Details for Writing Assignments and Assessments

Overview

This document provides information regarding:

• grading weights for each category
• six types of writing assignments

If at any time you have questions about this information, contact the instructor. It is always best to ask questions and seek clarification in advance of when assignments are due. Additionally, please keep in mind the Raise Your Hand section of the course, which serves as a good place to gain clarification from each other. Often times you are able to respond to one another and support/clarify for one another faster than the instructor can respond individually. Further, if as a result of individual advising, you receive information others too might find helpful, please post any take-aways to this section for others to view and discuss.

Grading Weights (% of final grade)

• Participation (20)
• Assignments (20)
• Course Activities (30)
• Final Project (30)

Discussion and Writing

The discussion/writing requirements for this course have been designed to scaffold in the following way:

• whole/small group discussions ask you to engage with other aspiring teacher leaders in deep and meaningful discussion—Participation
• critical reading responses ask you to engage with an author’s ideas—Assignments
• personal reflections ask you engage with your own reflective teaching practice and developing leadership practice—Assignments
• walk throughs ask you to serve as an instructional coach with a specific (cooperatively set) goal for instruction in mind AND develop a synchronous method of communication for collaborative discussion about instructional development—Course Activities
• an article critique asks you to demonstrate an understanding for how to assess quality inquiry research relevant to teacher leadership as it contributes to leadership for instruction—Course Activities
• a professional development presentation asks you to demonstrate your learning specific to the role of teacher leaders in schools and promote teacher leadership as essential to teaching and learning—Course Activities
• a teacher inquiry proposal asks you to engage in a problem of practice, and, in the process, pull together what you have learned in the course—Final Project

Following is a detailed description of each writing assignment. Dues dates are found in the syllabus.

Whole Group and Small Group Discussion (Participation—20% of your final grade)

Discussion asks you to engage in the learning by submitting your own original post (based on the instructor’s prompt) as well as at least two responses on students’ statements (see requirements below). As you comment on students’ statements, be kind and respectful, but do not hesitate to question or challenge or provide further exploration. The instructor may create smaller groups to facilitate the exchange of ideas and discussion if needed.

No assessment rubric will be used for discussions. Grades will be determined according to the following criteria.

Discussion requires on time participation in ways that enhance your learning as well as the learning of others. The original post must (a) follow the prompt, (b) make a strong case or argument for your point, (c) reference the current assignment (and past assignments as applicable), (d) use accurate composition skills, and (e) be approximately 250 words. Note: your discussion posts must be comprehensive enough to meet the minimum criteria and succinct enough to meet the maximum criteria, thus, approximately 250 words is appropriate.

Your follow up responses are required to provide meaningful responses that enhance your learning and that of your fellow classmate(s), address at minimum two other students’ statements, and qualify as kind and respectful, but also challenging or furthering questions. Additionally, your comments should qualify as substantive content:

• Avoid empty phrases such as the following several examples lacking specificity and analysis:

  “I agree, that really, really interesting. I had not thought of that before, but I will think about it now. Thanks for your insight!” or “Good point, I wish I had thought of that myself because I was just thinking something similar to that the other day but I never wrote it down and you helped me remember,” or “I disagree with you; I don’t see it that way although I’m in a different school that you and maybe I don’t see things from your perspective.”

• An example of one type of substantive comment might look like:

  “I think John makes a good point about the power conflicts between teachers and principals—that they may be inevitable—but I think that teachers can sometimes have greater power than principals in a building. Their power does not come from the authority of their office but from their long-time service to the school and track record for being effective in the classroom, politically savvy, and held in high regard and credibility by other teachers.”

If the instructor determines your interactive responses to the group do not meet expectations for quality, he/she may opt to contact you individually with suggestions for improvement.

Critical Reading Response (Assignments—20% of your final grade)

A Critical Reading Response (CRR) is a succinct, formal, academic paper. It does not “report” on what you have read or viewed in order to demonstrate that you completed the assignment. The instructor assumes you have completed all reading assignments. CRRs look for your ENGAGEMENT with the text and the author’s ideas. Engagement means you have zeroed in on one or two key ideas from the author. The “critical” part means you have formed an analysis: for example, questioned the author, pointed out something he/she has missed and why it is important, examined the assumptions the author is working from and why those assumptions should be questions, or how the author’s perspective might be skewed or not relevant because of his/her social position and why this situation is significant to the key ideas you are discussing in the reading. Another angle might be that the author’s idea connects strongly with another author’s idea, a connection that is new to you. Any one or more of these critical perspectives could be used in a CRR.

This assignment welcomes your insight on connecting your response to other readings but please avoid focusing on your personal experience as an educator. Stay grounded in the TEXT, not in your PRACTICE or personal anecdotes. The purpose of a CRR is to develop your analytical reading, writing, and thinking skills. The development of these skills prepares the teacher leader to more powerfully present ideas, explanations, rationales, and arguments to his or her various constituents in order to support students. In short, the assignment assumes there is a link between academic analysis and practice.

A CRR is two to three pages (double spaced). If your effort is shorter than that, you likely have not sufficiently engaged with the text to develop an idea. Longer than two pages and you likely have not thought enough about the precision of your argument. While it is a formal, academic paper, you do not need to use a particular writing style (such as APA 6^th Ed.) with CRR’s; however, if you reference others’ ideas, make sure you cite those authors using proper APA formatting.

CRRs are two to three double spaced pages in MS Word format only, and uploaded in the designated drop box on Canvas. Use 12-point Calibri font and one inch margins. Include name, date, and paper title.

The Assessment Rubric for the Critical Reading Response: (total rubric score distributed across 50 points)

Criteria	Incomplete 0	Needs Improvement 1	Developing 2	Meets Expectations 3	Exceeds Expectations 4
Engagement with the text	Not evident No product	Most areas of prompt are not addressed.	Does not adequately address all parts of the prompt.	Addresses all parts of the prompt with cursory responses.	Addresses all parts of the prompt with specific detail.
Composition	Not evident No product	The response fails to achieve one or more the following criteria: following the prompt, focusing on one idea from the author or assignment, presenting an analysis as articulated by the assignment, and communicating clear and developed ideas.	The response attempts an analysis of an idea but lacks clarity, development of ideas, or focus on the text. While an effort was evident, the prompt is partially followed, resulting in an incomplete or underdeveloped response.	Response demonstrates an adequate analysis of an author/idea. Response follows the prompt and provides some engagement with author, but lacks depth or development of an idea.	Response demonstrates keen analysis through clear reading, thinking, and writing. Response follows the prompt and engages with an author/idea in a way that demonstrates a strong argument, creative thinking, or a unique perspective on the topic.
Punctuality	Assignment was not submitted				Assignment submitted on time

NOTE: Based on each criterion, the instructor has discretion over assignment grade and will communicate assessments and reason for the final grade.

Personal Reflections (Assignments—20% of your final grade)

Unlike a Critical Reading Response, a Personal Reflection (PR) makes connections and insights between assignments and your reflective practice. A Critical Reading Response stays grounded in the TEXT; a Personal Reflection stays grounded in your EXPERIENCE. The purpose of the assignment is to provide you with an opportunity to form useful links between the assignments and your experience: between theory and your teaching practice. The assumption exists in the assignment is that each student has a unique teaching practice and valuable experience, no matter how long the student has been an educator. A PR provides you with a guided but open space for you to explore connections, discover insights, and make the coursework meaningful to your day-to-day experience in the classroom and your school.

Each prompt will frame the assignment and provide a clear idea about what aspects of your experience might fit into the assignment. Try not to wander off topic. Follow the prompt and the suggested questions, and guiding ideas. Always conclude by explaining the “so what?” of your reflection: Why is this important to you or your school? Why was this reflection worth making?

Personal reflections should be approximately 1,000 words. Your Personal Reflection may be shared with the class. Upload your reflections as text into the designated drop box on Canvas.

The Assessment Rubric for the Personal Reflection (total rubric score distributed across 50 points)

Criteria	Incomplete 0	Needs Improvement 1	Developing 2	Meets Expectations 3	Exceeds Expectations 4
Thoroughness	Not evident No product	Most areas of prompt are not addressed.	Does not adequately address all parts of the prompt.	Addresses all parts of the prompt with cursory responses.	Addresses all parts of the prompt with specific detail.
Application of Reading & Viewing Assignments	Not evident No product	The response does not evidence connections to the assignments.	Demonstrates attempt to make one or more connections between assignments and personal experience, but needs further description, clarity, and/or examples to make the point.	Demonstrates one clear connection between assignment and personal experience.	Demonstrates clear and multiple connections between the assignments and personal experience.
Composition	Not evident No product	The response evidences serious problems in accuracy, clarity of language, and development of ideas.	The response has some accuracy problems in composition (spelling, punctuation, grammar, proofreading) and/or lacks some degree of clarity of language and/or development of ideas.	The response is written accurately with adequate clarity of language and development of ideas.	The response is accurately written with outstanding clarity of language and development of ideas.
Punctuality	Assignment was not submitted				Assignment submitted on time

NOTE: Based on each criterion, the instructor has discretion over assignment grade and will communicate assessments and reason for the final grade.

Walk Throughs (Course Activities—30% of your final grade)

You will be taking the role of instructional coach to support a teacher colleague in setting and working toward a goal for instructional improvement. To accomplish this work, you will first need to seek out a teacher for whom you will serve as a coach and support this teacher in working toward a goal for instruction in her/his classroom. Conduct a meeting to engage in collaborative discussion and establish that instructional goal, and then, conduct three brief walk throughs on separate days in that teacher’s classroom. As a form of synchronous discussion for collaborative discussion about these walk throughs, you will utilize a Reverberation Cycle Tool. Finally, you will reflect on the experience using a Coach Reflection Tool. Assessment guidelines are provided below:

Scoring Guide for the Walk Throughs

Criteria	Points
Coach Reflection—Collaborative Goal Setting: goal is evident within reflective statements goal serves as central focus driving actions evident within reflective statements goal serves as central focus driving reflections	25
Reverberation Tool—Follows Directions three visits are indicated all parts of the tool are complete responses are detailed, thorough, and intentional in reflection	25
Reverberation Tool—Collaboration tool administered asynchronously according to direction relationship established as both courteous, supportive within exchanges complete representation of article elements as applicable in accordance with items a-l provided for this section	25
Coach Reflection—Summary and Evaluation account of events is sufficiently reported with appropriate level of detail evaluation of practice is sufficiently reported with appropriate level of detail	25

NOTE: Based on each criterion, the instructor has discretion over assignment grade and will communicate assessments and reason for the final grade

Article Critique (Course Activities—30% of your final grade)

You will conduct a review of a research inquiry article to highlight strengths and weaknesses and the article’s applicability to teaching practice.

Scoring Guide for the Article Critique

Criteria	Points
Following directions: paper formatting required content correct formatting on APA citations	25
Content clear and complete Introduction succinct and accurate Summary	25
Analysis critically presented synthesis of ideas strong , clearly presented assessment of strengths and weaknesses complete representation of article elements as applicable in accordance with items a-l provided for this section	25
Conclusions accuracy of conclusions as they represent your thesis statement (from Introduction) critical presentation of ideas in response to items a-b provided for this section	25

NOTE: Based on each criterion, the instructor has discretion over assignment grade and will communicate assessments and reason for the final grade.

Professional Development Presentation (Course Activities—30% of your final grade)

You will create a professional development presentation to promote teacher leadership (TL) as essential to the continual improvement of teaching and learning. Your presentation should include a clear explanation of the role of the teacher leader as it both differs from and supports building leadership, as well as how to distinguish TL from high quality teaching. The presentation will be organized using the seven domains of leadership. Using these standards as a lens, the presentation will demonstrate for participants why and how TL is essential to instructional improvement. It will conclude with an activity that demonstrates TL as equitable and ethical.

The Assessment Rubric for the Professional Development Presentation (total rubric score distributed across 100 points)

Criteria	Incomplete 0	Needs Improvement 1	Developing 2	Meets Expectations 3	Exceeds Expectations 4
Present research that explains role of teacher leader in contrast with administrative leader	Not evident No product	Does not sufficiently contrast differences between TL and building leadership. Research to support claims is missing and/or APA incorrect.	Contrasts differences between TL and building leadership. Cites research to support claims with at least some evidence of correct APA.	Discerns TL from principal leadership w/some distribution of leadership as evidence. Cites research to support claims using correct APA.	Distinguishes plainly between principal leadership & TL using distributed leadership as a lens. Cites research to support claims using correct APA.
Create visual that contrasts TL with highly effective teaching (at least 3 ways)	Not evident No product	Visual demo provides at least 1 difference between TL and high quality teaching.	Visual demo provides at least 2 differences between TL and high quality teaching. Visual clearly communicates message.	Visual demo provides at least 3 clear differences between TL and high quality teaching. Visual stands out and clearly communicates message.	Visual demo instantly discerns multiple interesting and informative differences between TL and high quality teaching. Visual is relatable, innovative & eye-catching.
Identify and explain seven domains of TL	Not evident No product	At least some of seven domains are identified and/or explained.	Seven domains are identified. Explanations are missing and/or lacking in detail.	Seven domains are identified & each clearly explained.	Seven domains are identified. Each is clearly explained using succinct depictions of ideas that prompt simple, effective recall.
Present opinion of why and how TL is essential in context of an assigned domain	Not evident No product			Opinion of why and how TL is essential is presented in context of assigned domain	Opinion of why & how TL is essential is presented in context of assigned domain. Evidence in practice substantiates claims.
Articulate the ethical and equity issues accompanying TL in context of selected leadership domain	Not evident No product	Equitable & ethical issues of TL are presented lacking detail and/or insufficiently using a selected domain not already presented.	Equitable & ethical issues of TL are presented using a selected domain not already presented.	Equitable & ethical issues of TL are each presented, clearly & effectively, using a selected domain not already presented.	Equitable & ethical issues of TL are each presented, clearly & effectively, using a selected domain not already presented. Claims are substantiated by correctly cited peer reviewed literature and/or evidence from practice.

The Teacher Leader Inquiry Proposal (30% of your final grade)

Overview

One of the essential behaviors of teacher leaders is inquiry. Teacher leaders are curious to know more about their teaching practice in order to improve their instruction and student learning. They think creatively about how to attain more knowledge based on careful observation of their classrooms and schools as well as understanding of their students. They design and conduct inquiry aligned to their teaching practice in order to create data useful in problem identification and solution. Because their inquiry is grounded in their teaching practice, teacher leaders can speak with authority on matters of instruction, student learning, and school improvement. No other leaders in the school system have such a direct and substantive impact on teaching and learning.

Through the inquiry process, teacher leaders have an impact in their schools and community beyond their classroom. One reason is that their inquiry makes them credible sources of knowledge, able to speak to specific issue of teaching practice with current and relevant data. Another reason for their impact beyond the classroom is their relevance to other teachers; often the results and realizations of their inquiry can be transferred to other classrooms and other teachers’ practices. The impact of teacher leaders’ inquiry beyond the classroom can be visualized in Danielson’s Conceptual Framework, Lesson 01, Page 8.

This assignment, which culminates the course, is grounded in your reading of Dana and Yendol-Hoppey (2014). You will be following their guidelines to design (but not actually implement) a potential inquiry project aligned with a specific problem of practice. This assignment has several components that build on each other. For example, you will:

• identify and describe a “problem of practice” related to your own classroom;
• consider several wonderings that will help you frame an inquiry project related to your classroom or school;
• translate your wondering into an inquiry question that you could potentially investigate through a self-conducted inquiry project;
• describe the steps you would take in order to complete a potential inquiry project and anticipate the obstacles you might encounter;
• write a paper summarizing these steps; and
• create a narrated PowerPoint slide show to present your proposed project.

Learning Goals

As a result of this assignment, you should be able to design a potential inquiry project. This includes your abilities to do the following:

• describe the components of a teacher leader inquiry project
• identify, contextualize it, and link a problem of practice to your classroom/school
• determine the kinds of data you need to answer your question
• discuss how that data might inform your practice, improve student learning, and positively impact school improvement
• apply your investigative design skills to think about and draft other inquiry projects that ultimately might become your Capstone Project

Assignment

You will design a Teacher Leader Inquiry Proposal focusing on a practice-based problem with implications for your classroom/school. The assignment has two parts: a paper and a peer review process.

Directions

The paper is a narrative essay based on the following outline. Title it “Teacher Leader Inquiry Proposal” and include your name, date, and page numbers. Use section headings as outlined below and in accordance with the scoring rubric.

Note: you will not be actually conducting this inquiry. This in an exercise to practice inquiry design; going through the process of design helps you understand inquiry.

• The Problem. Describe a problem of teaching practice based on your classroom teaching. What do you want to know more about in order to serve your students better? Do you want to resolve a persistent problem impacting your teaching or students’ learning? NOTE: In some cases, you might have already conducted inquiry projects in EDLDR 802 and/or CI 501. For this assignment, you should choose a new topic or one related to your previous inquiry in order to gain practice in designing additional research plans to impact your practice.
• The Wonderings and Inquiry Question. Describe the wonderings you’ve had about this problem of teaching practice. Show us how you thought about this problem and what directions your wonderings took. Then, identify your finalized inquiry question, the guiding question that would steer your inquiry. Tell us why you settled on this question. You will want to refer to the readings and video examples and your writing responses and instructor comments and communications up to this point. Refer specifically to the relevant coursework in your paper which has influenced your question development. As Dana and Yendol-Hoppey (2014) suggest, make sure your question is narrow enough to potentially study in an inquiry project. NOTE: You will submit your inquiry question ahead of the final paper. The purpose will be to make sure you have zeroed in on a question that is sufficiently narrow and practical to study. See the syllabus for the due date. Remember, design your study in such a way that, at the end, you will be able to answer your question.
• Current Knowledge. Describe what is already known about your problem of your teaching practice. Use credible internet and library resources to describe best practice and scholarly research on the subject. Summarize and cite the research sources. Show us how the answer to your question will fill a gap in what is already known and what we need to further understand, even if it just applicable to your classroom. Then, based on filling this knowledge gap, discuss why answering this question is pertinent to your classroom, your school, and the profession.
• Data Collection. Describe the specific data you think you’d need in order to answer your inquiry questions. Be specific about: 1. The sources of data (see Dana and Yendol-Hoppey, 2014, Chapter 4), 2. How you would go about collecting these data, and 3. How you would organize and store the data. For example, make transcriptions of interviews, or create tables or charts for statistical data.
• Data Analysis. Using the guidelines in Dana and Yendol-Hoppey (2014), Chapter 5, describe how you would analyze the data.
• Findings. While you cannot know what your findings would be without actually conducting your inquiry, you might already have some ideas about what you would discover. Describe any ideas or intuitions about possible findings and explain why they are noteworthy.
• Implications for your teaching practice. Even without knowing your findings, you might have some general ideas about how discovering your answer will impact your practice, your school, and even the district/profession. Describe the possible implications of your study. This is one of the most important sections of the paper. It shows creative thinking about how your inquiry will impact you and others.

This paper will be 8–10 double spaced pages (not counting references). Use APA 6^th citation and reference style. Style manuals can be found for free on the internet by searching “APA 6^th Style” (this search will often take you to a university that makes a summary manual available to anyone free of charge). You can also purchase a style manual from online booksellers, or in reference collections in libraries. A good source to help with citations is the APA Style Blog.

Put your name, date, instructor name and paper title on the first page, and paginate. Use, only, a current version of MS Word format, and upload your paper to your assignment. See the syllabus for the due date. Use 12-point Arial font and one-inch margins all around. Note: APA requires a serif font for reading printed hard-copy pages. Because your paper will be scored electronically, you are asked to use Arial (non-serif) font.

Assessment

The proposal assignment will be scored according to the Scoring Rubric provided. The rubric serves two purposes: (1) to specify criteria for meeting and exceeding expectations for each criterion scored for this assignment, and (2) to demonstrate grading and points distribution for a B+ grade. To score a 100% on this assignment, individuals must go beyond “Meets Expectations,” which may be considered “acceptable” performance to “Exceed Expectations” in all areas, which may be considered “exemplary” performance.

The Assessment Rubric for the Critical Reading Response: (total rubric score distributed across 50 points)

Criteria	Not Acceptable 0	Needs Improvement 1 / Grade D	Developing 2 / Grade C	Meets Expectations 3 / Grade B	Exceeds Expectations 4 / Grade A
The Problem	The problem is not addressed. No product.	The problem is not a problem of practice and has little bearing on teaching and learning for you as well as other teachers.	The problem is a problem of practice whose impact on teaching or learning may not be evident. Relevance of benefit to others is absent.	The problem is a problem of practice having an impact on teaching and learning. Relevance to other teachers’ practice may not be evident.	The problem is a problem of practice, has an important & direct impact on teaching and learning, and also has relevance to other teachers.
The Wondering & Inquiry Question	The question is not addressed. No product.	The question, for one more reasons, cannot be adequately studied in a teacher inquiry.	The question’s relevance to the problem is unclear.	The question is relevant to the problem but is too broad to be adequately studied in a teacher inquiry.	The question accurately addresses the problem and is sufficiently narrowed to be answered by the inquiry.
Current Knowledge	The knowledge is not addressed. No product.	The proposal makes only a cursory attempt at collecting the existing knowledge on the topic.	The proposal considers an incomplete body of knowledge and does not include any peer-reviewed studies.	The proposal considers research from a variety of sources but misses key areas of knowledge to inform the study.	Proposal thoroughly considers most current peer reviewed research into what we already know about the topic.
Data Collection	Data collection is not addressed. No product.	Proposal has an insufficient data collection plan.	Proposal intends to collect data not relevant to the question and lacks in one or more of the following areas: amount, access, and collection methods.	Proposal identifies the appropriate types of data needed to answer the question but lacks in one or more of the following areas: amount, access, and collection methods.	Proposal identifies the appropriate kind & amount of data necessary to answer the question. The researcher has sufficient access to data and a systematic way to collect it.
Data Analysis	Data analysis is not addressed. No product.	Data analysis techniques are mentioned but not developed into a substantial proposal of ideas.	Data analysis techniques are proposed but do not follow a systematic approach as those discussed in (Dana and Yendol-Hoppey) text.	Data analysis techniques from the text are proposed with some evidence relevance to the answering the question.	Data analysis techniques from the text are proposed in detail and with accuracy relevant to answering the question.
Findings	The findings are not addressed. No product.	The proposed findings are either not apparent or in sufficient detail or both.	The proposed findings appear to have little or no relevance to the topic.	The proposed findings are described but lack specificity or plausibility to the topic and question.	The proposed findings are described specifically and are plausible to the topic and question.
Implications for your teaching practice	The proposal’s implications are not addressed. No product.	Lacking several criteria for this section. The proposal’s implications are insufficient.	Proposal’s implications demonstrate superficial thinking about the significance of your proposed study to your practice and others’ practice.	Proposal’s implications demonstrate thinking about the significance of your proposed study to your practice and others’ practice.	Proposal’s implications demonstrate critical and creative thinking about the significance of your proposed study to your practice and others’. Additional areas of relevant significance are unexplored.
Requirements	All paper set up and timeline requirements are not met.	Some paper setup and timeline requirements are met but most are missing.	Many paper setup and timeline requirements are met.	All paper set up and timeline requirements are met.	All paper set up and timeline requirements are met above and beyond expectations.
Citations	Evidence is not provided and citations are not included/ formatted correctly according to APA guidelines.	Evidence is missing where necessary for supporting ideas. Citations are missing and/or formatting is incorrect according to APA.	Evidence is provided but lacking in at least some aspects. Citations are included, but not formatted properly according to APA.	Sufficient evidence is provided and citations are formatted correctly according to APA guidelines.	Evidence is provided to thoroughly support ideas and conclusions. Citations are formatted correctly according to APA guidelines.