D708 is the advanced clinical course in WGU's elementary education programs: 3 competency units in the BA guidebook and 2 in the MAT guidebook. WGU says it is taken immediately before Student Teaching I as part of an intensive clinical experience and includes a pedagogical performance assessment.
Compared with early clinical, you do more than observe. You plan, teach and assess within the planning, learning and assessment cycle, and you must show evidence of how your pupils' development shaped your choices. The difficulty is coordinating placement duties with a written assessment.
Course at a Glance
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| University | Western Governors University (WGU) |
| Course code | D708 |
| Level | Bachelor's or MAT, depending on program |
| Size | 3 CUs (BA) or 2 CUs (MAT) |
| Assessment | Pedagogical performance assessment, per WGU's description |
| Position | Immediately before Student Teaching I |
What D708 Covers
| Competency (WGU wording, summarized) | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Applies knowledge of students' learning and developmental patterns | Fitting instruction to the children in front of you |
| Demonstrates content in the planning, learning and assessment cycle in a pedagogical performance assessment | Planning a lesson, teaching it and judging learning |
| Reflects on growth in dispositions and ethics | Showing development since early clinical |
| Reflects on the Advanced Clinical experience | An evidence-based account of progress |
Key Concepts Explained
The Planning, Learning and Assessment Cycle
Plan with a clear objective, teach with checks for understanding, and assess whether the objective was met. Then use the result to plan the next step. Evaluators look for the links between these steps.
Example: Objective: pupils can identify the main idea of a short text. Check during teaching: pupils write one sentence on a sticky note. Assessment: sort the notes into "main idea", "detail" and "unclear". Next step: a small group works on separating detail from main idea.
Developmental Patterns
Describe your learners' ages, language and prior knowledge, and show how they shaped the activity.
Growth in Dispositions
Compare where you started with where you are, using one or two clear examples.
Typical Assignments and How to Approach Them
| Evidence | What it shows | How to approach it |
|---|---|---|
| Lesson plan | Planning | Objective, activities, supports and assessment |
| Teaching evidence | Delivery | Follow your task's rules on recording or documentation |
| Analysis of learning | Assessment | Use anonymized samples and describe patterns |
| Reflection | Growth | Evidence, interpretation, next step |
A Competency-by-Competency Study Approach
- Learners. Write a short profile before planning.
- Cycle. Draw the plan-teach-assess-adjust loop on one page.
- Dispositions. Collect feedback from your mentor during the placement.
- Reflection. Finish with three goals for Student Teaching.
Where Students Get Stuck
- Plans that ignore learners. Link every choice to a need.
- Assessment that is only a score. Explain what it showed.
- Consent and privacy. Follow your task rules for any recorded or collected work.
- Time pressure. Schedule the assessment early in the placement.
Building Your Evidence Set
| Evidence | Tip |
|---|---|
| Learner profile | Ages, language, prior knowledge, interests, in anonymized form |
| Lesson plan | Objective, tasks, supports, assessment aligned in one table |
| Assessment results | A small sample sorted by pattern, not a full class list |
| Mentor feedback | Record at least one comment and your response |
| Reflection notes | Dated entries you can quote from |
Collect these as you go. Trying to reconstruct them at the end is the most common cause of a weak submission.
Aligning Objective, Task and Check
A reliable test: cover the task and read the objective, then cover the objective and read the check. If a reader cannot tell what the other part is about, the cycle is not aligned.
For an objective about comparing two fractions, a check that asks pupils to color a shape does not match; a check that asks them to place both fractions on a number line and say which is greater does.
A Short Cycle Example
Imagine a second-grade lesson with the objective "pupils add two two-digit numbers using place value". You plan base-ten blocks and a worked example. During teaching you ask pupils to show their sums on whiteboards and notice several forget to add the tens.
Your check, a three-problem exit task, confirms it. Your next step is a small group lesson on adding tens, then a repeat check. That single cycle shows planning, learning and assessment each informing the next.
Write your own cycle with the same level of detail, using anonymized results.
Study Tips for D708
- Write the objective in student-friendly terms too.
- Collect a small, manageable set of student samples.
- Ask your mentor to comment on the draft plan.
How We Help with D708
Send the task, rubric and your draft with identifying details removed. A tutor can explain the planning cycle, review your plan and analysis for rubric alignment, or write a custom plan for an invented class. See our education assignment help guide for wider support.
GradeEssays is independent of Western Governors University. We cannot teach your lessons or write your assessment for submission as yours. Use our help as study support under WGU's integrity policy. Orders are written from scratch, with free revisions within the scope of your original request and a full refund if late. No pass is promised.
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Frequently Asked Questions
WGU says Advanced Clinical is taken immediately before Student Teaching I.
WGU's description says the curriculum includes demonstrating practice through a pedagogical performance assessment.
3 in the BA Elementary Education guidebook; 2 in the MAT guidebook.
Planning, learning and assessment, with each step informing the next.
Only as your task allows and with identifying information removed.
No. We tutor and edit your own work. You write and submit your own assessment.