Texas Social Studies Framework - Department of Geography ...

68
68
Domain VIII constitutes the Commissioner’s recommendation
for the student performance link, which is required
by Senate Bill 1. This domain is related to the
teacher’s efforts to align instruction with Texas Assessment
of Academic Skills (TAAS) skills objectives
addressed within the teacher’s particular assignment, the
teacher’s efforts to be proactive in addressing student
attendance problems, the teacher’s efforts to intervene
appropriately with students in at-risk situations, and
finally, the teacher’s shared score on the overall campus
performance rating.
INCLUDING SOCIAL STUDIES ON THE
TEACHER SELF-REPORT
One of the strengths of the PDAS process is the input
that teachers have into their appraisal through the
Teacher Self-Report form. The focus of the Teacher Self-
Report is on TAAS skills objectives in the areas of
reading, writing, and mathematics. This is because of the
state focus on academic skills, as well as the fact that
student passing rates on the TAAS tests in these subject
areas are part of the AEIS indicators that are factored into
the campus performance rating. The campus performance
rating is considered in the scoring of the teacher’s
performance in Domain VIII.
When completing the Teacher Self-Report form, teachers
are asked to identify TAAS objectives that they address
in their instructional programs. This ensures that the
PDAS is directly connected to the subject matter and
routine instructional activities found in the classroom.
For example, an economics teacher may require the
students to explain in a written and visual presentation
how technological innovations have changed the way
goods are manufactured, marketed, and distributed in the
United States. The teacher may ask the students to
analyze economic trends from a variety of texts (reading),
demonstrate an understanding of the basic principles
of production, consumption, and distribution of
goods (number concepts/math), demonstrate the ability
to interpret economic data (cross-discipline), and
organize ideas in a written and visual presentation
(writing).
The purpose of the Teacher Self-Report is not limited to
addressing only those academic skills in reading, writing,
and mathematics. While these are the minimum standards
required for completion of the Teacher Self-Report form,
the PDAS emphasizes collaboration among teachers
regarding instruction that is aligned with the academic
Chapter 6: Aligning the TEKS for Social Studies with the PDAS
skills objectives for social studies and other content areas
across the curriculum. Collaboration among teachers at
all grade levels and content areas is frequently cited in
the PDAS as an expected level of performance to receive
an Exceeds Expectations score in several of the Domains.
The Teacher Self-Report is an excellent way for social
studies teachers to communicate with their appraiser and
to provide evidence and documentation of their efforts in
this area.
STAFF DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY
An example of an alignment strategy follows (see
Figure 34). This particular example shows the alignment
of the TEKS for a high school U.S. history lesson with
the criteria in several of the PDAS domains. Notice how
the objectives, strategies, and assessment for the lesson
are specifically aligned with the social studies strands,
including developmentally appropriate social studies
skills for that grade level, and Domains I, II, III, and VIII
of the PDAS evaluation criteria.
The template used in Figure 34 can be incorporated into
a staff development activity for social studies teachers
across grade levels and content areas. Using the template
as an organizer for lesson planning, teachers complete
the first four columns of the template by filling in the
components of a lesson they frequently use, including
TEKS site, objectives, strategy, and assessment. Once
completed, teachers analyze the lesson plan to ensure
that there is an integration of as many of the social
studies strands as appropriate, including developmentally
appropriate social studies skills for the grade level or
course being taught. Next, teachers evaluate the alignment
of the lesson plan with the evaluation criteria of the
PDAS domains (included in the last column of the
template). Using the Think-Pair-Share collaborative
learning technique, teachers think to themselves about
modifications they would make to the lesson plan to
ensure alignment; they pair up with another teacher to
discuss their ideas; then the pair shares their thoughts
with the entire group.
The ultimate goal of this staff development activity is for
teachers to learn a strategy for planning effective social
studies instruction while at the same time meeting the
expectations of the PDAS evaluation criteria. Appraisers
trained in the PDAS framework will be looking for
evidence and documentation of alignment as they
evaluate a teacher’s performance throughout the school
year.