Title: Student Teaching, Small Engines HS Course

Date: Spring 2014

Description:
I fulfilled my student teaching requirement in the spring of 2014 at Stevens Point Area Senior
High School (SPASH) in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. My student teaching assignment gave me
great satisfaction to finally have the opportunity to put my previous agricultural and technical
experience and education into practice. I was responsible for the instruction in five high-school
level classes: large animal science (two sections), small animal vet science, small engines, and
computer graphics.

My artifacts for my student teaching experience consist of an alternative energy test I created
as well as an engine parts quiz I designed for the small engines course. I developed and
delivered both of these assessment documents during my SPASH teaching experience.


Alignment
Wisconsin Teacher Standard Alignment:
This artifact best aligns with Standard Eight: Assessment, of the Wisconsin Teacher Licensure
Standards. Standard Eight states that the instructor understands and uses formal and informal
assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous intellectual, social, and physical
development of the pupil.

My experience at SPASH best aligns with Standard Eight of the Wisconsin Teacher Standards
because as a student teacher, I was able to instruct five classes which involved in-depth
content, instructional planning, and assessment. After the first few weeks of teaching, I felt it
was appropriate to initiate some informal and formal assessment to determine their level of
content comprehension. Some of the informal assessment tools I utilized included asking
students to perform a demonstration of an assembly, explain a function, or verbally answer a
question. During the first few weeks of my small engines course, I taught my students the
specific components of an engine, 43 parts to be exact. I informally assessed the students every
other day by asking the students to identify the part I was holding in front of the room. As
students began to remember the names of the various parts, I focused on instructing them on
the function(s) of each part as well. This daily exercise was an extremely effective informal
method to gauge my students understanding of the course material and led to other
measurement opportunities such as open-ended questions that challenged their analytical
competence. I posed questions such as why they thought the engine parts were designed the
way they were, and why each individual part was significant to engine performance. These daily
oral conversations and alternative assessments were designed so that they mirrored the
content of the instruction. After three weeks of informal assessment, the students were
formally evaluated on their level of understanding and knowledge base. The formal test I
administered to the students consisted of 86 questions in which students were asked to
provide the name and function of each small engine part.

Through my time at SPASH, I came to understand how an assessment in education is a positive
force that ultimately improves education. I also found that my forms of formal and informal
assessing were effective if they gave students feedback on how well they understood the
information and identified areas for improvement. Students did self-assessment by reflecting
on what I was teaching and what steps to follow when they were assembling their engine.
When students were able to take an active role in self evaluation and goal setting such as
repairing their own lawn mower or rebuilding a carburetor, they more readily accepted an
assessment as a reasonable approach to measuring their comprehension level.

The SPASH student teaching experience afforded me the opportunity to grow professionally as
an educator and gave me a fundamental direction to design and build my assessment style. I
intend to continue expansion of my portfolio of formal and informal assessment tools to ensure
I am providing a positive effect on the intellectual, social, and physical development of my
students.


UW-Platteville School of Education Knowledge, Skill, and Disposition Statement Alignment:
This experience best aligns with KSD1.f of the UWP School of Education Knowledge, Skill, and
Disposition statements which states: The candidate understands, is committed to, and can
develop assessments that are clearly stated and congruent with instructional goals. The
students are aware of how they are meeting the established standards and are involved in the
goal setting process.

My experience student teaching at Stevens Point Area Senior High School aligned well with
KSD1.f because I was able to effectively assess my students progress and communicate the
overall instructional goals of the class, one of which was the assembly and disassembly of a
small engine. Undertaking the process of creating the engine parts quiz during my student
teaching cycle helped me develop the basic skill set and thought process necessary to prepare
an effective assessment.

This KSD also aligned well with my student teaching experience because I had the opportunity
to establish a learning environment in my classroom that allowed students to take an active
role in goal setting and self evaluation. For example, at one point in the semester, the students
proposed and initiated a project involving the servicing of a boat motor and retuning of a string
trimmer. These participatory activities encouraged learning as the students took a genuine
interest in fulfilling the goal that they established for themselves.


Secondary KSDs:

KSD3.d. Provides Feedback to Students



Personal Reflection:

What I learned about teaching/learning from this experience.
Student teaching at SPASH has given me a greater awareness of the essential role student
assessment plays in education and learning. Assessments, whether formal or informal, serve as
a positive force in education. This positive force or standard for courses or classes is truly the
ultimate goal to improve education and gauge the value of the students educational
experience in the classroom. Equally important is that students are provided with clear
expectations of what standards they are expected to meet throughout and upon completion of
the course.

What I learned about myself as a prospective educator as a result of this experience.
As a result of this experience, I learned that as a future educator it is essential that I continue to
experiment with different forms of formal and informal assessments and evaluate their
effectiveness. It will be necessary to determine which forms of assessment provide outcomes
which are the most accurate and informative. Assessments which provide feedback to the
students will ultimately benefit the students in retaining the information/content instructed as
well as identify their weaker areas in need of improvement. By experimenting with an
assortment of student assessment styles, I am becoming more aware of what works and that
which is less useful for specific subject matter so that I can tailor my instruction more fittingly in
the future. It is imperative that I structure assessments which will mirror the true level of
student comprehension in the classroom.