Behavior Policy: Research common reasons for student disobedience (e.g., unclear expectations, desire for attention, fear, embarrassment, or lack of basic needs) and develop a written behavior policy with clear positively framed expectations and consequences.

1.2

Depth 1

Classroom Procedures: Interview one or more experienced primary and/or secondary teachers and synthesize findings to create a checklist for performing classroom procedures and for responding to emergency situations. The checklist should include: appropriate daily procedures, recognizing possible child abuse and neglect, defusing violent behavior, and responding to fire or natural disaster emergencies.

1.3

Depth 1

Effective Classroom Layout: Research the correlation between classroom layout and effective classroom management. Compare the use of furniture and space in several classrooms and analyze their compliance with both research-based recommendations for effective classroom management and legal requirements for safety.

1.4

Depth 1

Positive Classroom Environment: Create a rubric for evaluating a positive classroom environment. Include indicators such as visual appearance of the classroom, effective time management, student engagement, and teacher interaction with students.

2.1

Depth 1

Strategies that Promote Higher-Level Cognitive Skills: Investigate theories on instructional strategies and activities that promote the development of higher-level cognitive skills. Illustrate the alignment of Webb’s Depth of Knowledge and/or Bloom’s Taxonomy with teaching methods at each skill level.

2.2

Depth 1

Reflection Strategies: Research various reflection strategies and demonstrate how reflection strategies influence academic achievement and student understanding. Develop claim(s) and counterclaim(s) about the relationships between the use of reflection strategies, improvement of student understanding, and academic achievement.

2.3

Depth 1

Cooperative and Collaborative Learning: Research the major elements of successful cooperative/collaborative learning and their relationship to higher-order thinking skills. Design small group instructional activities incorporating those elements.

3.1

Depth 1

Scaffolding: Understand when scaffolding is needed to assist students in accessing grade level content by analyzing individual student’s strengths and needs.

3.2

Depth 1

Classroom Modifications: Discuss and demonstrate modifications in the classroom to accommodate exceptional learners, including students with disabilities and those identified as gifted.

4.1

Depth 1

Curriculum Standards: Investigate relevant national and state curriculum standards and explain how they help guide teaching in order to affect learning.

4.2

Depth 1

Learning Objectives and Performance Indicators: Gather and analyze Tennessee course content requirements in different subject areas and grade levels. Compare and contrast examples of student learning objectives and performance indicators from different subject areas and grade levels. Analyze how each provides teachers with necessary expectations for instruction. Choose a specific standard to rewrite for clarity and measurability.

4.3

Depth 1

Design Principles: Analyze the design principles of high quality instructional materials in literacy used in the state of Tennessee to engage students. Examples of criteria may include:

4.4

Depth 1

Lesson Planning: Research lesson preparation in multiple grade levels and subject areas. Analyze the typical components of lesson preparations documents used in Tennessee and identify a lesson preparation document that incorporates components such as:

4.5

Depth 1

Group Teaching Strategies: Research and analyze individual and group teaching strategies. Make a claim about the appropriate strategy for a given situation.

5.1

Depth 1

Literate Environment: Using pedagogical strategies, create a literate environment that fosters reading by integrating foundational knowledge, use of instructional practices approaches and methods, curriculum materials, and appropriate use of assessment.

5.2

Depth 1

Literacy Instruction: Implement literacy instruction and assessment that reflect an understanding of developmental, cultural, and linguistic diversity.

5.3

Depth 1

Literacy Legislation: Research the legislation, policies, procedures, and resources implemented in Tennessee to address literacy.

6.1

Depth 1

Project: Apply knowledge from this course by demonstrating specific instructional strategies in a classroom situation. Document artifacts from the capstone project in the course portfolio. Demonstration of knowledge includes, but is not limited to, the following activities:

4.3.a

Standards

Framework metadata