Student Teaching Unit
Student teachers are expected to demonstrate competence in both short and long range planning. Even more importantly, they are expected to demonstrate that their teaching results in student learning. Evidence of both these important professional abilities is presented in the student teaching unit. All student teachers are required to prepare, teach and assess an original unit of study. The unit my extend from one to several weeks. A copy of the unit must be submitted to the university supervisor. Required reflection questions in your journal will provide important components of your unit planning, assessment and analysis process. All units must include the following components.
Introductory material should include a title page, table of contents, grade level, duration, and a rationale statement regarding the importance of this unit for the particular group of students.
Key concepts, generalizations, and essential question(s) that give structure to the unit should be identified. These may be presented in a list or concept map. Relationships among elements of the content analysis should be clear. Each unit should be structured around generalizations and/or key questions. These are supported by related concepts. Facts selected for the unit help students understand the concepts and generalizations to be taught. The entire content analysis must be related to the Michigan standards and benchmarks.
Michigan standards and benchmarks to be addressed must be written out, not just listed by number.
Your unit outcomes/ objectives will clarify the things you want students to know/be able to do by the end of your unit. They should be clearly tied to your content analysis and the Michigan benchmarks. For each Michigan benchmark, list in a logical teaching order the objectives/outcomes related to that benchmark.
The set of outcomes must:
be congruent with content
be clear and observable
include varied levels of thinking
require students to use content in complex ways.
Preassessment must evaluate students’ understanding of the most important concepts and generalizations to be taught. You will analyze this information to make decisions about 1) what needs to be taught most deeply and 2) ways you might differentiate instruction for students who need more challenge or are lacking some prior knowledge. The preassessment may include paper-and-pencil and/or hands-on tasks as long as it provides the following information for EACH STUDENT:
current level of understanding of most important ideas and skills to be taught and
pre-requisite skills and understandings necessary to begin the unit.
The intent is not to preassess every unit outcome but to gather information on students’ understanding of the most important concepts and generalizations. It is particularly important to preassess areas where you anticipate common misconceptions.
In this section of the unit you will do the following:
Select 3-5 key objectives/outcomes for preassessment including at least one that requires higher level thinking.
Plan and administer preassessment activities.
Summarize information in a grid with key concepts at the top and students’ first names on the side or in another system that provides similar evidence. Create a system to record students’ current level of understanding for each key outcome (for example, No Evidence of Understanding, Limited Understanding, Evidence of Substantial Understanding). Be sure to explain how you defined each term and what evidence you used to create the categories. It should be clear which portion of your preassessment addressed each of the key concepts.
Choose one student for learning analysis. This should be a student about whom you have concerns, not an average student nor the most challenging student in the class. You will collect at least three examples of this student’s work throughout the unit (not including the assessments), analyze his or her progress, and adapt instruction as necessary.
This section of the unit will include your lesson plans for each day. Lesson plans must:
identify related outcomes and MDE benchmarks
reflect preassessment information outcomes may need to be adjusted to reflect students’ current levels of understanding
include varied types of lessons (at least one each of direct, inductive, cooperative)
include whole group, small group, and individual activities
include the thoughtful use of technology by students
reflect thoughtful consideration of multiple intelligences, learning styles, cultures, and other diverse student characteristics
include opportunities for both family involvement (letter or newsletter, interactive homework, etc.) and ties to the community (service learning, community resources, use of local media, etc.)
use appropriate adaptations for special needs students
plan for a culminating activity that requires students to use key ideas in authentic complex ways. This activity should require students to summarize, synthesize, and display learning from the entire unit.
The analysis of student learning has two components: analysis of group learning and individual analysis. It is not necessary to analyze student mastery of every fact or skill that is taught, but it is essential to evaluate student mastery of the key concepts and generalizations reflected in 3-5 objectives/outcomes. This will be compared to the information gathered in the preassessment to provide evidence of student learning. The group analysis must include:
description of assessments used to evaluate students’ understanding of the 3-5 outcomes selected (There should be a clear correspondence between the outcomes selected and the assessment tasks.)
at least one assessment that requires students to use key concepts or generalizations in complex ways, for example in a project or other authentic assessment
a grid or other device that records each student’s level of mastery of each objective/outcome and the assessments used to evaluate that mastery
a summary statement about how student learning has been demonstrated through the assessments and how that information will be used in planning. This analysis will be presented in more detail in the required journal reflections.
The individual analysis must include
a description of the individual student selected including preassessment information and other relevant observations (NO real student names should be used)
a description of adaptations made for the student based on the analysis of the student’s work
a description of the student’s learning progress, using evidence from the work samples collected
7. Teaching Materials
Necessary materials for teaching the unit should be listed. This would include:
List of visual aids and other media
List of necessary technology
List of other needed resources including concrete materials, human resources, etc.
All handouts, overheads, etc. necessary for lessons should be included in the unit.
List at least 10 print and 3 web references
All aspects of the unit should reflect professional spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.