InTASC Standard 4
InTASC Standard #4 Content Knowledge:
The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches and creates learning experiences that make the discipline accessible and meaningful for learners to assure mastery of the content (InTASC, 2013).
Brief Discription of Evidence:
In the spring semester of 2022, in my EDUC 233 Literacy Development Through Children's Literature class, as a team I constructed a slideshow presentation on the central concepts of phonological awareness which is one of the five pillars of literacy. The purpose of creating this artifact was to teach me as a future educator to expand my knowledge on different learning experiences to make sure all of the material is accessible and meaningful for all students to ensure there is mastery of content. Once I researched my material and constructed my slideshow, I then was able to present it in front of the class to teach my knowledge to my other peers to ensure they can master the content in teaching future students in their classroom.
Analysis of What I Learned:
Throughout designing and presenting my pillar of literacy slideshow on the topic of phonological awareness, I learned about all five pillars of literacy. The five pillars are Phonological Awareness, Phonemic Awareness, Fluency Skills, Comprehension Skills, and Vocabulary. I never knew their importance until I started researching my topic and listening to other presentations on their assigned pillar of literacy. I learned more about how to teach certain skills to help children connect and understand what they are being taught. I learned about what phonological awareness is, signs that students are struggling, the importance, ways that can help teach this skill, and the age/grades that it should be taught.
How This Artifact Demonstrates my Competence on the InTASC Standard:
I have demonstrated my competence in this standard by creating and presenting the presentation over the phonological awareness pillar of literacy. My colleague and I worked together to come up with multiple ways to make a presentation that was very beneficial for other teachers to learn about phonological awareness. We were able to find some great information and visual aids to help outline what a person would be looking for to identify phonological awareness and what you could do to help. One theorist I think is important to this project is Neil Fleming because he believes that a teacher should match a student's learning style to help the student learn. According to research, “The idea that students learn best when teaching methods and school activities match their learning styles, strengths, and preferences” (Cherry, 2019). This is important because for students to better understand the information they are being taught they need different learning styles when being taught information because all children learn differently. I think it is also important because a student isn’t able to comprehend what a teacher is going over because they do not understand the way that is being taught. I learned about skills that can help students and what to look for, for phonological awareness. Catching the phonological awareness can help me as a teacher to use reading, grammar, or language arts discipline to help the child to continue working on the areas they are struggling in. I can also do fun activities for students to learn from to help with phonological awareness, such as finding words with partners that rhyme. To assure learners master content, it is important to catch the signs of phonological awareness to help the student from struggling in the future.
Resources
Cherry, K. (2019, November 27). Are You a Visual, Auditory, Reading/Writing
or Tactile Learner? Verywell Mind.
https://www.verywellmind.com/vark-learning-styles-2795156
Council of Chief State School Officers. (2013, April). Interstate Teacher
Assessment and Support Consortium InTASC Model Core
Teaching Standards and Learning Progressions for Teachers 1.0: A Resource for Ongoing Teacher Development Washington, DC: Author.