Foundations of Teaching

Subdomains

Click on the subdomain titles to examine the range of skills and concepts a student can expect to demonstrate for assessment of this Domain:

Classroom Management

The graduate arranges physical classroom space, equipment, and materials to optimize students’ learning.
The graduate teaches procedures for carrying out reoccurring activities with individuals and whole groups.
The graduate understands the principles of strengthening and maintaining appropriate behavior and provides feedback and positive reinforcement to students.
The graduate elicits and maintains high levels of active engagement and motivation from all students during teacher led and independent academic instruction.
The graduate understands the principles of weakening inappropriate behavior and provides appropriate corrective feedback to students.
The graduate uses persuasion, compromise, debate, negotiation, and coping as strategies for resolving conflicts and disagreements.
The graduate learns about students and establishes a risk-free classroom environment where students are encouraged through equitable treatment and positive reinforcement/feedback to express interests, set goals, make choices, produce quality work, self-evaluate, and reflect.
The graduate interacts with students in a supportive and respectful manner and helps students interact with each other similarly.
The graduate models appropriate social skills and teaches students how to work productively and cooperatively.
The graduate expresses the belief that learning is important, that all students can learn, and assumes responsibility for student learning.
The graduate sets high expectations for responsible student behavior and academic performance.
The graduate establishes and manages systems to manage classroom behavior.
The graduate communicates high, realistic standards for student behavior that includes classroom rules routines, and academic performance.

Diversity and Inclusion

The graduate describes the causes, symptoms, and challenges to learning caused by various exceptionalities.
The graduate understands the legal requirements for providing a free appropriate public education and implements Individual Education Plans of exceptional students.
The graduate understands and is sensitive to differences in cultural values, norms and mores of the families of culturally diverse students and is committed to respecting these differences.
The graduate understands the special learning needs of English language learners and describes methods and strategies to address student language learning needs.
The graduate recognizes signs of emotional distress, child abuse, neglect, substance abuse, parental divorce, homelessness, and hunger.

Human Development and Learning

The graduate understands general issues related to physical development.
The graduate explains atypical stages of development.
The graduate knows common influences on growth and development (i.e., organic causes, socio-cultural factors, and socioeconomic factors).
The graduate describes how learners construct knowledge and acquire and retain skills.
The graduate develops and promotes higher-order thinking skills in students.
The graduate describes cognitive development theory and forms of cognitive knowledge.
The graduate understands personality, moral, behavioral, and emotional development in children and adolescents.
The graduate understands the influences of developmental and external factors on learning and their implications on instruction and learning.

Schools and Society

The graduate recognizes and uses a range of conventions in both spoken and written English.
The graduate understands how to communicate effectively with parents and families.
The graduate engages in research activities (e.g., locates, accesses, gathers, reviews, evaluates, organizes, and cites primary and secondary information).
The graduate identifies the general characteristics and uses of technology; describes the functions and appropriate uses of common computer hardware and media devices to enrich learning opportunities; and uses computer software applications.
The graduate reads and describes the teacher and student content and pedagogy standards (e.g., local guidelines, state curricula, state and national teacher standards, and student achievement standards.)
The graduate understands and knows how to implement laws related to the teaching profession.
The graduate understands the historical and philosophical foundations of learning, the influence of early educational practices and theories, and the contributions of individuals on education.

Testing

The graduate describes the importance, reasons, and methods for assessing students.
The graduate understands measurement and testing issues relevant to classroom instruction.
The graduate identifies the characteristics, uses, advantages/disadvantages, and methods for using different types of assessment appropriate for evaluating how students learn.
The graduate selects, designs, and develops assessments including tests, performance measures, observation schedules, and other formal or informal assessment procedures that are valid and reliable and provide appropriate information about students and instruction.