Name:

Isabel Nodarse

Artifact Title: Comparison of Pre & Post Test - Using Inquiry When Designing a Standards-
Based Lesson


Artifact Purpose/Description:
The purpose of this artifact is to demonstrate how unpacking a standard and identifying the
content and the skills students need in order to master the standard is effective when also
coupled with using innovative and engaging instructional strategies to motivate students. The
students are in a low performing, high poverty school. These students are on the lowest
percentile of reading proficiency in the school. Generally, most students have previously scores
a Level 1 or 2 on the FSA Reading.


Why did you choose this artifact (purpose)?
How does this artifact connect to your passion?
What is the story behind this artifact?
In what ways does your artifact address issues of equity in your practice?


Story behind the artifact

The teacher, Mr. S., is in his second year of teaching and I have been his Induction
Coach for both years. Mr. S.s students are challenging students, both behaviorally as well as
academically. During the first year of teaching, we concentrated mostly on identifying
classroom management strategies that would allow for a productive learning environment
as well as implementing engaging instructional strategies that would motivate students to
actively participate in their learning. As we began our second year together, with
astounding results in students FSA scores from the previous year (Artifact 1a - Mr. S., was
identified as a highly effective teacher since most of his students had learning gains), our
journey consisted of not only unpacking the Florida Standards but also aligning the
instruction to the standard in order to track students proficiency on the standard. At this


school, teachers must follow an Instructional Focus Calendar (IFC) that outlines what
standards should be taught for that month and what texts should be read. During the
months of September 2016 and October 2017, the IFC stated that students needed to be
exposed identifying and using adjectives and adverbs as well as engage in reading Edgar
Alan Poes The Tell-Tale Heart. Mr. S. gave the students a pre-test on adjectives and adverbs
to assess their prior knowledge. As can be seen by Artifact 1b, the majority of the students
failed in simple tasks such as identifying the adjective and/or adverb in a sentence. None of
the students were able to effectively use an adjective or adverb in a sentence. After
analyzing the students assessments, Mr. S. and I began planning a lesson (attached) around
identify the adjectives and adverbs during the reading of a text (The Tell-Tale Heart)
(Artifact 1c), and how adjectives and adverbs convey specific meanings in a text, which was
what the Florida Standards asked students to be able to do. After the lesson, students were
once again assessed and as the attached chart demonstrates, their understanding of how an
adjective and adverb convey specific meanings as well as the ability to identify and create
sentences using adjectives and adverbs increased (Artifacts 1b & 1d).

How does this artifact connect to your passion?

As an Induction Coach, my role is to assist beginning teachers to become effective
educators and support their growth through the first two years. While many new teachers
follow an Instructional Focus Calendar and create lessons that identify the content, it is
imperative that they understand that the FSA test assesses the standards and uses the
content to address those standards. While some of the teachers I support are recent
education graduates, the majority of the new teachers has alternative certificates and is not
knowledgeable or experienced on the language of the standards. As the schools that I
support are all low performing, high poverty schools, my passion lies in making education
assessable to all students and providing diverse students the opportunity to be successful
on the state assessments so that they are college and career ready. The artifact is connected
to my passion in a variety of ways. First, my teacher and I looked at the standard, identified
the content and the skills the students needed to master in order to be proficient in the
standard, and built an engaging activity around that standard. As these students are


diverse in culture, ability, and motivation, we needed to design a lesson that implemented
instructional strategies that was creative, motivating, used music and visuals, and got the
students up and out of their seats. The activity also called for group work that allowed
students the opportunity to engage socially with each other. The pictures on the graffiti
activity were thought provoking and powerful and students were able to make connections
to current societal happenings, pop culture, or their own lives. Once students moved into
reading the text, A Tell-Tale Heart, where the standard asked students to determine a
central theme or idea and analyze its development over the course of the text while still
identifying how specific adjectives and/or adverbs affected the mood of the text, students
were immersed in the literary analysis of a complex text.
While observing Mr. S.s class during the reading and analysis of Poes suspenseful
story, it was remarkable to see so many non-readers fully engrossed in not only the reading
but also excited about discussing what they read. The second manner this artifact addresses
my passion is that as educators, we need to be able to differentiate the lessons to meet the
needs of diverse learners. During the planning of this lesson, Mr. S., and I discussed who
were his audience and what types of learners were they. Thus we included in the lesson
hands-on activities, movement, music, visuals, and opportunities for discussions. We also
analyzed the students work throughout the lesson as formative assessment in order to
adapt the lesson to meet the needs of the students. Once the students demonstrated their
mastery of the standard during their post test, we nevertheless still discussed ways we
could still address students who were struggling while students that had mastered the
standards could apply their knowledge to a writing piece.
Finally, the artifact speaks to my passion for allowing the students work to drive the
lesson. An assessment, whether it is formative or summative, should not be used as a grade
to be placed on a grade book to determine a students GPA. It should be used as a tool to
determine a students ability and either remediate, enrich, or build upon that knowledge.
Even though a teacher needs to move on to the next standard that is being covered in the
Instructional Focus Calendar, students work should be analyzed to determine strengths and
weaknesses in order to address challenges and/or concerns in future lessons. Often when
discussing student performance with a beginning teacher and I bring up a previous activity
or standard that was not successful with all students, the inexperienced teacher voices their


concern that they already covered that standard. However, teaching the standards should by
cyclical in nature in that we dont put away the standard because it was once covered but it
should continuously be addressed throughout the school year, providing students with
multiple exposures to all the standards. Therefore, as part of my support, I encourage
teachers to use student work as a measure of success and not necessarily rely on a letter
grade on Pinnacle. At the end of the school year, Mr. S gave out student surveys (Artifact 1e)
in order to reflect on his practice and allow students to have a voice in what areas they feel
the teacher helped them succeed as well as areas Mr. S. needs to improve upon. I also
interviewed Mr. S (Artifact 1f) in order to give him a voice on what areas he feels he
improved the most on in his pedagogy and what areas he feels that he still needs to focus on
to become a better teacher.


In what ways does your artifact address issues of equity in your practice?

Equal does not mean equitable. This is the biggest misconception and struggle for
new teachers at struggling schools that have diverse students and learners. The artifact is in
two parts: Planning for Effective Instruction and Analysis of Student Work. Both address
equity in the classroom. With the planning tool, Mr. S. and I looked at the standard and
discussed what strategies he could implement that would address all learning styles. The
concept of one size fits all does not apply in education so it was necessary that the lesson
have a variety of activities that would address diverse learners. We collaborated on a lesson
plan that would provide equitable opportunities for all students to use their strengths and
interests in order to engage the students in the learning process. As the lesson was
delivered, Mr. S. adapted the instruction when monitoring student engagement, ability, and
progress. The second part of the artifact, the Analysis of Student Work, also sustains equity
in that it not only tracks students proficiency on the standard itself but also identifies
specifically what strengths students have at each level and the learning gaps. Once the
learning gaps were established, Mr. S. and I collaborated on differentiated next steps that
would move students learning forward. Instead of providing all students with handouts to
complete, the lesson plan and analysis of students work enabled Mr. S. to create lessons and


implement strategies that meet the needs of his students at their level and scaffold the
activities to reach the desired goal.



What Teacher Fellow competency does your artifact reflect and how does it relate to
your learning and growth (teacher as instructional innovator, teacher as leader, and
teacher as researcher)?

The artifact reflects me as a teacher as instructional innovator. While I am working
with Mr. S. as an Induction Coach, we are peer collaborators when addressing lessons and
student needs. While I may use reflective coaching language to guide the teacher towards
an effective lesson that would positively impact student achievement, ultimately the teacher
needs to have a voice in the collaboration and feel comfortable with their role. Since the
teachers I support have a population of students that are generally struggling students at
low performing schools, it is imperative that the instructional strategies be varied,
addresses student needs while still be engaging and motivating, differentiated in that all
students are receiving the tailored instruction that meets those needs, standards-based in
order to make them college and career ready, and culturally relevant so that students can
make personal connections to their learning. In order to accomplish this and guide my
beginning teachers to the ultimate goal of student achievement, I need to be an instructional
innovator and constantly research and learn about possible strategies that the teacher can
execute effectively and seamlessly. To this end, I am in a continuous cycle of learning and
growing. As the teacher and I continuously analyze students work, their strengths and
learning gaps, and discuss their specific learning needs in order to design effective
standards-based lessons, each day is an occasion to learn and prospectively grow as an
educator.


How does this artifact reflect your skills as a teacher leader? How does it connect
to/fit into your map of influence?

Both parts of the artifact reflect my skills as a teacher leader. Most of my beginning
teachers come into the profession knowing very little about education. Many believe, most


especially teachers working on a temporary alternative certification, that they will be

handed a teachers edition and they just need to open to the first chapter and begin.
Therefore, as a teacher leader I need to guide them off of the virtual ledge as I engage them
on this rewarding yet imposing journey. From classroom management to learning about
IEPs, I need to have a gentle yet firm hand in supervising their role as teacher. I meet with
the teachers weekly for approximately 90 to 120 minutes, sometimes more often than that
depending on a teachers needs and ability to accept and grow in their new role. I quickly
establish a trusting relationship with my teachers and they rely on me for a variety of issues,
from how to handle a confrontational student to how to grade an assignment. While the
students are at the center of my map of influence since everything that the teacher and I do
impacts the students directly, I also work with the schools coaches as well as administrator
to ensure that the teachers work is aligned with the principals vision for the school. I
communicate monthly with the administrators to receive direction from them as to how
they feel the teacher is doing and what they would like me to focus on with the teacher. I
also work directly with the students when the teacher would like me to assist in providing
support to the students. As I work with the district, I also keep in mind the vision of the
district and ensure that my teachers attend any workshops or seminars that are being
offered by the district in order to keep up with the many district initiatives that are
constantly being rolled out.