INTASC 4

The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional
strategies to encourage students' development of critical thinking,
problem solving, and performance skills.

*Reflective Statement*

To me this standard means that the teacher presents a variety of instructions to students to help them develop certain skills that they will need in the future. The teacher challenges students to think and uses crucial skills that they will have to continue to use in life while still under the careful watch of a teacher who can help them if they need it. Something that the student wont always have.  It is important for a teacher to become skilled in this standard because students will be using these skills for the rest of their lives, if they have a good teacher to learn from then they have a better chance of being successful in learning the skills that they need.

*Revised Reflective Statement - Fall 2008*

Teachers are responsible for the development of the crucial skills that students will take with them for the rest of their lives.  Critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills are crucial to extended education, use in everyday life, and the workforce.  Keeping this in mind it is imperative that teachers give students the opportunities to demonstrate their abilities in these areas under the structured guidance of a teacher.  The educator can then help students hone these skills and develop them into the essential tools that students will one day need.  Teachers must start by providing opportunities to students that will enable them to learn and develop these essential skills, such as classroom presentations to help develop performance skills.  Group work, essay exams, and problem question assignments can also help students to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills.  Giving students various forms of assignments, quizzes, exams, assessments, and learning opportunities will help students to further develop the essential skills that they will need later in life.

*My Personal Experience*

One of my teachers was very adament about his students knowing everything geographically.  Every state and capital, which most people would think that every high schooler should know that but you would be surprised, as well as major rivers, mountains, cities and every country in the world.  This teacher had us make maps of the world, certain geographic areas. He helped us learn the skill of how to memorize and locate places and landforms on maps. I used to believe that this was a useless skill. However when driving accross the country this summer I utilized the map skills that my teacher taught me. He was no longer there to hold my hand and help me if I screwed up but I didn't because of the skills that he taught me I didn't end up in the wrong state, almost but didn't.


*Artifact Rationale*

This article is actually a paper I wrote as a make up for a quiz for my Sociology 241 class.  This paper exmplifies how teachers can use a variety of ways to teach and evaluate a students ability to learn.  Tests and quizes can be a good way to evaluate a students ability to learn, however teachers must always keep an open mind that students learn and respond differently to different situations.  By answering questions from my book in paragraph form I could show my knowledge of the subject in a different, but acceptable form.  As a student I have been given many forms of evaluation and opportunities to demonstrate my knowledge.  My teachers and professors have understood that all student's learn differently, as exemplified in INTASC 3, and in having that knowledge have varied their stratigies to teaching.  This paper is a perfect example of INTASC 4.  My professor allowed me to make up a quiz by answering analytical questions, which required me to think critically and use problem solving skills. 

In this paper I answer questions about theories such as differential association and control theory, and analyze the weaknessess of those sociological theories.  I adapt those theories to real world events and discuss the implications of those events if different theories were realted to them.  This paper allowed me to demonstrate my content knowledge to my professor, as well as my critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skill sets.  As a future educator I know that all of these skills are important for my students not just to their education but also to their development as productive members of society.  I understand that in order to be able to think critically, solve problems, and demonstrate knowledge effectively students must be trained in these skills and given the opportunities to effectively learn these skill sets.  Without being given the opportunities to learn and practice these skills students will be unable to master them.  It is my responsibility as an educator to provide students with the opportunities to practice these skills, just as my professor did for me with this assignment.

Paper

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