Competency 008
The teacher provides appropriate instruction that actively
engages students in the learning process.
Defense
This particular competency means that a balanced
curriculum is needed. There are three main domains that are incorporated
into the curriculum. The first domain is the affective domain.
Students need the affective domain to stay motivated. I must consider
the likes and dislikes of my students as I teach a lesson. By considering
my students thoughts and feelings, it will allow me to create lessons in
which the students interests are considered. I plan to take a survey
at the beginning of the semester to determine the likes and dislikes of
my students. By determining the interests of my students I will be
able to spend more time on areas that are interesting to students.
The affective domain is also useful for motivating students to become engaged
in the learning process.
Along with wanting to use the affective domain,
I would like to use the psychomotor domain. So little time is spent
developing this domain when the student gets older. It is amazing
to see how uncoordinated students can be. I would like to incorporate
some hand-eye coordination and other activities that require gross- and
fine-motor skills. An example of something I would like to try in
my class is having the students come up with their own language and culture
in the Sociology class.
More time is spent in the cognititive domain than
the affective or psychomotor domain. Unfortunately, so much time
is spent at low levels of cognition that students do not reach their full
potential. It is my goal to use Bloom's taxonomy to creative a more
cognitive rich environment. I would like to make books where the
students grow from knowledge to comprehension, comprehension to application,
application to analysis, analysis to synthesis, and synthesis to evaluation.
Due to the alarming statistic that 80% to 90% of students' time is spent
at the knowledge level, I would like to test and teach at higher levels.
I need to go back and look at my curriculum and
lessons and determine if I am spending too much time in one of these domains
than in the others. Each domain is important and it is my goal to
balance these domains. Sometimes teachers intend to teach content
and students need to learn skills that will relate to them, but the two
can come together at what is called the affective domain. From the
time we are born we learn psychomotor skills and it is helpful to continue
learning and refining these skills as an adult. Cognition leads to
a knowledgable and wise person. In order to learn how to be more
than factual it is necessary for low levels to be surpassed and higher
thinking skills to develop. All three domains are essential to the
well roundedness of a student.
Samples: