InTASC Standard #4, Content Knowledge, determines that a teacher must understand not only the central concepts, tools, and structures of the his/her/their discipline, but also build learning experiences that make the content accessible for all learners to achieve mastery. Teachers can help students achieve content mastery through multiple representations of key ideas, modeling and encouraging the use of inquiry, addressing misconceptions, and by making connections between the learners and the content.
If a teacher is unable to understand the content of his/her/their discipline or if a teacher cannot communicate that content effectively to students, then the learners are left without a guide through the subject and will not be able to achieve content mastery.
Monster Mutations Activity
I demonstrate my recognition of learner misconceptions in the evolution and natural selection unit and address those misconceptions through the monster mutations activity. This activity addresses the misconception that natural selection is a random process by clearly defining the random mutations and the nonrandom results of selection events. This activity draws a clear distinction between the random mutations occurring before the selection event occurs and the nonrandom pattern of which creatures survive and which die. Students had been under the misconception that the environmental changes act as a force to cause random mutations, and this activity clearly breaks down the different steps involved so that students can experience the mutation first and the environmental change second. The monster mutations activity builds student experiences with genetic variation and natural selection in order to correct this common misconception and build an accurate understanding.
Atoms, Elements, and Compounds
I also demonstrate my understanding of teaching content knowledge through my use of multiple representations and explanations of atoms, elements, and compounds for sixth-grade students. In this lesson, I use “I do, We do, You do” modeling. I begin the activity with an analogy using peanuts, chocolate, and Reese’s cups to explain the difference between an atom, an element, and a compound. I follow up on this analogy by having the students sort different sets of images into an “atom, element, compound” diagram. This activity begins with me presenting a familiar analogy and moves into students using other food-based analogies and hands-on manipulatives to explain the concept and finally into students sorting representations of real atoms, elements, and compounds into the diagram.
Vocabulary
I further demonstrate my understanding of teaching content knowledge through my use of a variety of definitions, mental associations, and body movements to aid my students in learning the academic language of homologous structures and evolution. When introducing the concept of homologous structures to my students, I include a definition, an example, a simple conceptual explanation, and a body movement such as shaking my arms to remind students of the concept or the example, in this case comparisons between the front limb of several different animals. I break the word down into any prefixes we’ve already learned, such as “homo-” for “same”, or any references from other subjects, such as Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” when learning the term “divergent evolution”. By making these connections to previous knowledge in biology, other classes, and their own movements, I can more effectively communicate the meanings and concepts behind homologous structures and evolution to my students.