Overview of the PACT Teaching Event

The focus of the PACT Teaching Event is on K-12 student learning. In the Teaching Event, teacher candidates show the strategies they use to make subject matter accessible to students, and how they support students in learning. They explain the thinking underlying their teaching decisions and analyze the strategies they use to connect students with the content they are teaching. They examine the effects of instructional design and teaching practices on student learning, with particular attention to students with diverse cultural, language, and socio-economic backgrounds and learning needs.

The Teaching Event consists of 5 tasks:

Task 1: Context for Learning
The Context for Learning task is a brief overview of important features of the classroom context that influence instructional decisions during the learning segment. It provides evidence of: 1) candidates’ knowledge of their students; and 2) candidates’ ability to identify and summarize important factors related to their students’ learning and the school environment.

Task 2: Planning Instruction & Assessment
The Planning Instruction & Assessment task describes and explains candidates’ plans for the learning segment. It demonstrates their ability to organize curriculum, instruction, and assessment to help their students meet the standards for the curriculum content and to develop academic language related to that content. It provides evidence of their ability to select, adapt, or design learning tasks and materials that offer their students equitable access to subject-matter content.

Task 3: Instructing Students & Supporting Learning
The Instructing Students & Supporting Learning task illustrates how candidates work with their students to improve their skills and strategies in the content area during instruction. It provides evidence of their ability to engage students in meaningful tasks and monitor their understanding.

Task 4: Assessing Student Learning
The Assessment of Student Learning task illustrates how candidates diagnose student learning needs through the analysis of student work samples. It provides evidence of their ability to
1) select an assessment tool and criteria that are aligned with their central focus, student standards, and learning objectives; 2) analyze student performance on an assessment in relation to student needs and the identified learning objectives; and 3) use this analysis to identify next steps in instruction for the whole class and individual students.

Task 5: Reflecting on Teaching & Learning
The Reflecting on Teaching & Learning task describes what candidates learned from teaching the learning segment. It provides evidence of their ability to analyze their teaching and their students’ learning to improve teaching practice.

Handbooks and Rubrics can be found at the PACT Consortium website