Component 1A
Demonstrating knowledge of content and pedagogy
As a result of this tech book, you will understand:
- Component 1A
- Why the component is important
- Elements associated with the component
- How to identify possible artifacts
Overview:
This component explores our knowledge of content area, understanding of prerequisite skills, and pedagogy. A teacher must have command of his or her subject, understand the complex relationships among content areas, and be up to date with pedagogies within his/her field. Although understanding our content area (history, biology, English, elementary education, etc) is critical, we must also be aware of relationships within our subject area and understand related pedagogies.
Why?
Component 1A is important, because teachers must:
- Have command of the subjects they teach
- Have command of the subjects they teach
- Know which skills are critical to a subject area, and how those skills relate to one another.
- Understand related prerequisite skills. For students must understand letter-sound correspondences BEFORE they can read a word.
- Be aware of misconceptions students may have about a topic area.
- Know how the discipline has evolved over time and we need to stay up to date.
Elements
Knowledge of content and the structure of the discipline
- Every discipline has a structure that is made up of smaller components.
- The teacher must be able to understand their content area and the important topics related to that area. For example, an important area of literacy is letter sound correspondences.
- A teacher must also be able to understand relationships between concepts within their content area, and how those concepts relate to other areas.
Knolwedge of prerequisite relationships
- Some disciplines—such as math —have prerequisites skills that must be mastered prior to understanding additional topics.
- Teachers must be aware of the prerequisite skills required to master a topic.
Knolwedge of content related pedagogy
- Some disciplines have "signature pedagogies" that have evolved over time.
- Teachers must understand a variety of teaching pedadogies and idnetify which are best to help his/her students learn.
Possible artifacts
Artifacts for component 1A could include the following:
- List of content-area courses, workshops, webinars, or online courses taken or attended.
- List of conferences attended or volunteered
- List of conferences presented
- List of websites visited/used related to content and/or pedagogy.
- List of books read related to your content area or specialty area.
Citation
Danielson, C. (2007). Enhancing professional practice a framework for teaching (2nd ed.). Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.