Description: I taught this science lesson to the fifth grade students in my practicum class during the Fall 2011 semester. I gave the students a pre-test to analyze the students’ knowledge base prior to the lesson. After I taught the lesson, I gave the students a post-test to analyze the knowledge gained.
Rationale: This artifact supports the evidence that I have knowledge of this subject matter and I can facilitate the acquisition of that knowledge in students. According to the analysis of the pre and post-tests, every student gained knowledge.
Science Lesson Results and Analysis
Artifact 2: Content Strategy, Allow Extra Wait Time, for English Language Learners
Description: Wait time is a period of silence given to students to formulate an answer to a question. Wait time is important because all students need time to sort out the meaning of a question and process the content required to answer it. Wait time is essential for English Language Learners (ELL) because they have an additional layer of language processing to go through.
Rationale: This artifact is an example of my ability to facilitate acquisition of student knowledge. Language Learners benefit from wait times of five seconds for simple questions and as much as ten to twenty seconds for questions that may be more complicated. A practice of extra wait time can lower the feelings of anxiety that often accompanies being called on to produce an answer.