Domain 1 – Planning and Preparation

1. Domain 1 – Planning and Preparation • This domain defines how a teacher designs/organizes the content that the students are to learn.

2. Planning and Preparation 1a – Demonstrating Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy 1b – Demonstrating Knowledge of Students 1c – Selecting Instructional Goals 1d – Demonstrating Knowledge of Resources 1e – Designing Coherent Instruction 1f – Assessing Student Learning Domain 1

3. Demonstrating Knowledge of Content and Pedagogy In a nutshell……. A person can not teach what he or she does not know. The term content encompasses all aspects of a subject: concepts, principles, relationships, methods of inquiry and outstanding issues. Teachers who understand their subjects know which questions are likely to interest students, yield greater understanding, and evoke higher order thinking. A teacher’s knowledge of content and pedagogy is reflected in an awareness of common student misconceptions or likely sources of errors and how they should be handled. Knowledge of content and pedagogy is not stagnant but evolves over time. Domain 1

4. Demonstrating Knowledge of Students In a nutshell…… To maximize learning, teachers must know not only their subject and its accompanying pedagogy, but also their students. Each age group has certain developmental characteristics – intellectual, social and emotional. Current research on cognition states that understanding involves students in actively constructing meaning based on their experiences. Students’ academic knowledge is not the only area that affects their learning. Students bring out-of-school knowledge on everyday events, interests, and activities, as well as misunderstandings and parent opinions to school with them. Domain 1

5. Selecting Instructional Goals In a nutshell…… Teaching is a purposeful activity – it is goal directed, designed to achieve certain well-defined purposes. In classrooms organized as a community of learners, teachers engage students in determining these goals. When teachers establish instructional goals, they must take into account a number of factors: a district’s curriculum, the requirements of external mandates, and community expectations. Instructional goals must be clear, stated in terms of student learning, capable of being assessed and reflect a balance among different types of learning. Domain 1

6. Demonstrating Knowledge of Resources In a nutshell…… There are two primary types of resources: those to assist in teaching and those to help students. When teachers are knowledgeable about the range of resources to aid in their teaching, they can expand their repertoire of instructional goals, knowing that they can go to these resources for help. Resources may include a range of offerings within a regular school setting (resource pull out room) as well as some outside support agencies (Big Brothers, Big Sisters). Domain 1

7. Designing Coherent Instruction In a nutshell…… A teacher translates instructional goals into learning experiences for students through the design of instruction. A critical element in instructional design is the creation of adaptation of a series of learning activities within an instructional unit that is sequenced to be logical and likely to engage students. Activities should progress from simple to more complex and resources should be selected carefully. A coherent instructional unit is a well-defined structure. Individual activities support the whole and time allocations are reasonable with opportunities for student to engage in exploration, reflection and closure. Domain 1

8. Assessing Student Learning In a nutshell…… Only through the assessment of student learning can teachers know if students have met the instructional goals of the unit. The more diverse the goals, the more diverse the approaches to assess must be. Assessment methodologies ideally should reflect authentic, real-world applications of knowledge and understanding. The full power of assessment is its use in providing feedback to students, reflecting on teaching and planning for the future. Domain 1

9. Click the mouse below and answer the following questions related to Domain 1.