InTASC Reflection
The fourth InTASC deals with the teacher’s knowledge of his/her content. This is defined by their ability to understand concepts and structures in their content area as well as understand how to apply it to their audience (students). This InTASC, in my humble opinion, makes out to be on of the most important factors in teaching. If I were to be so bold, I would place the most abstract notions of teaching in two categories: content knowledge and pedagogy. This InTASC forms the primary part of teaching, that is, simply knowing what you are talking about.
One very important aspect of understanding one’s content are that seems to be lacking recognition is understanding where it falls in the context of other content areas taught in the same school. For example, understanding how English relates to History or how Spanish relates to Mathematics. Having a general knowledge of where your content area exists within the context of what your students are also learning gives them a stable sense of interrelatedness. This comes in handy not only for gathering general patterns of information regarding how our people and world functions, but also for motivational purposes. If the students feel as though their teacher can connect their content knowledge to something they may be interested in, they might be more motivated to pay attention to what the teacher has to say.
As it relates to the realm of foreign language, content knowledge is of particular importance. In a foreign language classroom it is inherently more teacher guided because we are the ones who know the most about this language. One could make an argument here for native speakers in some classes but even they do not know intricate grammar rules and phonetic tendencies that their native language has, but a teacher would know. It is a classroom in which learning is dependent upon the teacher having a strong basis of content knowledge. This is not so much the case with other classrooms because students have the opportunity to be their own experts because all of the other classes are in a language they already speak, it's just a matter of motivation, time, focus and independent research in order to do exceedingly well. The same can be said for a student seeking to learn a second language but their exposure to the content is most likely condensed into the one teacher standing at the front of the classroom. Because foreign language teachers deal with all types of students, not just a higher or lower level of students, our range of content related questions is highly varied, requiring us to have intimate knowledge on what to tell students when. Language instruction for adults has many disputed orders but one thing is clear: overwhelming students with the complexity of rules and all of their exceptions (of which there are many) is not useful for their learning. Therefore, it is important to know how to answer their questions with this knowledge in mind but this is only achievable if foreign language teachers have a vast understanding of all levels of language learning from Spanish 1 to the graduate level.
Having a solid foundation of any particular language is no easy feat. Language is quite possibly as complex as we are ourselves, given that it creates, develops, and communicates who we are and what we are doing. It is very important for language teachers to have a more descriptivist standpoint regarding language versus a prescriptivist. A prescriptivist teacher believes that language has very strict rules and that communication abides by those rules. This is true, but only for specific cases. What is more the case is the dynamics of language, and teachers should seek to provide descriptions of how the language works and how communication is successful in this new language rather than prescribe ever-changing, man-made rules.
One very important aspect of understanding one’s content are that seems to be lacking recognition is understanding where it falls in the context of other content areas taught in the same school. For example, understanding how English relates to History or how Spanish relates to Mathematics. Having a general knowledge of where your content area exists within the context of what your students are also learning gives them a stable sense of interrelatedness. This comes in handy not only for gathering general patterns of information regarding how our people and world functions, but also for motivational purposes. If the students feel as though their teacher can connect their content knowledge to something they may be interested in, they might be more motivated to pay attention to what the teacher has to say.
As it relates to the realm of foreign language, content knowledge is of particular importance. In a foreign language classroom it is inherently more teacher guided because we are the ones who know the most about this language. One could make an argument here for native speakers in some classes but even they do not know intricate grammar rules and phonetic tendencies that their native language has, but a teacher would know. It is a classroom in which learning is dependent upon the teacher having a strong basis of content knowledge. This is not so much the case with other classrooms because students have the opportunity to be their own experts because all of the other classes are in a language they already speak, it's just a matter of motivation, time, focus and independent research in order to do exceedingly well. The same can be said for a student seeking to learn a second language but their exposure to the content is most likely condensed into the one teacher standing at the front of the classroom. Because foreign language teachers deal with all types of students, not just a higher or lower level of students, our range of content related questions is highly varied, requiring us to have intimate knowledge on what to tell students when. Language instruction for adults has many disputed orders but one thing is clear: overwhelming students with the complexity of rules and all of their exceptions (of which there are many) is not useful for their learning. Therefore, it is important to know how to answer their questions with this knowledge in mind but this is only achievable if foreign language teachers have a vast understanding of all levels of language learning from Spanish 1 to the graduate level.
Having a solid foundation of any particular language is no easy feat. Language is quite possibly as complex as we are ourselves, given that it creates, develops, and communicates who we are and what we are doing. It is very important for language teachers to have a more descriptivist standpoint regarding language versus a prescriptivist. A prescriptivist teacher believes that language has very strict rules and that communication abides by those rules. This is true, but only for specific cases. What is more the case is the dynamics of language, and teachers should seek to provide descriptions of how the language works and how communication is successful in this new language rather than prescribe ever-changing, man-made rules.
Artifact: Unit Plan
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