1. The Teacher Work Sample: An Authentic Assessment
Lisa D. Murley
S. Kay Gandy
Department of Curriculum & Instruction

2. Assessment Tool
How can universities effectively use data to answer questions about student performance?

3. Renaissance Partnership Project
Five-year initiative by 11 teacher preparation institutions in 10 states
Improve quality of graduates and teachers in local partner schools by focusing attention on P-12 student learning
Teacher Work Sample (TWS)
Provide credible evidence of a candidate’s ability to facilitate learning of all students
Assess performance relative to national and state teaching standards.

4. What is a Teacher Work Sample?
Content Unit
Provides documentation of a teacher candidate’s ability to plan, deliver, and assess standards- based instruction.
Provides instruction embedded evidence of the impact of teaching on student learning.

5. Components of the TWS TWS Standards Prompt Rubric
Critical teaching performances expected of all candidates
Prompt
Teaching tasks that provide candidates an opportunity to demonstrate critical performances
Rubric
Specific instructions for judging critical teaching performances

6. Teaching Processes Assessed in the Teacher Work Sample
Use of Teaching Context
Unit Learning Goals
Assessment Plan
Instructional Design
Instructional Decision-Making
Analysis of Learning Results
Reflection on Teaching and Learning

7. Scoring the TWS Analytic Rubric Holistic Rubric Scoring Training
Descriptors for grading each component of the TWS
Holistic Rubric
Assignment of Overall Score
Scoring Training
Instructors, Supervising Teachers
Validity and Reliability

8. Uses of Teacher Work Samples: Achieving State Standards
Components
Kentucky Teacher Standards I II
III IV V VI
VII
VIII IX
Contextual Factors X
Learning Goals
Assessment Plan
Design for Instruction
Instructional Decision Making
Analysis of Learning Results
Reflection and Self-Evaluation

9. TWS as Assessment
Teacher Candidates score their students on a pre/post test and analyze results
Instructors score the TWS using rubrics and indicators
TWS serves as Critical Performance standard to indicate success of Teacher Education Program

10. Assessment Implications Teacher Work Sample
Teacher candidates assess P-12 students.
WKU Instructors assess teacher candidates.
College of Education assesses teacher education program.
Implications
Teacher candidates design instruction.
WKU Instructors make improvements in instruction.
College of Education refines teacher education program.

11. Viewing the Assessment
Handouts
TWS
Scoring Guide
Analysis of Scoring

13. Think, Pair, Share Generate a response to one of the following questions and share your response with a neighbor.
How can this information be applied to your teaching and learning situation?
How can the data collected from the TWS make a stronger impact in your teaching and learning situation?

14. Student Teachers Say...
“I learned that what I do and how I do it and why I did it makes a big difference in student learning. It made me understand what reflective practice really means.”
“My students showed a gain in learning and this gave me confidence as a teacher.”
“This was a rewarding experience because I was able to prove that my students will leave third grade knowing more because of my teaching.”

15. Faculty Say...
“In reading work samples for my area, I actually saw evidence that students performed the skills I taught.”
The teacher work samples can show us the strengths and weaknesses of our teacher education program.”
Finally, a framework that puts all of the processes of teaching into a big picture for our students.”

16. A Cooperating Teacher Says…
“The teacher work sample prompt gives me direction and focus to discuss the connection between teaching and learning with my student teacher.”