Alignment And Social Change

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Discussion: Alignment and Social Change

In the context of research, alignment and social change will be important topics to return to as you prepare for the next courses in the research sequence and continue your development as a scholar-practitioner.

Consider, for example, what criteria are used in your discipline to evaluate alignment of research components. And in what way will your future research contribute to your identity as scholar-practitioner who is dedicated to positive social change?

For this Discussion, you will consider criteria for evaluating alignment among the various components of a research study. You will also reflect on your role as a positive social change agent through research.

With these thoughts in mind:

Post an explanation of the criteria you could use to evaluate alignment between data collection methods and other research components, such as the problem, purpose, research questions, and design. Then, reflecting on the course content, discuss the extent to which your newly acquired research knowledge and skills can support your role as an agent of positive social change. Be specific and provide an example(s).

Be sure to support your Main Issue Post and Response Post with reference to the week’s Learning Resources and other scholarly evidence in APA Style.

Checklists, Rating Scales, And Rubrics

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Checklists, Rating Scales, and Rubrics

There are many commonly-used teacher-designed assessments in early childhood education. Three of the most commonly-used informal evaluation tools designed by teachers are checklists, rating scales, and rubrics. “Informal evaluation measures are useful for teachers who need specific information about their students to use when planning instruction” (Wortham & Hardin, 2015, p. 184). Having an understanding of all three of these assessments is important to being able to monitor the growth and development of the children you work with. As a leader, it is important that you ensure your staff understands when to use each of these assessment tools. To prepare for this discussion, begin by reading Chapter 7 of your course text, Assessment in Early Childhood Education. Then, complete the checklists, rating scales, and rubrics chart with the mindset of creating this chart as a resource you could share with your staff about these assessment tools. Within the chart, use at least one scholarly or credible source to support your ideas.

CHART IS ATTACHED

 

After completing the chart, copy and paste it into your initial discussion response and address the following:

  • Briefly describe three situations/lessons/activities you might come across in your work with children. For each of the situations, explain whether a checklist, rubric, or rating scale would be the most appropriate to use to evaluate and assess the learning and development of the child(ren) you are working with and why
    Checklists, Rating Scales, and Rubrics

     

      Checklists Rating Scales Rubrics
    Explain the assessment and how you can use it to evaluate learning and development of children.      
    Discuss how the assessment is developed, including important considerations for each age group.      
    Explain one advantage of this assessment.      
    Explain one challenge with using this assessment.      
    Analyze how the assessment allows you to ensure the cultural and social needs of the children you work with are being met.  

Classroom Procedures, Rules, Consequences, And Rewards

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Students and teachers need to have procedures for everything based on the needs of the particular class. Establishing classroom procedures, rules, consequences, and reward systems help to optimize time for instruction and allows the learning environment to operate efficiently.

In this assignment, you will  create Section 3 “Classroom Procedures” and the Section 4 “Rules, Consequences, and Reward Systems.”

Part 1: Classroom Procedures

Use the “Class Profile” as a sample class of students for your selected grade level and complete the “Procedures , Rules, Consequences, and Rewards” template.

  • Five procedures, including one procedure addressing students’ safe and responsible use of technology
  • The purpose of each procedure
  • Procedure steps and activities
  • When each procedure will be introduced, modeled, and practiced
  • Assessment and feedback

Below your procedures write a 100-150 word rationale explaining how procedures minimize distractions and maximize instructional time.

Part 2: Rules, Consequences, and Rewards
List five rules and five consequences for your future classroom that include:

  • Classroom behavior rules that create a safe and productive learning environment
  • Explanation of your consequences in action,
  • Description of where and how you will document the consequences.
  • Explanation of your personal reward system.

Support your writing with a minimum of 2-3 scholarly resources.

Language Disabilities And Assistive Technology Unit Plan

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April is a fourth grader with a language impairment, but no physical impairment. Her performance on norm-referenced measures is 1.5 standard deviations below the mean for her chronological age. April has good decoding skills, but has difficulty with reading comprehension, semantics, and morphological processing. One accommodation that is prescribed in the IEP is the use of visual cues to support comprehension when learning new skills. She lacks organizational skills for writing and struggles with word choice. She receives services from a speech and language pathologist who is working with her on understanding word parts, vocabulary, and multiple meanings of words. You instruct April in a resource classroom with five other fourth grade students who also struggle with reading and written expression.

Communication goals in IEP:

  • April will identify at least five key content vocabulary words from an assigned reading using text with Mayer-Johnson symbols in Proloquo2go software and text to speech software with 90% accuracy over 10 consecutive trials.
  • April will write a definition for up to five key content vocabulary words from an assigned reading with 90% accuracy on a rubric over 10 consecutive trials.
  • April will use up to five key content vocabulary words in written sentences that use the word correctly in context, and include correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar with 90% accuracy over 10 consecutive trials.

Part 1: 3 Day Unit Plan

Use the “3 Day Unit Plan Template” to complete this assignment.

Create an English language arts (ELA) unit plan for your resource classroom based on Arizona or your state’s ELA fourth grade literacy standards specific to vocabulary acquisition and use. Includethe following in the unit plan:

  • Strategies to enhance students’ language development and communication skills in the Multiple Means of Representation section.
  • Strategies and technologies that encourage student engagement and the development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills in the Multiple Means of Engagement section.

Using details from the case study, address April’s needs in the Differentiation sections of the Multiple Means of Representation, Multiple Means of Engagement, and Multiple Means of Expression.

Specifically, incorporate the following into the unit plan to meet April’s needs:

  • The use of the AAC systems and assistive technologies planned in April’s goal to support her communication and learning.
  • Differentiated formative and summative assessments that measure April’s progress on the IEP goals in Part 1.

Part 2: Rationale

Provide a 250-500 word rationale that explains:

  • Why the instructional choices specifically meet April’s needs.
  • How the selected augmentative and alternative communication systems assistive technology used in the lesson plan is appropriate for meeting April’s needs.

Support your work with 2-3 scholarly resources.

This assignment uses a rubric. Review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

Classroom and Student Factors/Grouping

5.0

Classroom and student factors and their effect on planning, teaching, and assessing students are meaningful for the development of the lesson and skillfully described.

Standards and Learning Targets/Objectives

5.0

The objective is performance-driven, measurable, developmentally-appropriate, and directly aligned with the state standard.

Vocabulary and Academic Language

5.0

An ideal list of vocabulary and academic terms are included along with innovative and engaging strategies for teaching the new terms.

Resources, Materials, Equipment, and Technology

5.0

Resources, materials, equipment, and technology are innovative and enhance the lesson.

Depth of Knowledge Lesson Questions

10.0

Creative and thoughtful questions are created to assess all levels of student understanding to meet the diverse students outlined in the Class Profile.

Anticipatory Set

5.0

Anticipatory set is designed to creatively engage students and meaningfully activate prior knowledge.

Multiple Means of Representation and Differentiation [CEC 5.4, ICSI.5.K2, ICSI.5.S19, IGC.5.S13, IGC.5.S14, IGC.5.S16, IGC.5.S17, IGC.5.S18, IGC.5.S19, IGC.5.S23, IGC.5.S24; InTASC 2(e); COE 2.9]

10.0

Creatively presents content using a variety of developmentally-appropriate methods or tools that meet the needs of diverse students in developing language and communication skills aligned to the identified ELA standard. Differentiation strategies meaningfully address the students’ needs, incorporating the use of the AAC system identified in the goal.

Multiple Means of Engagement and Differentiation [CEC 5.7, ICSI.5.S14, ICSI.5.S15, ICSI.5.S16, IGC.5.S3, IGC.5.S10; InTASC 5(a), 7(h); MC1, MC2, MC4; COE 3.12]

10.0

Engagement plan innovatively allows students to explore, practice, and apply the content and academic language, while developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Differentiation strategies meaningfully address the students’ needs, incorporating the use of the AAC system identified in the goal

Multiple Means of Expression and Differentiation [CEC 5.2, ICSI.5.K2, ICSI.5.K3, ICSI.5.S7, ICSI.5.S14, IGC.5.K1, IGC.5.K3, IGC.5.S1, IGC.5.S7, IGC.5.S23, IGC.5.S24, IGC.5.S25, IGC.5.S29; InTASC 6(g), 6(i), 6(r), 8(b); ISTE-E 3b, 5b, 5c, 6b; MC1, MC4; COE 4.6]

10.0

Formative and summative assessments are technically sound and superbly designed to monitor students’ progress toward the identified learning targets/objectives. Differentiation strategies meaningfully address the needs of April, incorporating the use of the AAC system identified in the IEP goals.

Extension Activity and/or Homework

5.0

Extension activities and/or homework are creative, developmentally appropriate, and fully aligned to the unit’s learning objective.

Rationale: Part 1 [CEC 1.2, ICSI.1.K3, ICSI.1.K4, ICSI.1.K7, ICSI.1.K12, ICSI.1.K13, IGC.1.K4, IGC.1.S1; InTASC 1(a), 1(b), 1(d), 1(e), 1(f), 1(h), 1(j), 2(a), 2(b), 2(g), 2(h), 2(l); MC1, MC2, MC3, MC5; COE 1.7]

10.0

Rationale comprehensively articulates why the unit instructional choices made are ideal for meeting April’s needs.

Rationale: Part 2 [CEC 5.3, ICSI.5.K2, ICSI.5.K3, ICSI.5.S15, ICSI.5.S19, ICSI.5.S20, IGC.5.K1, IGC.5.S7, IGC.5.S21; InTASC 3(h), 8(g); MC1, MC4; COE 3.9]

10.0

Rationale comprehensively articulates how the selected augmentative and alternative communication systems assistive technology used in the lesson plan is appropriate for meeting April’s needs.

Mechanics of Writing (includes spelling, punctuation, grammar, language use)

5.0

Submission is virtually free of mechanical errors. Word choice reflects well-developed use of practice and content-related language.

Documentation of Sources (citations, footnotes, references, bibliography, etc., as appropriate to assignment and style)

5.0

Sources are completely and correctly documented, as appropriate to assignme