INTASC 1
The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and
structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches and can create
learning experiences that make these aspects of subject matter
meaningful for students.
*Reflective Statement*
To me this statement means that the teacher must understand the subject
matter and be able to find creative and innovative ways to teach the
material to their students. This standard is important because if the
teacher does not understand the material it will be difficult for them
to help their students learn and understand the material and almost
impossible to make the information interesting. Mastering this standard
can help a teacher become a skilled professional because this standard
is an important step in helping students become more interested in
education.
*Fall 2007 Reflective Statement*
To me this standard means that a teacher thoroughly understands the
subject matter that they are teaching as well as how they should teach
their subject matter. By mastering this standard a teaching will
exhibit skills that are essential to teaching. By having a good
knowledge of their subject matter a teacher will be able to easily
relate the subject matter to their students and their student's
lives. One experience that I have at Ball State what really has
impacted my thoughts on this standard was with my math 125 class that I
took the fall of 2006.
I
am not a very strong math student but my professor really knew his
stuff. Whenever I needed help or didn't understand something I
always felt confident in asking my math professor for help. I
felt confident in asking him for help because I knew that my
professor understood the subject matter and would be able to help
me.
Another situation from my history 411 class that I am currently taking
with professor Glen has given me an even better insight into this
particular standard. Professor Glen has an excellent
understanding of his subject matter. Sometimes, in order to help
his students better undertstand a certain subject matter in history,
Professor Glen will relate the subject to current day affairs.
One such example is when we were discussing the limitations that the
United States government placed on Americans traveling abroad after the
sinking of the Lusitania. We could not understand how Americans
would accept these limitations without a fight. Professor Glen
comapared this situation to the restrictions placed on Americans on
airplanes after 9-11. This gave us the ability to understand the
atmosphere of that time period and how it effected the situation.
I find this particularly helpful when trying to understand the
magnitude or political importance of a situation in history.
Professor Glen is capable of relating historical events to current
situations because of his understanding of the historical event.
Another illuminating example is from my medieval history 463 class with
Dr. Suppe. When discussing the crusades Dr. Suppe compared the
atmosphere with today's issues in the Gaza Strip between Israel and
Palestinians. This comparison between historical events and
current day issues really helped me put the issue in perspective.
When I am a history teacher I will look at past political, economical,
and environmental issues and compare and contrast these issues with
today's current issues. One such example I would probly use would
be comparing the treatment of soldiers returning from the World Wars
and their "hero's" welcome home. This can easily be compared to
the atmosphere today and the "hero's" welcome that many soldiers
recieve when returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Another example
that I would compare would be the attack on Pearl Harbor with the
attack on the World Trade Centers on 9-11. I would hope that
these comparisons would give my students a better perspective on
historical events and how conflict can lead to the unity of a country
just as easily as it can lead to the destruction of one.
When I become a history teacher I plan on emphasizing the use of logic,
reason, intuition, intellect, creativity, and observation to my
students as tools of inquiry when assessing the situations found in
history. I hope to teach my students that you must think beyond
the face value of a situation. I hope they can make the
connections between situations, such as how the stock market crash of
1929 led to many people losing their life savings, which in turn led to
many people being homeless, which led to the creation of shanty towns,
which had a lasting impact on many people's lives and the economic
situation of America. So when my students think of the stock
market they think beyond the little ticker tape that scrolls across the
bottom of their parent's tv screens. My students will be able to
see the far reaching impact that such events can have on a society.
As a student I am very good at understanding the big picture. I
find it easy to understand historically important situations and make
the connections needed to understand the political and social
ramifications of a situation. Something I struggle with as a
student is the details of a situation. The exact day and city of
a specific battle. What General led what battle in what city,
seems to escape my memory at every opportunity. As a teacher I
will take my strengths and weaknesses as a student and use them to my
advantage.
*My Personal Experience*
I hated my economics class. All of the boring numbers and graphs drove
me nuts. I couldnt understand half of what the book was trying to
explain. However, my teacher understood the subject extremely well and
instead of reading from the textbook verbatum he tried to explain
things in terms that teenagers would understand. Like why is the price
of music CD's on the rise? Or why are you guys now paying tons of money
per gallon for gas? Things that made sense to us and by doing that my
teacher ensured that his students would have a better understanding of
the subject.
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