The teacher understands the central concepts, tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s). He or she teaches and creates learning experiences that make these aspects of the discipline accessible and meaningful for learners to assure mastery of the content.
4(a) The teacher effectively uses multiple representations and explanations that capture key ideas in the discipline, guide learners through learning progressions and promote each learner’s achievement of content standards.
4(b) The teacher engages students in learning experiences in the discipline(s) that encourage learners to understand, question, and analyze ideas from diverse perspectives so that they master the content.
4(c) The teacher engages learners in applying methods of inquiry and standards of evidence used in the discipline.
4(d) The teacher stimulates learner reflection on prior content knowledge, links new concepts to familiar concepts, and makes connections to learners’ experiences.
4(e) The teacher recognizes learner misconceptions in a discipline that interfere with learning, and creates experiences to build accurate conceptual understanding.
4(f) The teacher evaluates and modifies instructional resources and curriculum materials for their comprehensiveness, accuracy for representing particular concepts in the discipline, and appropriateness for his/her learners.
4(g) The teacher uses supplementary resources and technologies effectively to ensure accessibility and relevance for all learners.
4(h) The teacher creates opportunities for students to learn, practice, and master academic language in their content.
4(i) The teacher accesses school and/or district-based resources to evaluate the learner’s content knowledge in their primary language.
4(j) The teacher understands major concepts, assumptions, debates, processes of inquiry, and ways of knowing that are central to the discipline(s) s/he teaches.
4(k) The teacher understands common misconceptions in learning the discipline and how to guide learners to accurate conceptual understanding.
4(l) The teacher knows and uses the academic language of the discipline and knows how to make it accessible to learners.
4(m) The teacher knows how to integrate culturally relevant content to build on learners’ background knowledge.
4(n) The teacher has a deep knowledge of student content standards and learning progressions in the discipline(s) s/he teaches.
4(o) The teacher realizes that content knowledge is not a fixed body of facts but is complex, culturally situated, and ever evolving. S/he keeps abreast of new ideas and understandings in the field.
4(p) The teacher appreciates multiple perspectives within the discipline and facilitates learners’ critical analysis of these perspectives.
4(q) The teacher recognizes the potential of bias in his/her representation of the discipline and seeks to appropriately address problems of bias.
4(r) The teacher is committed to work toward each learner’s mastery of disciplinary content and skills.