Teacher Work Sample Overview
My teacher work sample was a four week statistics unit taught to eighth grade math students. The unit specifically dealt with graphing and analyzing univariate (single variable) and bivariate (two variable) data. During the first week, we looked at different types of variables and the different ways to graph single variable data. This included dot plots, bar graphs, histograms, line graphs, and box plots. These lessons served as more of a review for students, but it reinforced necessary skills for statistical analysis. The second week focused on graphing and analyzing bivariate quantitative data, specifically using scatter plots. This was a new concept for the students, so the week was less condensed and involved more exploratory learning opportunities. The final weeks were used as a wrap-up to review what students had learned, share their projects, and take the summative assessment.
My CFA was the largest influence when planning my unit. When compiling my strength analysis information, most of the students indicated that they prefer activity based, hands-on learning experiences. They enjoy fun ways to learn and I knew that when I included direct instruction, the students needed to be engaged on a physical level. Within each lesson I included an activity that changed the pace of the instruction and gave students the opportunity to learn the material in a new way. In addition to the strength analysis, the grouping patterns within the 8th grade had great influence in my planning. As mentioned in my CFA, students at Madison Jr. High School are grouped by academic performance. Though the grouping patterns do not hold true for all students, generally speaking, students in the A group tend to work at a quicker pace than their peers and have fewer behavioral issues. Students in the B and C groups may take more time to complete assignments and get through the material and tend to have more frequent behavioral issues. When designing my unit I accounted for the differences between the groups and ensured that the lessons and overall schedule would be flexible enough to tailor to each class.
