Work sampling is a technique that has been employed in industry and fields such as healthcare for some time. It is a powerful technique, and an alternative to conventional stop watch time studies, used by industrial engineers to focus upon random work sampling observations. This study applies work sampling to the duties performed by an individual…

One of the challenges facing teacher educators is providing our pre-service teachers (PSTs) with authentic experiences that cross the boundaries between Initial Teacher Education (ITE) and the classroom. An additional challenge facing the mathematics teacher educator, is addressing and deepening PSTs' mathematical content knowledge (MCK), which…

This summary document highlights findings from CNA's study, "Manufacturing a Way to Career Readiness: How Industry Measures Student Readiness" (ED612988). In the study, CNA Education examined how central Kentucky employers in a high-wage, high-growth industry--advanced manufacturing--determine the readiness and additional training needs…

More clarity on career readiness and how to measure it would help educators prepare students for adult life and inform industry professionals who hire young adults. This report is a step in providing that information by exploring how a high-wage, high-growth industry--advanced manufacturing--determines the readiness and additional training needs…

In order to be effective educators in the 21st century, it is essential for teacher candidates to develop a deep understanding of the culture and contextual factors surrounding their students' lives, and the ability to apply this understanding to classroom instruction. This action research study discusses how the implementation of teaching…

Discussion of exemplars of student work is a productive means of explaining tacit knowledge and guiding students into the requirements of academic writing. Through two cycles of action research in a post-secondary institution in Hong Kong, this study examines how exemplars can be used to enhance student understanding of quality and to promote…

As accountability in education has become an increasingly prominent topic, teacher preparation programs are being asked to provide credible evidence that their teacher candidates can impact student learning. Teacher Work Samples, first developed 30 years ago, have emerged as an effective method of quantifying the complex set of tasks that comprise…

Background: Facing growing accountability pressures, Teacher Work Samples (TWSs) as a model of performance-based assessment is of growing significance in teacher education. Developed at Western Oregon University and widely adopted and adapted, proponents claim that the model is "real," "natural," "meaningful," and "helpful" (G. R. Girod, 2002).…

The purpose of this study was to answer the following research questions: (1) Do secondary social studies pre-service teachers incorporate literacy strategies in their work samples during student teaching? (2) To what extent and under what conditions do secondary social studies pre-service teachers use higher levels of literacy strategies in their…

Many university and college teacher education programs have adopted the Teacher Work Sample (TWS) as their capstone assessment demonstrating a teacher candidate's competencies in planning, assessing and reflecting on instructional practice. The TWS summative results submitted by students at a mid-size state university who were in their final…

Acknowledging the necessity to establish the fairness and consequential validity of teacher candidate performance assessments when they are used to make high-stakes decisions impacting entry into the profession, we investigated whether there were any adverse results from the use of the Renaissance Teacher Work Sample (TWS) assessment at two…

Part-time and adjunct faculty members have been present in institutions of higher learning since the founding of this country. These groups of faculty provide a variety of unique professional experiences to their students; they offer financial savings and scheduling flexibility for their colleges and on many levels, adjuncts offer a range of other…

The purpose of this American study was to examine student teachers' ability to make instructional decisions as they engaged in teaching. We examined the narrative accounts provided by 150 student teachers within their teacher work samples (TWSs). Results indicated that most student teachers were able to implement some aspects of instructional…

Successfully implementing the practice of inclusion by differentiating instruction is dependent upon both the skills and attitudes of general education teachers. New general education teachers who are entering the field are particularly vulnerable to the demands and stress of the profession, and exemplary preservice teacher education programs must…

Teacher work samples (TWS) are an integrated, comprehensive assessment tool that can be used as evidence of a beginning teacher's readiness to teach. Unlike linear assessments used to determine teaching effectiveness, TWS are relevant and reflective of "real" teaching. They are designed to exhibit a clear relationship among teacher candidate…