_ Standard
1: Contextual Factors
Information contained in the following section of the Teacher Work Sample describes the student teaching site as it pertains to the community, district, school, and classroom factors; student characteristics; and implications for instructional planning and assessment.
Community, District, and School Factors
Student teaching will be completed at Oak Crest Elementary School in Beach Park, IL. Oak Crest Elementary is a part of the Beach Park Consolidated School. Beach Park Consolidated School District #3 was established on April 27th, 1946, and currently governs four elementary schools (Oak Crest Elementary School, Newport Elementary School, Newport Elementary School, Howe Elementary School, and Kenneth Murphy Elementary School), and one middle school (Beach Park Middle School). Oak Crests school jurisdiction is ranked third in size within the district. Oak Crest’s student demographic breakdown is as follows: total student population: 354, White: 30.3%, Black: 17.8%, Hispanic: 31.3%, Asian: 8.1%, Native American: .5%, Multiracial 12%.
Beach Park is a village located between Zion and Waukegan Illinois and was formed out of unincorporated areas of Lake County. The Illinois Beach State Park on Lake Michigan is the natural area that forms the community’s eastern boundary and has provided for a considerable impact on the character of the community. The Village dates back to 1908 when the railroad lines from Chicago to Milwaukee began and “Beach Station” became a stop. Located next to a small park the engineer would call out “next stop, Beach Park” upon arrival and the name stuck. The village of Beach Park is made up of diverse socioeconomic status, where the mode income lies in the category of $50,000 to $74,999 consisting of 23.6% of the population; 36.1% of the student population in Oak Crest Elementary are on free or reduced lunch. The current total population of the Village of Beach Park is 12,400.
Oak Crest Elementary school is currently a kindergarten through fifth grade building. It was originally Beach Park School and was built as a first through eighth grade building in 1948, occupied in 1949. The current average class size at Oak Crest is 25.3 students and the school houses all of the district’s special education students; consisting of two early childhood and five full-instructional classes. Beginning in the 2009 school year, Oak Crest Elementary has implemented the Positive Behavior and Intervention Support system to assist in identifying and correcting negative behaviors through positive reinforcement. Oak Crest has also implemented Response To Intervention in 2010 to assist in taking a proactive approach to identifying students performing below academic grade level. Through both of these initiatives Oak Crest has seen a rise in both positive behaviors and test scores. In 2010, Oak Crest Elementary did not show Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in reading by state standards, and has been identified for school improvement according to the AYP specifications of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
Classroom Factors
Oak Crest Elementary has a standard school layout. The main entrance is at the center of the building and faces east. Upon secured entrance into the building the office is located directly south and the hallways fork into three directions; north, south, and west. The south wing houses the academic classrooms; early childhood and kindergarten through second grade are on the first floor while grades three through five are upstairs. The north hallway houses the gymnasium, teachers lounge, school kitchen, art, and music. The west hallway directs visitors to the cafeteria, multipurpose room, library, and the computer lab.
The classroom where the student teacher will be teaching is located upstairs in the south wing of the building. Classroom 204 is in the middle of the hallway across from a fourth grade general education class, and between a fifth grade general education class and a fifth grade full-instructional cross-categorical class. The room is facing the west side of the building, toward the playground and student bus drop-off. The west wall contains windows spanning the length of the room, providing natural light throughout the day; particularly in the afternoon. Below the windows are bookshelves housing dictionaries, encyclopedias, recreational reading materials, and science kits. A small desk sits in the southwest corner of the classroom for the teacher’s aide. Behind the aide’s desk are the academic materials for the students, along with the point sheets and student binders. In front of the aides desk are three student computers. A large desk is in the northwest corner of the room where the teacher sits. On the desk are a computer, monitor, DVD player, and a digital overhead. On the wall behind the desk is a corkboard where announcements and reminders are hung along with additional teaching materials. The north facing wall holds the whiteboard spanning the entire room length with maps attached to it. Above the whiteboard is a 55-inch flat screen monitor used to display videos and work on the digital overhead, along with instructional posters. The south facing wall holds the student’s coat hooks along with a shelf for their mailbox; beneath are their storage bins. In the southeast corner there is a reading tree on the wall where students hang leafs and apples they’ve earned, and a two door cabinet that houses the classroom store. The east wall holds two small bulletin boards with a whiteboard between them. On the floor in the southeast half of the room lays a carpet measuring six feet by three feet. This area is used for both a de-escalation area and silent reading. A table sits on the east wall next to a cabinet with board games for the students to use during downtime. The student’s desks are located in the center of the room facing the north wall, and a round work table is positioned behind them.
The classroom behavior system is posted on the east wall, outlining the behavior expectations, level system, and guidelines for moving between levels. The whiteboard has the date, the daily schedule, and announcements. This provides the students with the ability to reference the day’s activities along with any deviations from routine. The schedule allows the student to take ownership and responsibility for where he or she is supposed to be and when he or she is supposed to transition. This provides a reduction in questioning and order within the room.
Student Characteristics
The classroom population consists of third and fourth grade special education students labeled with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, Other Health Impairment, and Specific Learning Disability. This classroom houses three third-grade students consisting of two girls and one boy. The male third grade student is ethnically Hispanic and is IDEA classified with Other Health Impairment for Turrets and ADHD. One of the female students is ethnically white and IDEA classified as Specific Learning Disabled. The other female third grader is African American and IDEA classified as Developmentally Delayed. The two fourth-grade students are both male, ethnically white with one IDEA labeled Emotional Disability and the other Behavioral Disorder. The students are receiving instruction within this environment because of their inability to work cohesively within other classroom environments based on their behaviors. Each student has an Individual Education Plan (IEP) that includes functional goals for their behaviors.
Implications for Instructional Planning and Assessment
Student’s current functional goals are concerned with implementing coping strategies when upset or stressed, following teacher directions, identifying feelings and the antecedent to those feelings, and identifying positive ways to interact with peers. In addition to the functional goals, there are also academic goals that have been set for one of the female third graders.
Preventing significant behavior problems through the implementation of positive behavior interventions, classroom management, and engaging instruction are the primary goals for the student teacher. Through the establishment of classroom rules that derive from the collective recommendation of the students, order, expectations, and ownership for behavior provide a tone of safety within the environment. A strong token economy system, in correlation with PBIS, allows for the classroom to function in a manner where reinforcement for positive behavior is rewarded. Understanding student antecedents to behavior and modalities of learning will foster an environment rich in engaging academic instruction.
Due to the common incidence in behavior, it is imperative that reinforcement and recognition for negative and positive behaviors are addressed immediately. Students within the classroom will be on a leveled behavior data tracking system that tracks their behaviors by time, area, and occurrence. This data will be entered in behavior data tracking software to assist in identifying areas of behavior intervention that will assist the students in making better. Immediate feedback is key in assisting these students in recognizing both positive and negative behaviors; allowing them to assess praise and alternative choices to specific circumstance. Each of the students is scheduled for 30 minutes with the social worker and a 30 minute in class group session. These sessions address functional behavioral goals set in their IEP’s, and build on social skills through peer interaction.
Oak Crest establishes academic benchmarking for each student at the beginning of the school year through the use of Aimsweb and Ed Performance software to identify current academic achievement. The results of these assessments provide a base level of academic ability for structuring individualized academic needs and interventions for each student. In this classroom, each student will be survey level assessed at grade level, below grade level, and above grade level to assist in identifying areas of academic need and accelerated learning. These results will be used for curriculum identification, individualized if necessary, to assist the students in academic achievement and scholastic success. The teacher will use in class grading, self-checks, and progress monitoring to ensure academic achievement and identify areas of need. This will provide the teacher with immediate feedback regarding the current success of instructional strategies, allowing for adjustments if needed. In accordance with each student’s IEP, accommodations and modifications to workload and environment will be provided.
Conclusion
Contextual factors for this Teacher Work Sample included information that pertains to the community, district, school, and classroom factors; student characteristics; and implications for instructional planning and assessment. Understanding the school you teach in, its history, and the community that it is a part of is imperative to establishing a relation based on commonality. Assessing student ability, modality, and function provides the teacher with the tools necessary for effective classroom management, and guides the development of lesson planning. This information provides the teacher with the implications for instructional planning as it pertains to the achievement of students.
Information contained in the following section of the Teacher Work Sample describes the student teaching site as it pertains to the community, district, school, and classroom factors; student characteristics; and implications for instructional planning and assessment.
Community, District, and School Factors
Student teaching will be completed at Oak Crest Elementary School in Beach Park, IL. Oak Crest Elementary is a part of the Beach Park Consolidated School. Beach Park Consolidated School District #3 was established on April 27th, 1946, and currently governs four elementary schools (Oak Crest Elementary School, Newport Elementary School, Newport Elementary School, Howe Elementary School, and Kenneth Murphy Elementary School), and one middle school (Beach Park Middle School). Oak Crests school jurisdiction is ranked third in size within the district. Oak Crest’s student demographic breakdown is as follows: total student population: 354, White: 30.3%, Black: 17.8%, Hispanic: 31.3%, Asian: 8.1%, Native American: .5%, Multiracial 12%.
Beach Park is a village located between Zion and Waukegan Illinois and was formed out of unincorporated areas of Lake County. The Illinois Beach State Park on Lake Michigan is the natural area that forms the community’s eastern boundary and has provided for a considerable impact on the character of the community. The Village dates back to 1908 when the railroad lines from Chicago to Milwaukee began and “Beach Station” became a stop. Located next to a small park the engineer would call out “next stop, Beach Park” upon arrival and the name stuck. The village of Beach Park is made up of diverse socioeconomic status, where the mode income lies in the category of $50,000 to $74,999 consisting of 23.6% of the population; 36.1% of the student population in Oak Crest Elementary are on free or reduced lunch. The current total population of the Village of Beach Park is 12,400.
Oak Crest Elementary school is currently a kindergarten through fifth grade building. It was originally Beach Park School and was built as a first through eighth grade building in 1948, occupied in 1949. The current average class size at Oak Crest is 25.3 students and the school houses all of the district’s special education students; consisting of two early childhood and five full-instructional classes. Beginning in the 2009 school year, Oak Crest Elementary has implemented the Positive Behavior and Intervention Support system to assist in identifying and correcting negative behaviors through positive reinforcement. Oak Crest has also implemented Response To Intervention in 2010 to assist in taking a proactive approach to identifying students performing below academic grade level. Through both of these initiatives Oak Crest has seen a rise in both positive behaviors and test scores. In 2010, Oak Crest Elementary did not show Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in reading by state standards, and has been identified for school improvement according to the AYP specifications of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
Classroom Factors
Oak Crest Elementary has a standard school layout. The main entrance is at the center of the building and faces east. Upon secured entrance into the building the office is located directly south and the hallways fork into three directions; north, south, and west. The south wing houses the academic classrooms; early childhood and kindergarten through second grade are on the first floor while grades three through five are upstairs. The north hallway houses the gymnasium, teachers lounge, school kitchen, art, and music. The west hallway directs visitors to the cafeteria, multipurpose room, library, and the computer lab.
The classroom where the student teacher will be teaching is located upstairs in the south wing of the building. Classroom 204 is in the middle of the hallway across from a fourth grade general education class, and between a fifth grade general education class and a fifth grade full-instructional cross-categorical class. The room is facing the west side of the building, toward the playground and student bus drop-off. The west wall contains windows spanning the length of the room, providing natural light throughout the day; particularly in the afternoon. Below the windows are bookshelves housing dictionaries, encyclopedias, recreational reading materials, and science kits. A small desk sits in the southwest corner of the classroom for the teacher’s aide. Behind the aide’s desk are the academic materials for the students, along with the point sheets and student binders. In front of the aides desk are three student computers. A large desk is in the northwest corner of the room where the teacher sits. On the desk are a computer, monitor, DVD player, and a digital overhead. On the wall behind the desk is a corkboard where announcements and reminders are hung along with additional teaching materials. The north facing wall holds the whiteboard spanning the entire room length with maps attached to it. Above the whiteboard is a 55-inch flat screen monitor used to display videos and work on the digital overhead, along with instructional posters. The south facing wall holds the student’s coat hooks along with a shelf for their mailbox; beneath are their storage bins. In the southeast corner there is a reading tree on the wall where students hang leafs and apples they’ve earned, and a two door cabinet that houses the classroom store. The east wall holds two small bulletin boards with a whiteboard between them. On the floor in the southeast half of the room lays a carpet measuring six feet by three feet. This area is used for both a de-escalation area and silent reading. A table sits on the east wall next to a cabinet with board games for the students to use during downtime. The student’s desks are located in the center of the room facing the north wall, and a round work table is positioned behind them.
The classroom behavior system is posted on the east wall, outlining the behavior expectations, level system, and guidelines for moving between levels. The whiteboard has the date, the daily schedule, and announcements. This provides the students with the ability to reference the day’s activities along with any deviations from routine. The schedule allows the student to take ownership and responsibility for where he or she is supposed to be and when he or she is supposed to transition. This provides a reduction in questioning and order within the room.
Student Characteristics
The classroom population consists of third and fourth grade special education students labeled with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, Other Health Impairment, and Specific Learning Disability. This classroom houses three third-grade students consisting of two girls and one boy. The male third grade student is ethnically Hispanic and is IDEA classified with Other Health Impairment for Turrets and ADHD. One of the female students is ethnically white and IDEA classified as Specific Learning Disabled. The other female third grader is African American and IDEA classified as Developmentally Delayed. The two fourth-grade students are both male, ethnically white with one IDEA labeled Emotional Disability and the other Behavioral Disorder. The students are receiving instruction within this environment because of their inability to work cohesively within other classroom environments based on their behaviors. Each student has an Individual Education Plan (IEP) that includes functional goals for their behaviors.
Implications for Instructional Planning and Assessment
Student’s current functional goals are concerned with implementing coping strategies when upset or stressed, following teacher directions, identifying feelings and the antecedent to those feelings, and identifying positive ways to interact with peers. In addition to the functional goals, there are also academic goals that have been set for one of the female third graders.
Preventing significant behavior problems through the implementation of positive behavior interventions, classroom management, and engaging instruction are the primary goals for the student teacher. Through the establishment of classroom rules that derive from the collective recommendation of the students, order, expectations, and ownership for behavior provide a tone of safety within the environment. A strong token economy system, in correlation with PBIS, allows for the classroom to function in a manner where reinforcement for positive behavior is rewarded. Understanding student antecedents to behavior and modalities of learning will foster an environment rich in engaging academic instruction.
Due to the common incidence in behavior, it is imperative that reinforcement and recognition for negative and positive behaviors are addressed immediately. Students within the classroom will be on a leveled behavior data tracking system that tracks their behaviors by time, area, and occurrence. This data will be entered in behavior data tracking software to assist in identifying areas of behavior intervention that will assist the students in making better. Immediate feedback is key in assisting these students in recognizing both positive and negative behaviors; allowing them to assess praise and alternative choices to specific circumstance. Each of the students is scheduled for 30 minutes with the social worker and a 30 minute in class group session. These sessions address functional behavioral goals set in their IEP’s, and build on social skills through peer interaction.
Oak Crest establishes academic benchmarking for each student at the beginning of the school year through the use of Aimsweb and Ed Performance software to identify current academic achievement. The results of these assessments provide a base level of academic ability for structuring individualized academic needs and interventions for each student. In this classroom, each student will be survey level assessed at grade level, below grade level, and above grade level to assist in identifying areas of academic need and accelerated learning. These results will be used for curriculum identification, individualized if necessary, to assist the students in academic achievement and scholastic success. The teacher will use in class grading, self-checks, and progress monitoring to ensure academic achievement and identify areas of need. This will provide the teacher with immediate feedback regarding the current success of instructional strategies, allowing for adjustments if needed. In accordance with each student’s IEP, accommodations and modifications to workload and environment will be provided.
Conclusion
Contextual factors for this Teacher Work Sample included information that pertains to the community, district, school, and classroom factors; student characteristics; and implications for instructional planning and assessment. Understanding the school you teach in, its history, and the community that it is a part of is imperative to establishing a relation based on commonality. Assessing student ability, modality, and function provides the teacher with the tools necessary for effective classroom management, and guides the development of lesson planning. This information provides the teacher with the implications for instructional planning as it pertains to the achievement of students.