Capstone Project: Evidence of Student Learning

Childhood Capstone – Fall 2019

Capstone Project: Evidence of Student Learning

Childhood Initial, TRADITIONAL& ALTERNATIVE Certification Programs

Fall 2019

The Childhood Capstone is required of all candidates (traditional certification MST, alternative certification MST and traditional certification BA Childhood candidates) for initial certification in Childhood Education Grades 1-6.  It demonstrates a candidate’s ability to impact on student learning: specifically, the candidate’s content and pedagogical knowledge, understanding and growing competency in planning instruction and learning activities, implementing the plans, using pre and post formal and informal assessments, assessing students’ work and utilizing the assessment to reflect upon and improve teaching practice and student learning outcomes. The instructions that follow are specifically for Graduate and Undergraduate Traditional and Alternative Certification candidates in Childhood Education.

1. IMPORTANT:The edTPA and Capstone Project are two different distinct assignments. The state requires the edTPA and the Capstone Project reflects a childhood program assessment. The content for each must be different pedagogical endeavors.  Lesson plans, student work samples, assessments, analysis of student learning, and reflections must be authentic and distinctly different from any content submitted to the state for the edTPA assessment.  The Capstone Project reflects and assesses work culled from successful completion of your Childhood Program of study and spans an additional array of elementary grades (1-6) content areas that are not addressed in the edTPA.  The Capstone Project requires a candidate to demonstrate planning, teaching, assessment of student learning for their respective class and students.

2. THE CAPSTONE PROJECT IS DUE ON OR BEFORE FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13^TH. PLEASE PLAN ACCORDINGLY!  The project is submitted to LiveText in the designated dropbox for the Childhood Capstone Project.  Label all cycles and adjoining documentation carefully to ensure that all facets of the project are fully addressed and complete.

Overview of the Capstone Project: The evidence of student learning project consists of several instruction and assessment cycles (lessons) of instruction.  Taken together these documents provide evidence of teacher effectiveness and student learning.  In addition, it illustrates candidates’ competencies assessing student work and utilizing those assessments to reflect upon and improve teaching practice. Additionally, this capstone project is completed concurrently with the edTPA, but it is important that the lessons are different. The project is completed concurrently by (traditional) candidates completing the edTPA in Childhood Education (for undergraduate and MST candidates).

All Candidates:

Cycle 1: Consists of two cycles of lesson plans, one focused on literacy, and the other on mathematics. Each cycle of instruction includes lesson plans, work samples, assessments, and analyses of students’ performance and reflection and commentary.

Cycle 2: Consists of two cycles of lesson plans, one focused on Science, and the other on Social Studies. Both cycles require the integration of Arts, Health Education, or Physical Education — all areas have to be integrated at the end of these two cycles. As before, each cycle consists of lesson plans, work samples, assessments, analyses of students’ performance, and reflection and commentary. ***The last cycle also includes an overall reflection of the project.

Each cycle must include the following:

1. Detailed lessons that address your entire class.  At the end of the semester, you must submit a total of 3 detailed consecutive lessons (for each cycle). Label each lesson clearly as to your focus.
2. Description of your rationale for teaching this cycle:  What are your objectives? What do you expect the students to learn? Why is it appropriate for this particular class or group of students?  (1 page).
3. Assessment (pre-, post-instruction and progress monitoring).   Include data charts which aggregate information on student performance pre- and post-instruction.  Indicate data for your entire class. (2-3 pages)
4. Student work samples.  Minimum of 3 work samples reflecting the performance of students of varied abilities.  How does the learner’s work demonstrate they have or have not learned? Did the work indicate you needed to make any revisions or re-teach some material?   Describe the samples and why you chose them. (1-2 pages).
5. Analysis of student learning. What is the evidence of student learning in the content area standards identified in this cycle (lessons)?  Discuss student work and assessment results in terms of what the students did or did not learn. Explain how you know this.

What does the data say about the instructional cycle and how does this inform your practice?  For example, what do the student work and assessment results indicate about how you taught the lesson (the backwards look)? What do the student work and assessment results indicate about what you might need to do instructionally going forward? (2-3 pages).

6. Reflection of the instruction and assessment that is aligned with Pace’s SOE Conceptual Framework.  Address the following questions: What evidence is there in my planning, instruction, assessment, and students’ work that I have promoted social justice?  What evidence is there in my planning, instruction, assessment and students’ work that I have enabled all students to be successful learners? What evidence in my planning, instruction, assessment, and students’ work have shown that I have grown in my competency as a teacher. (2-3 pages).