Office of Field Experience
Sam Houston Innovative Partnerships with Schools
Teacher Work Sample
The Teacher Work Sample, the product of a five-year federally funded project focusing on improving teacher quality, is being incorporated into the Sam Houston State University's Initial Teacher Certification Program. The Teacher Work Sample assessment provides credible evidence that is essential for the implementation of a new data-management system for SHSU's Educator Preparation Program.
Brief History and Description of the Teacher Work Sample (Excerpts)
The Teacher Educator, vol. 39, no. 4, Spring 2004
The origins of teacher work sample methodology are consonant with the shift away from the traditional view of educational assessment as objective testing and toward the increased utilization of performance-based assessments (Hambleton, 1996). Within this emerging paradigm, the benefits of portfolio assessment for preservice teachers have been widely documented (e.g., Costantino & Lorenzo, 2002; Bullock & Hawk, 2001; Campbell, Melenyzer, Nettles, & Wyman 2000). Like portfolios, teacher work samples address standards-based instruction, can serve as an alternative measure of student performance, and can be utilized as documentation of “the developing achievement” of preservice teachers (Wolf & Reardon, 1996.). First developed at Western Oregon University in the 1980s, the purpose of teacher work sample methodology is to provide authentic evidence of a minimal level of competency before receiving licensure (Schalock & Myton, 1988).
The University of Northern Iowa’s involvement with the teacher work sample methodology began in association with ten teacher preparation universities belonging to The Renaissance Group are located in California, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The Renaissance Group utilized the University of Western Oregon’s research, development, and previous experience to develop its own version of the teacher work sample, as part of a 5-year Title II Federal Grant originally funded in 1999 and entitled “The Renaissance Partnership for Improving Teacher Quality.” Completed teacher work samples consist of a description and analysis of a 2-3 week teaching unit, are approximately 20 pages or more in length, and are written in response to the teacher work sample performance prompt. The following sections represent the seven teaching processes:
- Contextual Factors
- Learning Goals
- Assessment Plan
- Design for Instruction
- Instructional Decision Making
- Analysis of Student Learning
- Reflection and Self-Evaluation
Teacher Work Sample
TWS Exemplars -Website SHSU General TWS Information Powerpoint
SHSU Lesson Plan Links
SHSU Lesson Plan Template SHSU Lesson Plan Template Annotated SHSU Lesson Plan Assignment
SHSU TWS Format and Cover Page
SHSU TWS Format Instructions SHSU TWS Cover Page
SHSU Links for Analysis of Student Learning
The following links are suggested (not required) tools for addressing the Analysis of Student Learning portion of the TWS.
Analysis of Student Learning Info Example Spreadsheet for Analysis of Student Learning
SHSU Link for Shorter Version of TWS
SHSU Link for Reflection and Self-Evaluation
Reflection and Self Evaluation
TWS Committee: Dr. Daphne Johnson, Co-chair; Dr. Melinda Miller, Co-chair; Dr. Charlene Crocker; Dr. William Edgington; Walter Jett; Glenda Kennair; Dr. Margaret Mc Guire; Dr. Brian Miller; Dr. Marilyn Rice