Standard+4

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// Standard 4 // = Teachers know how to teach. = The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies, including the use of technology, to encourage children's development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills.

Evidence 1: //The World Lesson Plan (661) //

Rationale 1: //As part of our unit study of the world, I created a multi-day lesson plan for my kindergarten students to give them a brief introduction to geography and culture. This lesson was actually taught, specifically while studying the continent of Africa. The lesson utilized a wide variety of instructional strategies, including the use of technology, to teach the students about Africa. The technology and instructional strategies I actually used when I taught this lesson varied slightly from the written lesson plan, but purposefully trying to think of a variety of strategies stimulated all types of learners during the lesson. Students were excited by the way the information was presented during the lesson, helping them to better understand what they were learning.//

KSD: 4.K.2 The teacher understands principles and techniques, along with advantages and limitations, associated with various instructional strategies (e.g. cooperative learning, direct instruction, discoverylearning, whole group discussion, independent study, interdisciplinary instruction). //As a large group, we used the globe to locate Africa and studied a large felt map to identify and label geographical information. In small groups, we sat in an "airplane" as Google Earth took us on a "plane ride" from Sheboygan Falls to Madagascar, Africa and watched a United Streaming video about Africa. Finally, the children were able to independently reflect their learning as they wrote about and drew pictures of the animals they would find in Africa.//

4.S.2 The teacher uses multiple teaching and learning strategies to engage students in active learning opportunities that promote the development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance capabilities and that help students assume responsibility for identifying and using learning resources. //The multiple strategies I used in this lesson, as listed above, along with the novel technology used the present the material, engaged students in active learning while we studied Africa. They were able to use what they learned about Africa to criticality think about what kinds of animals they would find in Africa.//

4.D.2 The teacher values flexibility and reciprocity in the teaching process as necessary for adapting instruction to student responses, ideas, and needs. //The actual lesson carried out looked slightly different than the written lesson plan. I needed to be flexible in my teaching process in order to adapt to my students, who were getting bored with the same old technology and instructional methods. I decided to use Google Earth and a video instead of the kidspiration web in order to better serve the needs and ideas of my students.//