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Artifact 1: Assessment as Feedback

Context:

Artifact 1: Assessment as Feedback was created for CI 5650: Middle Level Instruction

and Assessment for the Spring 2019 semester. This assignment required me to analyze a variety

of student work samples and provide quality feedback for the students to reflect upon and grow

from. Both of the assignments for which I analyzed student work were based in English language

arts and on relevant Common Core State Standards. After providing feedback to the student

works samples, I was asked to use the feedback to create an instructional plan to support students

and address their individual needs as a class, as a small group, and as students in need of specific

supports (i.e. those with IEPs, ELLs, etc.) to ensure everyone can meet my high expectations.

This entire assignment was based in the tenets of ​This We Believe​ and higher order thinking

(AMLE, 2010; NIESC, n.d.).

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Impact:

Artifact 1: Assessment as Feedback encouraged me to provide feedback to student

sample work, and then use that feedback as data to inform my instruction. It made me think

about student data in a way that I had not done before. To me, feedback was just something

teachers provided to students to help them understand how or why they did something wrong or

ways to improve their work. I had never thought of feedback being something teachers could use

to guide instruction. It is through the completion of this project that I now understand feedback

to be an instructional tool that can help teachers provide the level of support and differentiation

our individual students need to be successful. Based upon the feedback provided, students could

easily be divided into groups for either enrichment or intervention to help them master the

material and practice their skills to ensure future success.

Alignment:

Artifact 1: Assessment as Feedback aligns with Standard 4: Student Learning because it

pushed me to analyze student data critically while providing meaningful feedback. This allowed

me to create an instructional plan appropriate for a wide variety of students, from low, struggling

students to high performing students. Oftentimes teachers simply deliver direct instruction to the

entire class, and this only helps students who already understand the material. Students who do

not just fall further and further behind their peers. By providing feedback and using the

assessment data to guide instructional plans, all students can be appropriately challenged and

supported in a small group setting, which is more conducive to authentic learning (L’Esperance,

et al., 2013).

Artifact 2: Presentation Zen

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Context:

Artifact 2: Presentation Zen was created for CI 5630: Instructional Technology during the

First Summer 2015 session. This project required me to create a PowerPoint presentation that

could be used in the context of a constructivist lesson. The goal was to use the presentation to

actively engage students by telling them a story rather than passively presenting information to

them. Within the PowerPoint, I had to include a detailed script in the Notes section for each slide

and a voiceover recording of myself. I was also required to write a reflection on why I made the

choices I did for my presentation, how those choices related to educational technology, and

curricular connections. My presentation was on a (much condensed) history of the Roman

Empire from its early beginnings to its ultimate collapse.

Impact:

Artifact 2: Presentation Zen was somewhat difficult for me to create because it required

me to utilize a completely new form of presenting information: one in which there are little to no

words on a screen (Reynolds, 2005). Instead the speaker is charged with using images to tell

their story. Looking back on the presentation now, without listening to the audio, it is difficult

for me to tell why included the images I did, but that is the point of Presentation Zen. As

Reynolds (2005) states, “[the presentation should] be virtually meaningless without… [my]

narration.” The presentation was designed to hook young adolescent students with engaging

images that would set their developing brains racing toward understanding.

Alignment:

Artifact 2: Presentation Zen aligns with Standard 4: Student Learning because it is

ultimately student-centered. Research tells us that the average young adolescent’s attention span
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is between 10 and 12 minutes (Shockley, 1986; Vawter, 2009). Therefore, they need

opportunities to engage with media beyond sitting and staring at a screen. They need to be

transported by strong storytelling. That is precisely what Artifact 2: Presentation Zen provides.

The PowerPoint itself flows in a narrative fashion, drawing connections to things with which

students are familiar. This “hooks” students to the story, allowing true engagement to occur

(Reynolds, 2004).

Artifact 3: Lesson Design

Context:

Artifact 3: Lesson Design was created for CI 5650: Middle Level Instruction and

Assessment during the Spring 2019 semester. This project required me to create a class within a

specific school context and describe its setting, demographics, student population, etc. I was then

tasked with designing a lesson for students in that classroom setting based upon the information I

had gathered. The lesson had to include elements such as: learning targets, instructional

materials, standards, assessments (formative and summative), instructional strategies, and

learning tasks, among others. I then had to complete a commentary in which I described the

central focus of the lesson, my knowledge of students to inform my teaching choices, the level to

which my lesson supported students mathematics learning, and the way in which I monitored

student learning. The lesson I designed was for a seventh grade social studies class at Central

Wilkes Middle School in Moravian Falls, NC. The topic was an interactive World War I

Simulation in which students each represented a leader of one of the involved country. It was

designed for a mixture of AIG, mid-level, and EC students.

Impact:
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Artifact 3: Lesson Design is a lesson I have used in my own classroom at Central Wilkes

Middle School. I have also taught it exactly as I described it in the project, with a mixture of

students of many different ability levels. At the end of the lesson sequence, my students always

ask when we are going to do something like it again because it engages them in history in a way

they have never experienced before. They are in control of the lesson, which is an amazing thing

to see. Young adolescents are going through such strong physical, emotional, mental, and social

changes that they need opportunities to be in control (AMLE, 2010). One of my key areas of

interest as an educator is in the use of simulations in the social studies classroom. This project

allowed me to combine one of my passions with student learning outcomes in a way that has

truly improved my teaching and my response to student data analysis.

Alignment:

Artifact 3: Lesson Design aligns with Standard 4: Student Learning by demonstrating my

thorough understanding not only of the appropriate content for middle level students, but also in

the key ideas and theories related to teaching and learning. As is clear from ​This We Believe,​

young adolescents learn best when they are engaged in the content physically, mentally,

emotionally, and socially. Artifact 3: Lesson Design provides students with the opportunity to do

just that. Students must work collaboratively to make alliances, declare war, negotiate treaties,

and plot troop movements. This requires higher order thinking because of the sheer complexity

of planning and participating in a war, even a simulated one. Students must evaluate and analyze

a series of primary source documents to guide their planning, and negotiate with other countries

to get the best outcomes. Students often emerge from this lesson sequence as leaders, which they

did not previously think possible. Students demonstrate their understanding through physically
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doing something, rather than passively listening to information about the war. It is an incredible

experience.

Reflection

Each of the three artifacts described above exemplifies my mastery of Standard 4:

Student Learning. Standard 4 requires that a candidate has a thorough understanding of the key

concepts related to teaching and learning, uses data to make informed educational decisions, and

utilizes the key theories and concepts related to assessment. Artifact 1: Assessment as Feedback

required me to analyze student responses and provide valuable feedback to their work. I was then

asked to create an instructional plan to provide both enrichment and intervention opportunities

for all students based on the analysis of student data. Artifact 2: Presentation Zen was based

upon a key idea related to young adolescent development and knowledge acquisition. Young

adolescents have short attention spans, yet when they are presented with an engaging story full of

evocative images, such as those provided in Artifact 2, they are hooked into the lesson. True

learning is then able to occur. Artifact 3: Lesson Design required me to analyze school and

district performance data to design a classroom and a lesson plan sequence for students in this

class. I then had to incorporate supports for a sample of students based upon data received. These

three artifacts provide a clear insight into my understanding and mastery of Standard 4: Student

Learning and my growth as an educator.

I selected Artifact 1: Assessment as Feedback as evidence for Standard 4 because it

pushed me to analyze student work and the data it generated critically in a way that I had not

previously done. For me, providing timely and valuable feedback on anything other than major

projects has been a struggle. It is much easier to simply write “Good Job” at the top of a
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student’s paper than to sit down and provide detailed feedback for every single student; however,

through the process of creating Artifact 1: Assessment as Feedback, I came to see that while it

can be quite time-consuming to provide detailed feedback to all, doing so can have a huge

impact on instructional decisions, student grouping, and future assessments. When educators

analyze student work for evidence of learning and for the impact that evidence has on future

lessons, the value of providing feedback is incredibly high. Students need to know that their

teachers are taking as much time to analyze and grade their work as the students did in

generating the work. Students dislike the idea of “busy work,” assignments designed simply to

fill the time of a class period, and when they receive “busy work” assignments, they are more apt

to cheat on them (Zito & McQuillan, 2010). When teachers demonstrate the value of assignments

by providing feedback and using the data such feedback generates to make instructional

decisions, students are more likely to see the value of the assignments and from their mistakes

and misconceptions (Cross, 1988).

According to Lines (1994), “... the primary purpose of assessment in middle schools

should be not only to respond to student work and encourage academic growth, but to assist

students in maintaining progress toward becoming self-directed learners” (39). By providing the

sample students in Artifact 1 with meaningful feedback, I provided students with the opportunity

to become self-directed in their learning. The instructional plan I created based upon the data

generated from the feedback was differentiated, with small group supports being provided to

students still struggling with key concepts related to theme and message in poetry. Extension

activities were provided for students who understand theme and message, yet still need a little

extra practice to truly master the concepts through the use of stations. Enrichment activities were
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created for those students who have mastered the concepts of theme and message to allow them

to go beyond surface level analysis. This instructional plan was created based upon the data

generated from the teacher-provided feedback in the main section of Artifact 1. This use of

feedback and analysis of student work to generate meaningful data is something I believe would

be beneficial to students in my classroom, and it is something I will do in the future.

Artifact 2: Presentation Zen hits on another key aspect of Standard 4: Student Learning:

using developmentally appropriate technology and methods to aid student learning. There is no

doubt that our middle grades students are inundated by technology and technological

advancements, making it extremely important that they have instruction in using that technology

(Kay, 2009). Yet at the same time, too much information and technology can easily overwhelm

both students and teachers, making it necessary to balance the two for ideal student learning to

occur. Presentation Zen is designed to make that balance easier to maintain (Reynolds, 2005).

Artifact 2 required me to create a presentation based on a topic of interest to me and

potentially interesting to middle grades students based on the standards. I chose to focus on the

rise and fall of the Roman Empire based on NCSCOS Standard 6.C.1.3: Summarize systems of

social structure within various civilizations and societies over time (e.g., Roman class structure,

Indian caste system and feudal, matrilineal and patrilineal societies) and NCSCOS Standard

6.C&G.1.1: Explain the origins and structures of various governmental systems (e.g., democracy,

absolute monarchy and constitutional monarchy). Artifact 2: Presentation Zen was designed to

be delivered as an introduction to Roman history at the beginning of a unit, and I chose to use a

series of images to tell my story to students. Each image in the presentation relates to a major

concept, person, or place related to the rise and ultimate decline of Roman supremacy in
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antiquity, yet without the storytelling of a teacher, have little meaning to students. Using a

combination of images and storytelling is especially beneficial to our students who are digital

natives and are used to this type of information presentation from their favorite YouTubers, who

typically show a product (i.e. video games, toys, makeup, etc.) while telling a story to which

young adolescents can relate (Dreon, Kerper, & Landis, 2011). Artifact 2: Presentation Zen

simply uses that familiar manner of presenting information to young adolescents to bridge the

gap between academics and recreation, making knowledge acquisition easier. This style of

presentation is also very helpful to both visual and auditory learners, the former who are adept at

drawing connections between the images they see and the latter who have strong memories of

the stories they hear (Wood, et al., 2012; Mead, n.d.).

I chose Artifact 3: Lesson Design as evidence of my mastery of Standard 4: Student

Learning because it required me to analyze school and district data to design a classroom and a

series of lessons for students in that classroom. For this project, I was asked to research a school

and a district to learn more about the demographics, student population, community values, test

scores, and more to create a realistic classroom setting. I researched Central Wilkes Middle

School in Moravian Falls, North Carolina because it is the school at which I teach. As I

discovered through the research process, the school is situated in a rural area, yet has a relatively

high level of diversity for that area, including students from many different cultural, ethnic,

socioeconomic status, and learning ability level backgrounds. The classroom that I designed

based upon the gathered information was a mixture of high and low performing students to allow

extra support for the latter and mentorship opportunities for the former. As is clear from

research, this heterogeneous grouping of students is beneficial and can result in positive learning
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outcomes for all students (Nolan, 1998; Slavin, 1993; George & Grebing, 1995). It is also this

heterogeneous grouping set up that I used when I implemented the lesson sequence designed in

Artifact 3: Lesson Design.

The lesson sequence designed for Artifact 3 is based on the use of simulations in the

social studies classroom. I have been interested in this topic for many years, and I regularly

implement them. This specific simulation lesson sequence was based around World War I, in

which students act as either Presidents or Foreign Ministers for a country involved in the conflict

(i.e. Great Britain, Germany, United States, France, Austria-Hungary, etc.) Each day of the

lesson sequence represents one year in the war, and students are expected to make decisions

about their country’s alliance, troop movements, etc. based upon Top Secret Documents that give

them a background on their country, their goals for the war, and more. This simulation requires

students to work in pairs and negotiate with their classmates as real world leaders would in times

of crisis. It also requires students to think critically about world events and how a leader’s

decisions can affect the resulting historical events using primary and secondary source artifacts,

maps, statistics, and videos to guide their thinking. At the end of each “year” of the war, students

reflect on their experiences and complete a comparison of the simulated events to the actual

historical events of that year of the conflict. This lesson sequence was designed to engage

students with an event in history, to bring that event to life, and to get students moving and

talking with their classmates. This desire to get students moving and negotiating with their peers

is based on research that tells us that young adolescents need opportunities to develop

academically, socially, and physically while in school (AMLE, 2010).

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The final part of Artifact 3: Lesson Design required me to select three sample students

from a provided list that included a detailed biography of the student. The three students I

selected had a wide-variety of social-emotional and intellectual needs that I had to address in my

lesson sequence rationale. I had to describe the supports I would provide each of these students

based upon their biographies, my knowledge of young adolescent needs, and my understanding

of the community and school supports available at the school. The three students I selected, as I

described in Artifact 3, were selected because of their similarities to students I have taught in the

past. For example, one sample student was in foster care and had an intense dislike for school,

while another had an extreme proclivity to violence and vulgarity in the classroom. While

students such as these can be difficult to work with, they - like all students - deserve

opportunities to engage in school and learn from experiences rather than a textbook.

Artifact 3: Lesson Design is illustrative of my mastery of Standard 4: Student Learning

because it required me to combine many of the elements described in the criteria for this

standard. I had to use my knowledge of young adolescent development, the community in which

my students and I are situated, instructional technology, key theories and strategies in curriculum

and instruction, and finally, best teaching practices to craft a series of engaging lessons designed

to bring history to life. Many students feel that social studies is boring, and therefore, they should

not care about those events of the past. Yet it is through the use of simulations such as those

described in Artifact 3 that history truly comes to life and student learning truly takes place

(Gehlbach, et al., 2008; Gradwell & DiCamillo, 2013).

Each of the three artifacts described above are demonstrative of my mastery of

Standard 4: Student Learning throughout my time in graduate school. Through the creation of
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Artifact 1: Assessment as Feedback I learned of the value of feedback in gleaning important

instructional data from student work. With this artifact, I provided feedback to students’

formative assessments, and I used the data mined from the assessments and the feedback to

create an instructional plan designed to support all students’ learning. The instructional plan

created was differentiated to support students at a variety of different learning levels. As a result

of creating Artifact 1, I now feel more confident in providing timely and detailed feedback to

help students grow as learners. I also feel more confident in using student data to create

differentiated learning activities.

The creation of Artifact 2: Presentation Zen taught me the value of minimalism and

technology in the middle grades classroom. As I have stated previously, young adolescents have

short attention spans, and in an age of technological inundation, it is even more difficult to keep

their focus on what is being taught. By using the precepts of Presentation Zen, students

participate in a digital storytelling experience that is reminiscent of their favorite YouTube

channel. With this artifact, I created a multimedia presentation utilizing images, quotes, and

sounds to draw students into the history of the ancient Roman Empire, with its myriad accounts

of murder, drama, warfare, and more to retain students’ attention. By shifting away from the

more typical methods of delivering content to students (i.e. guided notes, lectures, etc.) to

students are introduced to the idea that learning about the past can be as engaging as some of the

things they watch on the Internet, and they are, therefore, more likely to retain the information.

Artifact 3: Lesson Design was the most difficult, yet most impactful artifact of the three

described above. This project required me to analyze school and district data to create a realistic

classroom with a wide variety of students. I was also tasked with creating a series of engaging
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lessons designed to challenge students and provide evidence of their learning. Because the basis

of Artifact 3 was on my own classroom, I found the most value in its creation. While working on

the lesson sequence, I used my own students as the basis for how everything should be

implemented. I thought of areas in which my students might struggle and brainstormed ways to

support them all. As I stated earlier, I used sample students provided from a list to describe the

supports I would implement, and that made it easier to implement those supports with my own

students when they completed the lesson sequence themselves. It was a rewarding process and

one in which I am glad I participated. I truly believe that I have demonstrated my mastery of

Standard 4: Student Learning through the process of creating each of the artifacts described

above, and I now feel much more confident in using the skills I gained in my own classroom.
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References

AMLE. (2010). ​This we believe: Keys to educating young adolescents.​ Westerville, OH:

Association for Middle Level Education.

Cross, P. (1988). Feedback in the Classroom: Making Assessment Matter.

Dreon, O., Kerper, R., & Landis, J. (2011). Digital Storytelling: A Tool for Teaching and

Learning in the YouTube Generation. ​Middle School Journal,​ ​42​(5), 4-10. Retrieved

from ​http://www.jstor.org.proxy006.nclive.org/stable/23047749

Gehlbach, H., Brown, S. W., Ioannou, A., Boyer, M. A., Hudson, N., Niv-Solomon, A.,

Maneggia, D., and Janik, L. (2008). Increasing interest in social studies: Social

perspective taking and self-efficacy in stimulating simulations. ​Contemporary

Educational Psychology​, 33(4): 894-914.

George, P., & Grebing, W. (1995). Talent Development and Grouping in the Middle Grades:

Challenging the Brightest Without Sacrificing the Rest. ​Middle School Journal,​ ​26​(4),

12-17. Retrieved from ​http://www.jstor.org.proxy006.nclive.org/stable/23023242

Gradwell, J. and DiCamillo, L. (2013). A means to an end: A middle level teacher's purposes for

using historical simulations. ​Middle Grades Research Journal,​ 8(3):39-59.

Kay, K. (2009). Middle Schools Preparing Young People for 21st Century Life and Work.

Middle

School Journal,​ ​40​(5), 41-45. Retrieved from

http://www.jstor.org.proxy006.nclive.org/stable/23044494

L'Esperance, M., Lenker, E., Bullock, A., Lockamy, B., & Mason, C. (2013). Creating a middle
 Marion 15

grades environment that significantly improves student achievement. ​Middle School

Journal,​ ​44​(5), 32-39. Retrieved from

http://www.jstor.org.proxy006.nclive.org/stable/419823​22

Lines, C. (1994). Authentic Assessment at the Middle Level. ​Middle School Journal,​ ​25​(4),

39-41. Retrieved from ​http://www.jstor.org.proxy006.nclive.org/stable/23023228

Mead, S. (n.d.). Auditory, Visual & Kinesthetic: Helping Kids Succeed Through Different

Learning Styles. Retrieved from

https://www.whitbyschool.org/passionforlearning/auditory-visual-and-kinesthetic-helping

-children-succeed-through-different-learning-styles

NIESC. (n.d.). Depth of Knowledge (DOK) Overview Chart. Retrieved from

http://www.niesc.k12.in.us/index.cfm/staff-development/public-consulting-group-co-teac

hing-session/depthofknowledgechart-pdf/

Nolan, F. (1998). Ability Grouping Plus Heterogeneous Grouping: Win-Win Schedules. ​Middle

School Journal,​ ​29​(5), 14-19. Retrieved from

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Reynolds, G. (2005, September 05). What is good PowerPoint design? [Web log post].

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18-20. Retrieved from ​http://www.jstor.org.proxy006.nclive.org/stable/41432021

Slavin, R. (1993). Ability Grouping in the Middle Grades: Achievement Effects and
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Alternatives. ​The Elementary School Journal,​ ​93​(5), 535-552. Retrieved from

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Vawter, D. (2009). Mining the Middle School Mind. ​NAESP - Middle Matters​.

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Zito, N., & McQuillan, P. (2010). Cheating Themselves Out of an Education: Assignments that

Promote Higher-Order Thinking and Honesty in the Middle Grades. ​Middle School

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http://www.jstor.org.proxy006.nclive.org/stable/23047579

Artifacts

Artifact 1: Assessment as Feedback

Artifact 2: Presentation Zen

Artifact 3: Lesson Design