher and the students. It also keeps track of which questions

were most frequently missed, which allows the teacher to have a guide of what items need to be

reviewed. This format becomes a great formative assessment because the feedback is

instantaneous and provides data to support which questions need to be reviewed.

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Artifact 2 Justification

The artifact above was a semester final exam. It is page one of a two page exam, but I included

just the first page so that I could discuss the formatting. On this exam, I broke up the questions

into individual standards and learning goals. The students were asked to complete 3 out of 4 in

each column. This style of assessment is very popular with the students because it gives them

choices. The students can pick which questions they want to do and be assessed on based on

what they know. As the teacher, the key is to ensure that the students are required to do enough

problems in each column to scaffold the questioning. The students must be required to complete

an easy and hard problem. In the case of this artifact, they were required to complete an easy,

medium, and hard problem in each column. In addition, because there are problems left over,

there are opportunities for students to receive extra credit on their assessments if they attempt

and achieve more than the required number of questions.

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Artifact 3 Justification

The artifact above is a group quiz that I had the students complete. The purpose of the group

quiz to allow students to work together and help each other towards a common goal. This is also

a popular assessment method with the students because it takes some of the pressure off of the

individual students. Grouping procedures are definitely necessary to ensure positive outcomes

and results because it is important to ensure that groups are made up of students that are high-

achieving, struggling and in-between. When using this style of assessment, I place one question

on each table then give the groups 5-7 minutes to complete the problem. After the time is up, the

students move to the next table and complete the next problem. The students follow this

procedure until they complete all 5 problems. By doing it this way, the students relieve some

stress by moving around the room frequently and are able to work together in a less-stressful

environment to complete their assessment.

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Artifact 4 Justification

The artifact above is another form of assessment that is not of a test format. It is a group project,

in which students complete a poster that demonstrates their understanding of all of the learning

goals and standards. This allows the students to work in a low-pressure situation, while still

demonstrating the same level of understanding. By having the students present the projects after

completing them, it allows the teacher to not only examine the projects for understanding, but it

also allows the teacher to listen to the students articulate their thoughts and ideas as well.
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Artifact 5 Justification

The artifact above is a book review from the book Teach Like a Champion 2.0 by Doug Lemov,

Joaquin Hernandez, and Jennifer Kim. The book review was selected as an artifact because it

demonstrates my willingness to improve in my ability to teach. It takes a great learner to be a

great teacher. The chapters selected from the book review provide insight into how to select

questions for assessments, as well as how to grade and provide feedback on assessments. It also

encourages teachers to allow for retakes of assessments so that students can correct their

mistakes and demonstrate their newly-acquired understanding of the material.