Exam Content
Communities of practice are essential to education as they facilitate knowledge sharing, collaboration, and innovation around instruction with a student-centered focus. These communities provide a supportive environment where educators can seek guidance, share concerns, and find solutions to common issues. By actively participating in these communities, educators can continuously improve their teaching practices, stay connected with the larger educational landscape, and increase learning success at their schools.
For this assessment, assume you are a teacher leader who is conducting a meeting with a school-based community of practice to influence the use of learning strategies and instructional techniques to improve student learning.
To prepare for this assessment, do the following:
Select a current or former community of practice (e.g., grade-level team, department, committee, professional learning community) that you work with at your school.
Reflect on how the community provides or practices the following:
Welcoming classroom environment
Engaging students in learning
Providing learning strategies for students to use
Using effective instructional techniques
Collaborating to promote student learning
Using reflective teaching practice to improve student learning
Create a 10- to 12-slide Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation in which you share ideas with your selected community of practice for improving the use of learning strategies and instructional techniques to promote student learning.
Include either detailed speaker notes or audio voiceover for each slide of your presentation. Refer to Record a Presentation for tips on how to record audio in your presentation.
Address the following teaching practices in your presentation and include a minimum of 2 ways, strategies, or techniques for each prompt:
Classroom Environment:
Describe ways that members of your community of practice are currently providing a welcoming classroom environment.
Recommend additional ways to create a welcoming classroom environment.
Student Engagement:
Describe engagement strategies that members of your community of practice are currently using in their classrooms.
Recommend additional strategies that could improve and promote student learning.
Learning Strategies:
Describe learning strategies that members of your community of practice are currently encouraging students to use in the classroom.
Recommend additional learning strategies for students that could improve and promote learning.
Instructional Techniques:
Describe instructional techniques that members of your community of practice are currently using in their classrooms.
Recommend additional instructional techniques for teachers that could improve and promote student learning.
Collaboration:
Describe ways that members of your community of practice are currently using collaboration in their teaching practice.
Recommend additional collaborations that could improve and promote student learning.
Reflective Practice:
Explain how members of your community of practice are currently using reflection in their teaching practice.
Recommend additional ways to use reflection that could improve and promote student learning.
Cite sources to support your presentation, and format your citations and references according to APA guidelines.
Submit your PowerPoint with either detailed speaker notes or recorded audio voiceover included for your assessment.
