Introduction
This publication is a tool to help teachers
look at student work. The work samples, accompanying commentary, and
assessment tools featured in this publication originate from students
and teachers in Philadelphia public school classrooms who have participated
in the Philadelphia Education Fund's Small Learning Community Mini-Grants
program.
The selection of student work included in
this publication ranges across content areas and grade levels to provide
us with "windows" into student learning. The commentary
was developed by teams of teachers who looked together at the samples
for evidence of student learning. Such a process of inquiry encourages
professional collaboration, shapes further student learning opportunities
and classroom instruction, provides concrete examples of student development,
and informs us concretely of individual students, their challenges
and their successes. This is the story that student work tells.
How Was This Publication Put Together?
During the 1998-1999 school year, the Philadelphia
Education Fund supported teachers in the development, implementation,
and assessment of standards-based units of study through its Small
Learning Community Mini-Grants program. Small Learning Communities
are units within larger schools that contain their own students and
teachers and share a unifying theme around which all classes and activities
are focused. The Fund awarded more than $200,000 in Mini-Grants to teams
of teachers in over 70 schools across the School District of Philadelphia.
These grants supported curriculum units in classrooms and made money
available for instructional materials, books, and professional development.
The Fund provided additional support through professional development
for teachers that focused on looking collaboratively at student work.
The process of looking at student work in order to assess individual student progress was new for some teachers. Others have been looking at student work as part of ongoing professional development activities for many years. In order to prepare final reports on their projects, teacher teams collected and analyzed a sample of student work to provide one story of teaching and learning in their classrooms. Professional development workshops provided opportunities for these teachers to practice looking and analyzing. For each work sample, teachers provided a summary of their Unit of Study, an analysis of student learning, and in some cases, a reflection on how their analysis could impact student learning and classroom practice.
Using This Publication in Your School
Hopefully, you have already read Kate Nolan's
prologue on why looking at student work is
important. On the following page is a set of guidelines that were used
in the Philadelphia Education Fund's professional development workshops.
We encourage you to use or adapt these guidelines for your own professional
conversation around looking at student work. Additional guidelines or
protocols for looking at student work are available in the references
and resources section of this website.
First, read the pages for the pure enjoyment
of hearing the voices of teachers and students from across the city
seriously engaged in teaching and learning. Then you may find it helpful
to use a work sample from this website to try out your own inquiry into
student work. Use the guidelines on the next page to do your own analysis
of a student work sample. Remember, we all bring our own eyes and unique
experiences to looking at student work. Take time to examine the teacher
commentary to see examples of how colleagues synthesized their analysis
into a reflective narrative about learning and teaching in their classrooms.
It is our hope that this publication will be
useful for a variety of purposes. Bookmark and pass on the URL to fellow
teachers, staff, administrators, and parents. Actively use it in your
professional conversations and teacher meetings. Contact some of the
teachers involved in these projects to get more information about the
development of their units of study. Contact the Philadelphia
Education Fund to let us know about new ways you find to use this
resource and how it might be developed further in the future.
