InTASC #6: Assessment - The teacher understands and uses multiple methods of assessment to

engage learners in their own growth, to monitor learner progress, and to guide the teachers and
learners decision making

InTASC #7: Planning for Instruction - The teacher plans instruction that supports every
student in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas,
curriculum, cross-disciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and the
community context.

InTASC #8: Instructional Strategies - The teacher understands and uses a variety of
instructional strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and
their connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.

In order to truly be a Master of Science in Education, a teacher needs do have the skills to
design and implement a variety of instructional strategies and pedagogies. Over the past three
years, I have seen my students grow tremendously as a result of my continuously improving
instructional practices. As a teacher, it has taken a lot of practice for me to able to figure out
which strategies work for each of my students individually. When planning for instruction, I
find it best to use a backwards planning method to ensure that I am focusing on creating lessons
that will lead students to mastery on the standards being assessed. Because I have a strong
background in Statistics, I find the use of data to drive my instruction absolutely imperative.
Through both formal and informal methods of data collection and analysis, I am able to monitor
my students progress and alter my instructional planning as necessary.

Assessment
InTASC #6 states that I must understand and use multiple methods of assessment to engage my
students in their own growth, to monitor their progress, and to guide both mine and my students
decision making process. In my classroom, I use a plethora of assessment methods to judge
where my kids stand with regards to mastery. Alternating assessment methods, and assessing
often, keeps my students engaged and encourages them to constantly be thinking about ways that
they can continue to grow. I use a variety of formative and summative assessments throughout
each unit and base my instruction off of data collected from diagnostic assessments.
With regards to tracking summative assessment data, I use the website Kickboard for
Teachers, to track my students mastery by Common Core State Standard. While some of the
smaller quizzes only assess 1-2 standards, larger summative, assessments can assess up to 10
standards at one time, depending on the unit. Kickboard enables me to see the overall class
mastery of each standard, in addition to the individual standard mastery of each of my students.
I use the data collected and analyzed from these assessments to guide my decision making and
monitor students progress, enabling me to not only identify what parts of the lesson went wrong,
but to plan a new lesson that would include more formative assessments.
In creating a Reteaching Lesson Plan, I displayed my understanding of the benefits of
using multiple methods of assessment to engage my students in their own growth and to monitor
their progress. In just one lesson, I am able to use a wide variety of formative assessment
methods. The first of these methods is Diagnostic Assessment. Using the data collected from
Kickboard for Teachers, I am able to reevaluate the strategies used in the original method and
use the assessment data to guide my future decision making. Before new content has even been
introduced, I use a method of Introductory Assessment to prepare for the lesson: an exploratory

challenge that gets my students thinking about the upcoming lesson and engaging in their own
academic growth. Throughout the lesson, I use more than five additional Formative
Assessments in a single class period to monitor my students progress and levels of mastery.
Evaluating student understanding using fist-to-fives allowed me to informally evaluate where
my students stood with regards to their understanding of when a boxplot is skewed or
symmetrical. Students are particularly engaged during this type of assessment because they
know that I am the only one who can see their response. I have found that asking a fist-to-five
question and then repeating the same question at the end of class both supplies me with good
assessment data and keeps students aware of their growth throughout each and every lesson.
In addition to fist-to-fives, my ability to use multiple methods of assessment in the
classroom is evident in the other formative assessments within the reteaching lesson plan.
Activities that include working with different materials (like white boards) or getting students
out of their seats (like the index card partner work) keep students engaged throughout the lesson
and provide them with different mediums in which they can display their mastery. Probing
questions during the Independent Practice allow students to explain concepts in their own
words and allow me to help them to develop a deeper understanding of the material. The most
formal assessment of this particular lesson is an Exit Ticket. Though these are only graded
based on completion (including work shown), they seem like informal assessments to the
students. However, I think of these as assessments that I can use to drive my instruction for the
next lesson and keep track of my students progress. At the end of the unit, students are assessed
on the same standards that were addressed in the diagnostic assessment through either a project
or written exam. Creating these assessments in advance using backwards planning displays my

ability to meet the requirements of InTASC #6 as it shows that I truly understand the importance
of using multiple methods of assessment.
Planning for Instruction
Once I have created a summative assessment, I plan for instruction based on the standards that
will be assessed at the end of the unit. When planning for instruction, I use my knowledge of the
content area to scaffold the material in a way that makes it accessible for all students. By
creating both Long Term and Unit Plans, I can plan each individual lesson and prepare for the
needs of the students who are on grade level as well as those who require remediation and
acceleration. InTASC #7 states that I must be able to plan instruction that supports every student
in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing up my knowledge of my content area, the
curriculum, cross-disciplinary skills, and pedagogy as well as knowledge of my students as
learners and how I can relate Algebra back into the Ferriday community. In my Long Term
Plan, it is clear that my Unit and Lesson Organization aids in the mastery of rigorous learning
goals for all students, no matter where they stand when they enter the classroom. When planning
each unit, I identify the prerequisite skills that students should have in addition to which of those
skills I will be able to spiral into each unit. When Preparing for Difficulties, I draw from my
knowledge of the content area and the district curriculum to addressing the misconceptions that I
predict will present themselves during instruction. Once those are addressed, I plan a variety of
activities within each lesson that display my knowledge of the learning styles of each of my
students, which can be seen in my Sample Long Term Lesson Plan.
The creation of a Unit Plan provides further evidence of my mastery of planning for
instruction. My knowledge of the content allows me to break down the unit lesson by lesson,
addressing every topic in detail in ways that support every student in meeting the rigorous

learning goals set by the curriculum. At the beginning of the plan, I plan for instruction by
Identifying Goals and Standards that must be met, the vocabulary that must be understood, and
the misconceptions that must be addressed. I base my pedagogy off of the needs of my students
to make sure the content is accessible for all types of learners. Throughout the unit, I assess
mastery and evaluate student progress using a variety of Assessment Methods, including daily
formative assessments and exit tickets, weekly quizzes, a curriculum-based project, and a
Summative Assessment.
When creating a unit plan, the goal is to compile a compilation of techniques, methods,
and pedagogies into one collective plan for learning and mastery. In my Learning Plan, the 19
individual lessons of the unit are broken down and explained based on their objective. This set
up successfully prepares me to support every one of my students in meeting the rigorous learning
goals of the unit. In the Sample Unit Plan Lesson Plan, all aspects of InTASC #7 are
addressed. By allowing students to create the topic for our warm-up word problem, I enable
them to make connections to their community, teaching them to apply the knowledge learned in
my room in meaningful ways. In both my Long Term and Unit Plan assessments, I always make
sure to relate the content back to the community context. Some examples of these include the
incorporation of the name of our school or town, student collected data about personal
experiences (how many pets each student owns), the use of student names in work problems, etc.
My knowledge of both my learners and the content area are aspects of InTASC #7 that I have
definitely displayed significant growth and improvement in over the last three years.
Instructional Strategies
After planning how each unit will be structured, I must determine which instructional strategies
will best enable students to master the content. Albert Einstein states that Everybody is a

genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it
is stupid. This quote inspires me to ensure that my teaching strategies are meeting the needs of
all students throughout the school year and making it possible for every child to be successful.
With regards to how I approach each lesson, InTASC #8 states that I must understand and use a
variety of instructional strategies to encourage my students to develop a deep understanding of
the content areas and their connections, and to build skills that will enable my students to apply
their knowledge of Algebra in meaningful ways.
The Developmentally Appropriate Task I created for my students provides evidence of
my ability to use a variety of instructional strategies in the classroom. This task was built to
address all of the typical physical, emotional, social, and cognitive needs of the freshmen
students that I teach. During this project, students will be required to be visual, auditory, and
kinesthetic learners in order to develop a deep understanding of the content and how it
connections to real life and previous Algebra units. The first strategy used in this activity
promotes both individual reflection and collaboration, two skills that are absolutely necessary for
students to be successful across all disciplines. The use of technology can also be seen in this
activity description when students are required to do research in the computer lab. Technology is
an instructional strategy that I do not get to use as often as Id like because of a lack of resources,
but I incorporate it into every lesson I can because of its positive impact on student development.
Throughout the assignment, students make connections to real world scenarios by using
manipulatives to create objects that they will literally throw out the window to compare their onpaper calculations to the actual results. These strategies in particular allow students to make
meaningful connections to the content, developing a deep understanding of each standard
addressed in the assignment.

In addition to this activity, a simple five-minute warm-up that is used every day also
displays proof of my ability to use a variety of instructional strategies in the classroom. During
their Mad Minute, students spend 2 minutes attacking a set of 16 fluency problems presented
on the smart board. These math problems consist of basic skills that are spiraled in from
previous lessons and may be necessary for the upcoming lesson. Students then discuss the
problems they got wrong with their neighbor, encouraging them to develop a deep enough
understanding of the content that they can teach the steps to someone else. Using probing
questions, I address student misconceptions within the content, forcing students to think critically
about each problem and develop a deeper conceptual understanding of the content. For the
student who did not answer this question correctly, this strategy provides them with the
opportunity to ask questions and reaffirm their understanding of the content. For the student who
did answer the question correctly, the use of probing questions is used to accelerate the material
in a way that enables the students to apply the knowledge in meaningful ways.
The needs of my students are always at the forefront when it comes to assessments,
planning, and instruction. It is my duty as their teacher to ensure that every child is provided
with the education they deserve and that the needs of all of my students are met regardless of
their learning style or current mastery level. I work with students who, for the most part, are
either on or below grade-level. Some of my students are out of the self-contained classroom for
the first time in three years, taking my class at a 3 rd-5th grade math level. Because of this variety
in student needs, it is important that I am able to plan and execute instruction that makes the
content accessible for all of my students. Whether its backwards planning, variation in
assessments, or the implementation of multiple instructional strategies, I am confident in my

ability to meet these standards and know that I am doing everything in my power to give my
students the opportunity to succeed both inside and outside of my classroom.