Study Guide
Sample Written Performance Assignments
Field 87: Professional Knowledge—Adult Education
The following materials contain:
- Sample test directions for the written performance assignments
- Sample written performance assignments
- Examples of strong responses to the written performance assignments
- The scoring rubric
Sample Test Directions for Written Performance Assignments
This section of the test consists of two performance assignments. For each of these assignments, you are to prepare a written response and record it in the on-screen response box presented with each assignment. You should use your time to plan, write, review, and edit your response for each assignment. You must write responses to both assignments.
Read each assignment carefully before you begin to work. Think about how you will organize each of your responses. You may use the erasable notebooklet to make notes, write an outline, or otherwise prepare your response. However, your final response must be typed in the response box presented on-screen with the assignment.
As a whole, your response must demonstrate an understanding of the knowledge and skills required of an entry-level adult educator in Arizona. In your response to the assignment, you are expected to demonstrate the depth of your understanding of the knowledge and skills of teaching practice through your ability to apply your knowledge and skills to the situation presented in the assignment.
Your response to each assignment will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
PURPOSE: The candidate fulfills the purpose of the assignment by demonstrating an understanding of relevant andragogical knowledge.
APPLICATION OF KNOWLEDGE: The candidate accurately and effectively applies relevant andragogical knowledge.
SUPPORT: The candidate supports the response with appropriate examples, evidence, and rationales based on relevant andragogical knowledge.
The performance assignments are intended to assess teaching knowledge and skills, not writing ability. However, your responses must be communicated clearly enough to permit scorers to make valid evaluations of your responses according to the criteria listed above. Your responses should be written for an audience of educators. The final version of each response should conform to the conventions of edited American English. Your responses should be your original work, written in your own words, and not copied or paraphrased from some other work.
For each assignment, be sure to write about the assigned topic. You may not use any reference materials during the test. Remember to review your work and make any changes you think will improve your responses. You may work on the assignments in any order you choose, but be sure to finish both assignments before the end of the test session.
Sample Written Performance Assignment 1
Use the information provided to complete the assignment that follows.
An adult education teacher's class includes 20 students ranging in age from 30 to 55 years. The students, who all have family responsibilities, are performing at various instructional levels and have varied academic and personal goals they would like to achieve. The teacher has identified the following goal.
Create a learning environment that promotes all adult learners' active engagement in learning.
Write a response of approximately 150–300 words in which you:
- describe one strategy for creating a learning environment that promotes all adult learners' active engagement in learning; and
- explain why the strategy you described would be effective in achieving the goal of creating a learning environment that promotes all adult learners' active engagement in learning.
Sample Response for Written Performance Assignment 1
One strategy for creating a learning environment that fosters adult learners’ motivation is to contextualize the lessons in order to emphasis the relevance to the learners’ lives. Because all members of this class, despite the diversity of their ages, have family responsibilities, that might be an ideal area of focus. For example, math instruction could incorporate creating a household budget, or a grammar lesson on verb tense could be built around a narrative involving a learner’s child or parent.
This strategy can be effective in an adult education environment because it not only allows learners to see the applicability of the knowledge they’re being taught, but it also utilizes the varied life experiences they bring to the class. This life experience, both past and ongoing, is among the primary differences between adult learners and children, and every opportunity to capitalize on this should be seized.
But contextualization should not only look backwards and at the present life of the learner, but also forward, primarily by demonstrating how the knowledge being taught will be utilized in a future setting, either professional or personal. If the adult learner can more clearly see the value and benefits of mastering a given lesson, their level of engagement will be sustained. For example, literacy instruction might be based around employment opportunities and how the desired skills would be applied in specific jobs. This gives the learner a tangible goal to work towards, keeping them motivated, which can be more challenging for adult learners given the multitude of outside responsibilities many have.
Sample Written Performance Assignment 2
Use the exhibits to complete the assignment that follows.
Citing evidence from the exhibits, write a response of approximately 300–450 words in which you:
- identify a specific learning strategy to include in the planned lesson in order to meet the learning objective;
- describe a method for differentiating instruction with regard to the targeted learning objective; and
- explain why the method you described would be effective in helping adult learners meet the targeted learning objective.
Class Information
An adult education class includes 20 students of diverse backgrounds and ages. Most of the students are attending the class to earn a high school equivalency diploma with a goal of attending community college. The students' instructional levels are varied and their assessed reading scores range from ABE 2 to ABE 5 levels. The teacher is planning a lesson as part of an instructional unit on humans and the environment.
| Learning Preferences | Number of students responding | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Agree | Neutral | Disagree | |
| 1. I need written directions for tasks. | 6 | 5 | 9 |
| 2. I need oral directions for tasks. | 11 | 2 | 7 |
| 3. Charts and diagrams help me understand what someone says. | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| 4. I think more clearly when I move around. | 5 | 9 | 6 |
| 5. I need specific examples in order to understand fully. | 14 | 1 | 5 |
| 6. I remember things better if I discuss them with someone. | 12 | 0 | 8 |
| 7. I like to discover things myself. | 6 | 3 | 11 |
| 8. I enjoy working with my hands or making things. | 9 | 5 | 6 |
| 9. I like to take notes or write things down to remember them later. | 7 | 4 | 9 |
| 10. I understand what I am reading better if I read it aloud. | 11 | 2 | 7 |
| 11. I need explanations of charts and diagrams. | 10 | 4 | 6 |
| 12. The best way for me to remember something is to picture it in my head. | 8 | 3 | 9 |
| Lesson Plan Outline | |
|---|---|
| Standard | ASE: Science Indicator D The learner understands the characteristics of living things and the interrelationships of living organisms with one another and their environments. |
| Lesson Topic | Individual Action to Protect the Environment |
| Lesson Objectives | Students will examine their daily activities and lifestyles and develop a plan for reducing their personal carbon footprint. |
| Key Vocabulary | carbon dioxide, carbon footprint, climate change, emission, greenhouse gas |
| Guided Instruction and Student Learning |
|
| Assessment | Students record actions taken to reduce their personal carbon footprint in learning journals. |
Sample Response for Written Performance Assignment 2
After reviewing the results of the Learning Preferences Survey from this class, it is clear that a majority of the students need to engage in a more direct way with the subject matter in order to feel most comfortable learning. This is reflected not only in the desire for specific examples in order to understand clearly, but also in their preference for oral directions, reading aloud, and opportunities to discuss new information with others.
With this in mind, cooperative learning would be an ideal strategy to include in order to meet the objective of students developing their individual plans for reducing their personal carbon footprint. In groups no larger than five, I would have the students do their web research and begin to form their plans. Not only does this strategy give students an opportunity to engage one another directly and become more comfortable with the subject matter in a smaller and less intimidating environment, but it also capitalizes on the diversity of backgrounds and ages within the class. By discussing both the overall and individual results of the carbon footprint worksheet, students will get a broader and more personal understanding of how humans affect the environment. Additionally, generating ideas for reducing their own footprints will be more productive in a group setting as members can feed off on another’s ideas.
Because the students’ instructional levels and reading scores are so varied, differentiating instruction is a necessity. Beyond simply understanding the diversity of the students’ backgrounds and preparedness, or providing instructions and important information in a variety of means (visual, oral, written), I would make use of the deliberate construction of the small groups by matching students with similar reading scores. At the same time, ideally, I would also capitalize on the diversity of ages of the students and create groups that reflect as much.
Grouping by reading competency will allow me to provide additional support as needed to the Beginning Basic and Low Intermediate groups while the others work primarily at their own pace. The diversity of ages within each group will provide intergenerational support and perspective. Because the lesson incorporates understanding of humans’ effect on the environment at both a global and personal level, it is important that students have the time and resources they’ll need to place their own actions and decisions in the broader context. Sufficient preparedness, learning at the appropriate pace, and exposure to a diversity of viewpoints and experiences will put them in the best position to be successful.
Scoring Rubric
Performance Characteristics
The following characteristics guide the scoring of responses to the written performance assignment(s).
| Purpose | The candidate fulfills the purpose of the assignment by demonstrating an understanding of relevant andragogical knowledge. |
|---|---|
| Application of Knowledge | The candidate accurately and effectively applies relevant andragogical knowledge. |
| Support | The candidate supports the response with appropriate examples, evidence, and rationales based on relevant andragogical knowledge. |
Scoring Scale
The scoring scale below, which is related to the performance characteristics for the tests, is used by scorers in assigning scores to responses to the written performance assignment(s).
| Score Point | Score Point Description |
|---|---|
| 3 | The "3" response reflects a thorough understanding of relevant andragogical knowledge.
|
| 2 | The "2" response reflects an adequate understanding of relevant andragogical knowledge.
|
| 1 | The "1" response reflects limited or no understanding of relevant andragogical knowledge.
|
| U | The response is unrelated to the assigned topic, illegible, primarily in a language other than English, not of sufficient length to score, or merely a repetition of the assignment. |
| B | There is no response to the assignment. |