Evidence of Student Learning Rational 1

The Evidence of Student Learning (ESL) Project involved the teaching of three consecutives

lessons to a small group of six high school freshmen students. The ESL consisted of five different parts;

(1) Learning Context, Topic and Objectives, (2) Assessment Plan, (3) Instruction, (4) Analysis and

Instructional Decision-Making, and (5) a written Reflection. I executed three separate lessons that

aligned with Common Cores Standards, included clear student objectives and instruction, and

appropriate assessments. The ESL was connected to the following CEC Standards; Standard 1 Learner

Development and Individual Learning Differences, Standard 2 Learning Environments, Standard 3

Curricular Content Knowledge, Standard 4 Assessment, Standard 5 Instructional Planning and

Strategies, Standard 6 Professional Learning and Ethical Practice, and Standard 7 Collaboration.

I obtained increased knowledge and skill mastery on Learning Development and Individual

Learning Differences (CEC Standard 1) by completing this project. I taught six different students during

the ESL and in order for all to be successful it was essential that I taught to all six students learning

styles and needs. I was able to do this by utilizing principles such as multiple means of representation

and expression from the Universal Design for Learning. In addition, I gained knowledge on this standard

by supporting two students with disabilities. One student in my group had a Learning Disability and

required extra time to be successful. I always provided this necessary extra time for this student and she

was successful in all three lessons and all assessments. The second student in the group with a disability

had an Emotional Disability. In order to help this student to be successful I allowed her to use a Flash

Pass for the Guidance Counselor if she ever felt the need to seek that type of support. Assisting these

two students with disabilities strengthened my skills in Learning Development and Individual Learning

Differences.

I gained knowledge and skill in Learning Environments (CEC Standard 2) by providing a safe,

positive, and supporting learning environment during all three days of the ESL. I taught in a conference
Evidence of Student Learning Rational 2

room, which provided comfortable chairs and a large table at which the students could sit at. I provided

positive feedback to the students throughout the lesson in order to support their learning. In addition, I

brought excitement to the various learning activities in order to increase student engagement. Providing

this safe, positive, and supportive learning environment aided my students learning and increased my

expertise on CEC Standard 2.

All of the instruction included in the ESL was focused on the topics included in the Baltimore

County Public School curriculum. The three lessons that I taught were on the economics unit included in

the ninth-grade Government curriculum. I followed the curriculum and even utilized some of the

learning activities included in the curriculum in order to complete my ESL. Aligning my ESL lessons

with the ninth-grade Government curriculum increased my skill mastery in CEC Standard 3 Curriculum

Content Knowledge.

I increased my knowledge and skill in Assessment, CEC Standard 4, by including appropriate

assessments within the three lessons of my ESL. Each of the three lessons included some form of

assessment. My first lesson of the ESL was introduced with a pre-assessment. This pre-assessment

informed me of any prior knowledge the students may have had on economics. In addition, the pre-

assessment gave me something to compare the summative assessment to in order to show evident of

student learning which resulted from the three lessons. Formative assessments were used throughout the

three lessons in order to check the students understanding as the unit progressed. I checked for

understanding in order to make sure that no student fell behind in the curriculum. Lastly, a summative

assessment was given to the students during the third and final lesson in order to assess the students

overall learning on the economics unit. Including these appropriate assessments throughout the ESL

increased my skill mastery of CEC Standard 4.

The ESL artifact increased my knowledge and skill in CEC Standard 5, Instructional Planning

and Strategies because it required me to make strategic instructional decisions while planning the ESL

lessons. The curriculum included a variety of learning activities to teach the economic unit, I needed to

choose the learning activates that were most appropriate for my students. I chose the learning activities

included in my ESL based on the learning needs of my students. Since I was only working with six

students, I knew that I would be able to work more closely with the students so I was able to include a

large variety of student led learning activities. In addition, the students that I taught were all on an

honors academic level so I chose learning activities that would challenge them appropriately. Planning

my lessons strategically based on my students personal learning needs enhanced my knowledge on

Instructional Planning and Strategies, CEC Standard 5.

Successfully executing and completing the ESL artifact also helped me to gain knowledge and

skill in CEC Standard 6, Professional Learning and Ethical Practice. I used ethical and professional

practice by obtaining permission from the students Government teacher to pull them out of class so that

I could teach the students as a small group. I also enhanced my skill in this standard by keeping all the

students personal and educational information confidential. I kept all of this information confidential by

not using any of the students names in my ESL paper. Instead of using student names, I assigned each

student a single letter and referred to this letter when discussing that particular student in the paper.

Gaining professional permission and maintaining personal confidentiality increased my mastery of CEC

Standard 6 Professional Learning and Ethical Practice.

I mastered CEC Standard 7, Collaboration, by collaborating with multiple professional resources

in order to complete the ESL artifact. I collaborated with the Baltimore County Public School

curriculum by choosing the lesson topics and some of the learning activities from the curriculum in my

ESL. I collaborated with my mentor while planning the lessons for the ESL. I would often discuss
Evidence of Student Learning Rational 4

learning activity ideas with my mentor in order to gain his opinion on the effectiveness of the learning

activity. His opinion and advice played a large role in my planning decisions. Lastly, I collaborated with

a government professor in order to choose six students to teach my ESL to. This collaboration helped me

to identify appropriate students to teach in order to successfully complete the ESL artifact. Practicing

these various forms of collaboration strengthened my ability in CEC Standard 7 Collaboration.

The six students who were in my small group for the three lessons were all positively affected by

my mastery of all of the CEC Standards. Mastering these standards assisted me in appropriately

planning, teaching, and assessing the ESL artifact. Mastering the standards also aided me in being able

to provide an appropriate and enriching learning opportunity for the students. It is evident that all six

students were positively affected by my gained knowledge and skills in the seven CEC Standards

because all students showed evidence of learning in all three of my lessons. This learning is illustrated in

the students increased scores in the summative assessment compared to their pre-assessment scores. The

increased scores in the summative assessment illustrates the students learning, which was positively

affected by my increased mastery of the seven CEC Standards.