“Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice.” ~Anton Chekhov
Being knowledgeable on the material that students need to learn The Content Knowledge standard requires teachers to understand the concepts, the content of the discipline they teach, and the best instructional strategies to create the best meaningful learning experience for their students. This standard is important as it is imperative that teachers provide accurate content to the students. The best way to do this is by completing the state-mandated tests for licensure with passing scores, by continuing education and keeping up to date on content in your discipline, and by using many resources to create the best instruction.
Artifact #1: Praxis II/VCLA/RVE
The state of Virginia requires teachers to pass the VCLA, RVE, and PRAXIS II exams to receive licensure to teach in Virginia. Passing the VCLA demonstrates that I am knowledgeable and meet the specific needs to effectively communicate with parents and colleagues. Passing the RVE demonstrates my knowledge of elementary reading and writing skills needed to effectively teach elementary students proper reading development. Passing the PRAXIS II exam demonstrates my knowledge on the content taught in Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, and Mathematics in elementary school. This Virginia Department of Education requirement enhances my instruction by putting me in the same seat my students sit in with state standardized testing. By understanding the process my students go through with testing helps me to think of ways to give instruction to my students to aid them during the test.
Artifact #2: Professional Development
As days go by, knowledge is updated and new discoveries are made. Professional development is required in many districts to keep educators up to date with new practices and ideologies. By completing various modules and updating licenses, teachers are able to stay updated on professional duties and responsibilities, such as CPR training or Bloodborne Pathogen modules. By continuing education through professional development, I also stay updated on the best way to deliver instruction and up to date on what content needs to be taught to students.
Artifact #3: Teacher Resources
Teacher resources can come from many different places and be used in many create effective lessons for their students. Many lessons can be retrieved off Teachers Pay Teachers where a teacher can borrow ideas and implement them into their own lessons. Veteran teachers create thorough lessons full of many great resources. This gives me time to put my resources elsewhere for my students or even build off what the teachers have already created. Another good use of resources are from outside resources from the school, such as museums and monuments. Visiting a museum on a field trip is using the museum resources to expand the content knowledge of the students by professionals who spent a lot of time and hours putting together their content knowledge for exhibits.
Pictured is a group of second graders receiving in classroom instruction on attending a field trip to the local YMCA to learn about Water Safety. This is a great resource for students to grow their knowledge on ways to be safe when around water.