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Teacher Work Sample-1
Contextual Factors
Classroom Factors
A. Physical Features
Mr. Fields room is in the E hallway, located on the first floor. The classroom is
located between a science class and another history class. When students walk
into the classroom, they can see many different technological, visual, and physical
features in the class. There are seven different maps and a list of standards for
teaching government. Each map serves as a visual aids for the students. The
desks in the class are arranged as they are in many other classrooms, in
perpendicular rows facing the teachers podium. Near the entrance of the
classroom, there are five computers that serve as technological aids for the
students.
B. Availability of Technology
When permitted by Mr. Fields, students may use the computers. At the front of
the classroom, there is a Promethean board, which Mr. Fields mostly uses for
showing short video clips or slideshows. There are also two white boards that he
uses to write essential questions, dates, objectives, or to make other
announcements. Behind my cooperating teachers desk, there are two windows
that offer a view of the bus parking lot. Since there is nothing of real interest
outside the windows, they do not act as a distraction for the students. Mr. Fields
also has a bookshelf containing DVDs that can be incorporated into a lesson plan.
C. Resources
For Mr. Fields classroom, he uses a variety of resources such as google slides,
YouTube, textbooks, and the news.
D. Behavior/Classroom Rules
While in Mr. Fields class, I observed very few instances when students

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misbehaved. Since he is a popular teacher at Greenwood High School and most
of his students want to be in his class, they rarely misbehave. My cooperating
teacher informed me that, on the rare occasion when a student does misbehave, he
speaks to the student. If the student continues to misbehave, then he sends them
out of the class to speak to the principal. Another reason why Mr. Fields students
behave so well is that he keeps them engaged in conversation by relating the
material to their lives. In doing so, he is able to present the subject matter in a
way that is more easily understood and remembered by the students. For example,
when Mr. Fields was lecturing on Communism, he related it to the students all
getting a C in the class, regardless of how hard they worked. By doing this, the
students became more interested in the conversation, and they were able to realize
the impact that Communism might have in their own lives.
E. Parental Involvement
In speaking with Mr. Fields about parental involvement in his 9th grade world
history class and 12th grade government/economics class, I was informed that
parental involvement has decreased in recent years. According to Mr. Fields,
parents of honor students were more involved than other parents. However, even
their involvement was scarce. In most situations where parents reached out to
him, it was because they felt their child wasnt being challenged enough. Mr.
Fields also said that the parents of his college prep students usually did not
contact him unless there was a disciplinary problem or the student was failing the
class.
F. Grouping Patterns
Most of my observations were made in Mr. Fields 90-minute 2nd block
government/economics class, which mostly consisted of 12th graders. The 2nd

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block class held 37 desks, but only 25 students. Since there are so many seniors
in his class, he does not use assigned seating. This means that students usually sit
with their friends, but since Mr. Fields has allowed them to sit together they know
not to act up during class. Allowing students to sit where they please does
provide the teacher with leverage over the students, but it does pose difficulty
when learning their names.

Student characteristics
A.

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.
B. Student Interests and Culture
The students in Mr. Fields classes come from diverse backgrounds. In the 12th
grade government/economics class, the students consist of 10 boys and 15 girls.
There are seven African American students, three Hispanic students, and 15 white
students. There are no resource students in any of Mr. Fields classes this
semester. The primary language for the few Hispanic students who are in my
cooperating teachers class is Spanish, but they speak fluent English as well.
C. Learning Styles Present
Since Mr. Fields 2nd block class is a college prep class, the students abilities vary.
For some students whose primary language is Spanish, it can be hard at times for
them to fully understand what is going on. Certain students are placed in this
class who have no desire to go on to higher education after high school, so at
times it can be hard to motivate them to participate in a class that has no benefit to
their future. Other students are hardworking individuals who just could not

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handle honors classes. These students are always willing to fully participate in
class.
Mr. Fields lectures are less demanding than an honors government/economics
class because the students ability levels vary. Required reading is limited,
usually to the details provided on the Promethean board. Most of the time, the
students are only required to participate in discussions and to debate on occasion.
The discussions in class keep the students interested and help keep them active in
the morning.

Instructional implications
A. Modifications/Accommodations
Since Mr. Fields did not have any students on any IEP/504 plans I did not get to
see any specific accommodations. He did however tell me that in the past he
would allow extended time, preferential seating, and repeated directions for
students who were issued an IEP/504 plan.
B. Specific Instructional Implications (2 contextual factors)
For the students in Mr. Fields college prep 12th grade government/economics
class, I will have to relate the subject directly to the real world. Relating the
material to issues that affect the students lives directly will generate more student
interest in the subject. In terms of contextual factors, one of my goals is to relate
extreme global poverty to my students lives as well as to make the information
memorable. For example when teaching this lesson in economics I can show
images of India where people live in wastelands of garbage, which will help show
how poverty differs around the globe. The second instructional implication will
deal with how education directly effects income. Since most of the students in my

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class are about to enter the workforce, I believe that it is important that they see
how school will change the amount of money they will make after graduating.
For example I can show them on average what the average GED, high school,
associate, undergraduate, graduate, and doctorate degrees make. By doing this the
students may get a better idea of what career they would like to pursue after
graduating high school. When planning my mini lessons, I intend to utilize the
Promethean board to my advantage by using it to show various maps and images
to keep the students interested. I could also print out copies of certain maps, so
that the students can label it or take side notes. Once they have a hard copy of the
subject matter, they can learn the material in a more hands-on manner. To appeal
to the Hispanic students in my classroom, I could also relate how certain bills
have impacted the Hispanic community here in America.
The best way to monitor and adjust to my students needs will be through short
quizzes and discussions in class. Through these assessments I will be able to see
what the students struggle with, which will give me an idea of what we need to
spend more time on. If possible, I would like to use the smaller size of the
classroom to facilitate discussions with the students during my lessons. Since
there are 25 students in the classroom, I could use those numbers to my advantage
by asking the whole class a question and try to get feedback from it. If they seem
interested and have answers to my questions, then I can better gauge how much of
the material they already know. If there is little to no response, I could assume
that I am teaching them something that they have never learned before. The more
information I can gather about the students, the better my lessons will go.
As a teacher, information is extremely important. The more information a

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teacher has, the more prepared he or she will be. Knowing how diverse my
classroom is will help me prepare for my mini lessons and will also help later on,
once I am a certified teacher. Now that I see where my students come from, I can
include certain material that might interest them. For example, when teaching a
lesson on government, I could spend time on the Civil Rights movement and how
it opened the door for not only African Americans, but other minorities as well.
For students who may learn better with hands-on activities, I could provide a map
of the Freedom Riders trip across the southeast and ask the students to label the
locations of major events. For my visual learners, I could show a short clip of
what happened to the Freedom Riders once they arrived in Birmingham,
Alabama. Adapting my lesson to the broad variety of learners in my classroom
will not be easy, but it will help them successfully learn the material.
Gathering information about how well the students are doing in the class prior to
my lesson will also help me prepare. One way that I could do this is by asking
my cooperating teacher to see class averages on past tests. This will help me get a
better feel for how much the students already know and how well they grasp the
material that is being covered. I could also pre-assess my students by giving a
short quiz before my mini lesson. This quiz would be based on the material that I
would cover in the mini lesson. By giving this assessment, I can establish how
much my students already know about the material and I can use this information
when asking questions of the students. By asking questions that the students
already know at the start of the lesson, they will feel more confident in their
ability later when I ask something that they are not 100% sure about.
By gathering data and understanding how to apply it during my lessons, I will

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become more successful in my teaching. Taking notes on my students and their
environment is important, but it is just as vital that I understand how to use it to
my advantage. When teaching my mini lessons, it will be essential to use
everything that I have learned in order to benefit the students in the classroom.