The University of Northern Iowa College of Education - Summer 2008 - (Page 15)

Teacher Work Sample – a window into students’ teaching T eacher education faculty at UNI know that their students can teach to impact student learning. They know this because all student teachers document their teaching skills using a narrative assessment method called Teacher Work Sample. Barry Wilson, director of assessment for the College of Education, calls the use of teacher work samples the “best thing that’s happened to UNI’s teacher preparation program.” UNI led the national effort involving 10 other universities to develop the Teacher Work Sample (TWS) method beginning in 1998. UNI worked with other premier teacher preparation institutions from the Renaissance Group to address the issue of accountability in teacher education graduates. TWS is based on the work sample methodology that originated at Western Oregon University, according to Victoria Robinson, associate professor of educational leadership and UNI coordinator for TWS. Faculty who initiated the work at UNI were Robinson, Lynn Nielsen, professor of curriculum and instruction, and Rob Boody, associate professor of educational psychology and foundations. The work sample is a student teacher’s narrative of a unit the student taught from start to finish. It includes reflections and explanations of seven processes students go through during their first four weeks of student teaching. In general, these include the student’s ability to plan a unit of instruction, the actual teaching, the student’s ability to direct learning for individual students and for the whole group of students, and what changes the student would make to address any problems which may have occurred in their teaching. The use of the Teacher Work Sample is a powerful means for change, Wilson stresses. “It not only helps students change, but it also helps faculty understand how they may want to change their own teaching when they see what their students are actually thinking and doing.” Robinson emphasizes, “TWS is not just a finished product – it is a process. It is a habit of mind and practice.” UNI teacher education students also benefit from TWS because its seven processes “blend beautifully with Iowa’s eight teaching standards and nationally required accountability systems,” Robinson adds. After conducting a pilot study, the TWS faculty committee recently revised the TWS section that asks student teachers to show evidence of measurable student learning. “In too many cases, this was translated into using a pre- and post-test,” Wilson says. “That’s not what we had in mind. Numbers aren’t always the best way to show learning. In areas such as music or art, other ways of assessing learning can be done.” Wilson says reading TWS narratives give faculty a “window into student teaching that they have not had before.” UNI faculty members also incorporate work sample activities and assignments in earlier classes and experiences. Wilson notes that this gives students in earlier levels of the teacher education program a picture of what it will be like to teach a unit. This is one example of the many supports faculty build into their courses to prepare students to write a TWS. Teacher work samples are used in several graduate courses for practicing teachers and administrators. School principals in Robinson’s Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment course examine work samples as a way to work with their teachers and talk about teaching in a meaningful way. “UNI is a recognized leader in this area,” Robinson says. “Faculty from other states have visited UNI to see how TWS works and we’ve had multiple articles about TWS published in referred journals.” For more information and TWS examples, visit www.uni.edu/teached/students/tws.shtml. Excellence in Education—Spring/Summer 2008 15 http://www.uni.edu/teached/students/tws.shtml

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The University of Northern Iowa College of Education - Summer 2008 Contents PLS Recommended For Statewide Mission Iowa Legislature Funds Regents' Math/Science Initiative School Counselors Reinstated For All Iowa School Districts Human Performance Center Dedicated DVDs Illustrate Early Childhood Education Standards UNI Leads in Solving Shortage of Special Education Teachers Iowa Initiative to Reduce Unintended Pregnancies Service to Special Olympics Olympic Champ Brings Coaching Techniques to UNI Meet Tomorrow's Promising Educators Len Froyen Multicultural Initiatives in Teaching Program Technology Facilitator Certificate Program Offered in Fall UNI Only Regents University Offering Technology Teacher Preparation Curriculum and Instruction All-University Professional Development Day Premieres Barb Hill - Known to All Teacher Education Majors Teacher Work Sample - A Window Into Students' Teaching Faculty and Student Award Winners Graduates - Where Are They? Career Notes UNI College of Education Receives 1.1 Million Dollar Gift Scholarship Needed

The University of Northern Iowa College of Education - Summer 2008

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