Part 1: Critical Assessment - Policy and Process in Practice

For your final assessment, create a presentation by doing the following:

1. Identify an educational issue within your school, work place, or prior education-related work experience.

2. Identify a decision that has been made that is associated with that issue.

3. Identify the stakeholders involved.

4. Describe the process used, evidence gathered, and analysis used to make the decision.

5. Provide recommendations that could improve any of the following: the process, data collection, or data interpretation.

For example, a school department may have to make a decision regarding a new textbook adoption. The issue in adopting the textbook is that it affects what curriculum will be taught in the classroom. It impacts how the curriculum will align with national or state standards. The example and problems in the book may facilitate a stronger sense of behavioral or constructivist teaching styles.
The adoption affects the schoolboard as they oversee curricular decisions made in the district. It affects administrative spending and may insinuate a value for a type of learning or content reflected by the school. Parents and students are directly affected as students must engage in the curriculum selected to demonstrate learning. Also, equity issues should be considered as all students will access the same text. Is the text biased?

Evidence could be gathered by comparing in a crosswalk matrix content and application skills in the chosen text to specific state standards. Additionally, a sample text and survey could be given to teachers and parents to measure dispositions and approval ratings. It may be that content experts in the department critique and approve the text.

Examples of other possible issues to evaluate are:

• A behavior policy in a classroom or school
• A process for RTI
• A decision about how to place students at the beginning of class or when making student schedules
• Homework or grading polices
• Instructional practices in the classroom that attempt to increase student engagement

Your PowerPoint presentation (or any other similar software) should include the following components:

• Slide 1: Introduction slide
• Slide 2: Identify the decision
• Slide 3: Identify the underlying issue(s)
• Slide 4: Identify the stakeholders involved
• Slide 5: Discuss the process used to make the decision
• Slide 6: Explain what evidence is gathered and used to drive the decision
• Slide 7: Evaluate the benefits and limitations of the data
• Slides 8-9: Provide three recommendations to improve the process and decision
• Slide 10: Reference slide with APA-style references

Note: Bullets and short phrases are effective in PowerPoint presentations. In addition to the slide, provide an additional 1- to

2-paragraph commentary in the notes section of each slide to further explain the slide and/or provide rationale for the content presented.

Support your statements with evidence from the Required Studies and your research. Cite and reference your sources in APA style.

Part 2: Student Reflection Survey

At three different points in the M.Ed. program, we are interested in knowing your self-reflection on various statements about students, teaching, and education. You will complete this reflection survey two more times during your program. Although the survey itself is not graded, you must complete it in order to receive a grade for this course.

You will be prompted to complete this survey when you submit your critical assessment to Taskstream. For instructions on accessing the survey form, click the Taskstream link in the course menu. You will not be able to successfully submit your critical assessment to Taskstream without completing this survey.

This course includes this assignment as a critical assessment documenting your learning on the national standards described below. For information on the critical assessment policy, please review the course syllabus. Be sure to review the rubric for the assignment.

InTASC Standards

4(j) The teacher understands major concepts, assumptions, debates, processes of inquiry, and ways of knowing that are central to the discipline(s) s/he teaches.

4(n) The teacher has a deep knowledge of student content standards and learning progressions in the discipline(s) s/he teaches.

5(m) The teacher understands critical thinking processes and knows how to help learners develop high level questioning skills to promote their independent learning.