Inclusive Practice: Analyzing Artifacts

Overview

In the Massachusetts Educator Evaluation Framework, educators and evaluators share responsibility for collecting and analyzing evidence of educator practice from multiple sources. Evidence includes observations, multiple measures of student learning, feedback from staff or students, and artifacts of practice. The underlying purpose of evidence collection is to inform meaningful conversations between educators and evaluators and generate a representative picture of educator practice. During these conversations, educators and evaluators reflect together on areas of strength and areas of growth. Educators and evaluators should begin the process by asking themselves "What do we want to learn about instructional practice?"

Artifacts in Inclusive Settings

Educators in inclusive settings may have varying roles and responsibilities in supporting the diverse needs of all students. Educators develop lesson plans, activities, and resources in ways that address the individualized needs of learners. In addition, educators tend to engage with families and community resources in multiple ways in order to maximize the supports for all of their students. When identifying authentic artifacts of practice, which include evidence of accessible instruction and positive behavior supports, educators may consider the following:

• Accessible Instruction. To be successful with a diverse population of learners, educators will need to incorporate the principles of accessible instruction into their practice. Artifacts reflecting instruction that is accessible to all learners should demonstrate that students had options for how they perceived information; how they communicated vocabulary, mathematical expressions, and symbols; and how they activated background knowledge, identified patterns, and processed information. Similarly, the artifacts should reflect multiple ways for students to demonstrate their knowledge, to communicate and express themselves, and to plan and manage their work.

• Positive Behavior Supports. PBIS emphasizes graphic displays of expected behaviors and classroom routines, development of explicit social skills lessons, procedures for reinforcing displays of expected behavior, data collection and displays, and other highly visual demonstrations of positive behavior supports. All of these could be useful artifacts to demonstrate positive behavior supports.

• Communication. Discussing and describing artifacts can be a helpful way for educators and evaluators to agree on evidence of practice and identify areas for ongoing development. A discussion of artifacts can happen at various points during the 5-Step Cycle. The optional artifact cover page, provided by ESE, allows educators to align artifacts of practice with the Standards and Indicators of Effective Teaching Practice. Strong explanations on the artifact cover page can draw evaluator attention to the presence of accessible instruction and positive behavior supports.

Guidebook Tools

• Inclusive Practice Tool 5a: Lesson Plan Artifact Review
  The Lesson Plan Artifact Review tool provides educators with prompts to determine if their instructional plan employs the practices and strategies of an inclusive classroom. For each of the elements of Standard I, Curriculum, Planning and Assessment and Standard II, Teaching All Students, educators are asked if their instructional plan includes relevant strategies to support inclusion. There is also a space provided for educator self-reflection, prompting educators with the questions "How do I demonstrate these practices?" and "What do I need to do differently?" This tool can be used by educators in planning or when considering which artifacts to submit that demonstrate evidence of inclusive practice aligned with these standards. It may also be a helpful tool for educators who are collaborating in inclusive classrooms.

• Inclusive Practice Tool 5b: Example Artifact List
  Educators can provide evidence of their work in inclusive settings by carefully selecting authentic artifacts that demonstrate implementation of inclusive practice. The list of sample artifacts is not exhaustive, but it provides educators and evaluators with possible artifacts that can provide evidence of best practices in accessible instruction and positive behavior support for one or more of the Power Elements for Inclusive Practice.

Last Updated: August 14, 2015