InTASC and Licensure/Content Standard Artifact with Implications for Future Teaching
Artifact: Multidisciplinary Unit
InTASC Standard #5: Application of Content; the teacher understands how to connect concepts and use differing perspectives to engage learners in critical thinking, creativity, and collaborative problem solving related to authentic local and global issues. Licensure/Content Standard(s): Exceptional Children #4: Instructional Strategies Exception Children #5: Individual Learning Differences Exceptional Children #7: Instructional Planning Early Childhood #5a: Content Knowledge Early Childhood #5c: Design Curriculum Description of Evidence and How it Demonstrates the Standard(s): Creating an entire instructional unit requires a solid understand of content and instructional strategies. The unit creator needs to take into account many factors including differentiated instruction and exceptional needs. Implications for Future Teaching: Creating a unit for a class takes a lot of work. This particular unit that I created is a multidisciplinary unit focused on the Universal Design for Learning (UDL). This means that the unit covers more than one content area and has provision made for diverse learners. Usually the best way to start such a task is with the backwards design approach where the standards and goals are first identified, then the assessment is chosen and the actual instruction is created last. Most schools work with a specific curriculum that they expect teachers to use in their classrooms. The curriculums already contain instructional units and lessons plans for the teacher to use. The teacher in encouraged to implement instruction in a creative way bringing in additional outside activities, but ultimately teachers are expected to stay on the written curriculum. Creating this unit allowed me to be able to better appreciate the work involved with using the UDL model and implementing instruction. As a future interventionist, I will not always have a curriculum to follow. If I do have a curriculum, I will most likely have to modify it to meet the individual needs of my particular students. I could even use this unit in a future class with my students.