Key Assignment Overview

The Teacher Education Program at Buena Vista University is a performance-based preparation program designed to facilitate the personal and professional growth of aspiring teachers and to prepare pre-service teachers to enter the teaching profession. As a part of the performance-based model, students will complete Key Assignments that demonstrate their understanding of essential teaching competencies derived from InTASC, state standards and program/institutional frameworks.

Getting Started

The student will be introduced to the conceptual frameworks, known as Pillars (also known as Learning Objectives), early in his/her program. The Key Assignments will be a continual and ongoing process throughout the student’s practitioner preparation program. Key Assignments are pieces of evidence that illustrate the knowledge, performance and dispositions that have been acquired throughout the course of the student’s preparation program. Each School of Education core course, methods course and field experience is designed to address one or more of the competency areas, though not all courses include a Key Assignment. All Key Assignments will be uploaded to LiveText, an electronic portfolio and accreditation management system.

Maintenance

It is the responsibility of the student to maintain Key Assignments within LiveText. An active subscription to LiveText is a requirement for courses that comprise your professional education curriculum. This is a one-time purchase, which is comparable in price to the cost of a textbook, and lasts for five years. Please see our LiveText page for students for more information. Students are required to submit Key Assignments within LiveText to pass through checkpoints throughout the student’s teacher preparation program.

Key Assignment Assessment

All Key Assignments are demonstrative of a student’s grasp of the competencies within the Pillars, InTASC principles, and Reflective Practitioner skills. Rubrics will serve as the guide for Key Assignment completion. As the student moves through the program, the professor of the course or an appointed committee will evaluate the Key Assignment within Live Text. If the Key Assignment is not satisfied at the appointed time in the program, the student will be given one semester/two terms in which to complete the requirement and resubmit the assignment to the instructor in LiveText. The student may resubmit the Key Assignment to demonstrate satisfaction of the competency no more than three times. In order to continue in the program and be recommended for teacher certification, the student must demonstrate a minimum rating of "Satisfactory" on each element of the evaluation rubric for each Key Assignment. The second and third resubsmissions will also be reviewed by another BVU faculty/staff member. If the Key Assignment does not receive a "Satisfactory" rating after the final resubmission, the student cannot pass the checkpoint and cannot continue in the Teacher Education Program.

Key Assignment Chart

Course/Experience	Pillar	InTASC	Key Assignment
Education Core
EDCO 240 Development of School Age Child	1	1, 2	Considering Learner Differences in Your Classroom
EDCO 245 Learning & Motivation	1, 3	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9	Developing a Learning Environment in My Classroom
EDCO 280 History of American Education	1, 2, 5	2, 4, 9, 10	Understanding the Impact of Legal Decisions on American Education
EDCO 300 Differentiated Instruction for Exceptional Learners	1, 3, 4, 5	1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9	Identification and Differentiation of Student Needs Within a Lesson
EDCO 390 Instructional Technology	2, 3	3, 4, 5, 7, 8	Integrating Technology into Lesson Plans to Enhance Student Learning
Elementary Majors
EDUC 362 Methods of PE & Health for Elementary Teachers	2	7	Integrating Physical Education into Health Lesson Plans to Enhance Student Learning
EDUC 371 Data Driven Instruction	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9	Reflective Paper
EDUC 393 Elementary Math & Field Experience	2	4, 7, 8	Developing a Lesson Plan based on Interview Assessment Data
EDUC 410 Elementary Curriculum/Social Studies	3	7	6-8 Week Integrated Thematic Unit Plan
EDUC 420 Instructional Strategies: Informational Text	2	5	Integrating Literacy Instruction in a Disciplinary Unit
EDUC 443 Literacy Field Experience	1, 2	1, 2, 4, 7, 8	To Be Determined
Elementary Student Teaching EDUC 429/430/440 Professional Seminar III: Kindergarten/1st-3rd/4th-6th	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10	To Be Determined
Secondary Majors and Post Baccalaureate Program
EDCO 401 Classroom Management		3, 6	Alternative Assessment Lesson Comprehensive Classroom Management Plan
Secondary Methods & Field Experience		7, 8	Unit Plan in SEDU Methods & Field Experience
Secondary Student Teaching SEDU 490/498 Professional Seminar III: Secondary/Post Baccalaureate Secondary Student Teaching	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10	To Be Determined

Key Assignment Chart & Overview - pdf handout