Running head: PLANNING, PREPARATION, INSTRUCTION, & ASSESSMENT 1

Planning, Preparation, Instruction, & Assessment

Margaret Karlov

Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 495 Field Experience ePortfolio, Spring 2015

Introduction

Planning, preparation, instruction, and assessment work together to educate in a

manner that is most beneficial to each individual student. Planning and preparation create

organization and purpose for teachers’ content, instruction delivers the knowledge, and

assessment creates evidence for students’ learning and can be used to adjust instruction to

meet the learners’ needs. All of these things must be used to maintain functional and

individualized lessons that promote student growth.

Artifacts

To demonstrate planning, preparation, instruction, and assessment, I chose a few

artifacts from a lesson I taught on Fact and Opinion. To begin my lesson, I reviewed the

objective with my students. Next, I walked students through a PowerPoint with a note-

taking graphic organizer. After reviewing the organizer and discussing the topic

thoroughly, I told the students we would be reading “The True Story of the Three Little

Pigs”. We read the book aloud as a class, stopping throughout to point out important

details. At the end, we summarized it. Next, the students independently completed a

worksheet with different statements (facts or opinions) about the story. The students

discussed their answers with partners and then we reviewed the answers as a class. I

collected the assessment and administered a one-question exit ticket about the topic. We

finished the lesson by restating the objective.

To plan my lesson, I first referred to the curriculum provided by the school’s 4th

grade CLC meeting. The topic of the week was fact and opinion, derived from Virginia

SO 4.6, “The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of nonfiction texts. G)

Distinguish between fact and opinion”. Then, I found a lesson I wanted to teach,
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collected the resources, and began lesson planning. My lesson plan included the standard,

objectives, procedure, important questions to be asked, differentiation, and more. When

this was completed, I began preparing for my lesson. To prepare this lesson, I first

collected the resources needed. I printed the worksheets, notes, exit, and entry tickets. I

had my lesson plan available and my questions ready to reference for my lesson. I

mentally prepared for the unit by going over the lesson in my head.

To teach this lesson, I began with stating the objective aligned with Virginia SOL

ELA 4.6 in the form of an “I Can” statement with the students. Then, I administered a

one-question multiple-choice entry ticket. I reviewed the answer with the students to

introduce them to the material of the lesson. Next, I used direct instruction to walk

students through an instructional power-point and gave them a note-taking worksheet to

fill out while doing it. When we were confident we understood the material, I moved on

to a read-aloud of “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs”. I told them to listen for the

different facts and opinions. When we finished reading, summarizing, and discussing, I

gave the students a fact and opinion worksheet based on the book to complete

independently. We reviewed the worksheet as a class. Finally, I gave the students an exit

ticket similar to the entry ticket, collected it, re-stated the ”I Can” statement, and closed

the lesson.

I used many forms of assessment in this lesson. I used an entry ticket, a

worksheet, and an exit ticket. My entry ticket was a short, non-fiction paragraph with a

corresponding multiple-choice ticket. Because we reviewed the answer as a class, I was

able to grasp who had background knowledge and who did not before I taught. Thus, I

was able to adjust my direct instruction based on that information. Next, I used a
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worksheet to ensure my students were paying attention during the lesson and read-aloud.

I allowed students to check their answers with partners and eventually reviewed them as a

class to try and clear away any misconceptions about the topic. Finally, I gave students an

exit ticket just like the entry ticket for my personal record so that I could see who still

needed reviewing after the lesson was complete. I used that data to form small groups for

remediation and followed through with that in the next days.

The artifacts I used for this lesson demonstrate planning, preparation, instruction,

and assessment. They demonstrate the procedure and planning of a differentiated and

standard-based lesson and the process of teaching it in a relevant and effective manner.

The assessments used benefited the student and teacher by giving students the ability to

practice and check their learning while providing the teacher with information used to

remediate and deepen understanding for those students that needed it.

Reflection of Theory and Practice

Planning, preparation, instruction, and assessment are some of the foundational

blocks for student learning. First, I believe that planning and preparation are critical for

effective lessons. While spontaneity is not always a bad thing, planning and preparation

help a teacher organize lessons to ensure all learning objectives are met. With a lesson

carefully planned and solidified, teachers will have more confidence to instruct students

with a differentiated, relevant, and objective-based lesson. Finally, assessment is critical

before and after teaching to first understand the level and style a student is learning at and

then to gather information about what needs to be remediated or changed in order to

achieve all objectives.

The first step of this process is planning and preparation. This step is critical and

is the stepping-stone to effective lessons. One author speaks to the importance of this,

“Far from compromising spontaneity, planning provides a structure and context for both

teacher and students, as well as a framework for reflection and evaluation’ (Spencer,

2003, p. 25). Spencer outlines four steps of this, “Who am I teaching? What am I

teaching? How will I teach it? How will I know if the students understand?” When all of

these things are considered, all learning goals can be addressed before the instruction can

begin.

When planning and preparation are done thoroughly, a teacher is prepared to do

their best in educating their students. Instruction should reflect the planning and

preparation and carry out the set goals. An article by the Stetson & Associates Inc.

outlines a few keys to effective instruction, “clear and written objectives, flexible

grouping with purposeful tasks, teacher serving as a facilitator, frequent assessment,

ticket out the door” (Walsh, 2016). I agree with these steps. Though planning and

preparation are important, if a teacher does not follow criteria like this, it will not be

effective and the objectives will not be met.

Finally, one of the most important blocks of education is assessment. This term

often seems daunting to both teachers and students. Changing this just requires a shift in

perspective. Assessment is a great thing. It allows students to show their knowledge and

it gives both teachers and students the information needed to improve. One article states,

“Asking students to demonstrate their understanding of the subject matter is critical to the

learning process; it is essential to evaluate whether the educational goals and standards of

the lessons are being met” (Edutopia.org, 2008). By using this tool before and after a
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lesson, both teachers and students are given opportunity to see their work and become

better.

Every day, I am given the opportunity to utilize these critical classroom tools. By

planning and preparing a driven, effective lesson with proper assessment, I have security

that my students and I will be learning. I believe these things are essential to any

classroom and teachers should constantly be working to perfect them.

References

Spencer J. (2003). Learning and teaching in the clinical environment. BMJ (Clinical `

research ed.), 326(7389), 591-4.

Walsh, J. (2016, November 14). Key to Effective Instruction. Retrieved March 7, 2019,

from https://stetsonassociates.com/key-to-effective-instruction/

Why Is Assessment Important? (2008, July 15). Retrieved March 7, 2019, from

http://www.edutopia.org/assessment-guide-importance.