| (a) Early Childhood-Grade 6 pedagogy and professional
responsibilities (PPR) standards. The PPR standards identified in
this section are targeted for classroom teachers of students in Early
Childhood-Grade 6. The standards address the discipline that deals
with the theory and practice of teaching to inform skill-based training
and development. The standards inform proper teaching techniques,
strategies, teacher actions, teacher judgements, and decisions by
taking into consideration theories of learning, understandings of
students and their needs, and the backgrounds and interests of individual
students. The standards are also aligned with the Commissioner's Teacher
Standards in 19 TAC Chapter 149 of this title (relating to Commissioner's
Rules Concerning Educator Standards).
(b) Instructional Planning and Delivery. Early Childhood-Grade
6 classroom teachers demonstrate understanding of instructional planning
and delivery by providing standards-based, data-driven, differentiated
instruction that engages students and makes learning relevant for
today's learners. Early Childhood-Grade 6 classroom teachers must:
(1) develop lessons that build coherently toward objectives
based on course content, curriculum scope and sequence, and expected
student outcomes;
(2) effectively communicate goals, expectations, and
objectives to help all students reach high levels of achievement;
(3) connect students' prior understanding and real-world
experiences to new content and contexts, maximizing learning opportunities;
(4) plan instruction that is developmentally appropriate,
is standards driven, and motivates students to learn;
(5) use a range of instructional strategies, appropriate
to the content area, to make subject matter accessible to all students;
(6) differentiate instruction, aligning methods and
techniques to diverse student needs, including acceleration, remediation,
and implementation of individual education plans;
(7) plan student groupings, including pairings and
individualized and small-group instruction, to facilitate student
learning;
(8) integrate the use of oral, written, graphic, kinesthetic,
and/or tactile methods to teach key concepts;
(9) ensure that the learning environment features a
high degree of student engagement by facilitating discussion and student-centered
activities as well as leading direct instruction;
(10) encourage all students to overcome obstacles and
remain persistent in the face of challenges, providing them with support
in achieving their goals;
(11) set high expectations and create challenging learning
experiences for students, encouraging them to apply disciplinary and
cross-disciplinary knowledge to real-world problems;
(12) provide opportunities for students to engage in
individual and collaborative critical thinking and problem solving;
(13) monitor and assess students' progress to ensure
that their lessons meet students' needs;
(14) provide immediate feedback to students in order
to reinforce their learning and ensure that they understand key concepts;
and
(15) adjust content delivery in response to student
progress through the use of developmentally appropriate strategies
that maximize student engagement.
(c) Knowledge of Student and Student Learning. Early
Childhood-Grade 6 classroom teachers work to ensure high levels of
learning, social-emotional development, and achievement outcomes for
all students, taking into consideration each student's educational
and developmental backgrounds and focusing on each student's needs.
Early Childhood-Grade 6 classroom teachers must:
(1) create a community of learners in an inclusive
environment that views differences in learning and background as educational
assets;
(2) connect learning, content, and expectations to
students' prior knowledge, life experiences, and interests in meaningful
contexts;
(3) understand the unique qualities of students with
exceptional needs, including disabilities and giftedness, and know
how to effectively address these needs through instructional strategies
and resources;
(4) understand the role of language and culture in
learning and know how to modify their practice to support language
acquisition so that language is comprehensible and instruction is
fully accessible;
(5) understand how learning occurs and how learners
develop, construct meaning, and acquire knowledge and skills; and
(6) identify readiness for learning and understand
how development in one area may affect students' performance in other
areas.
(d) Content Knowledge and Expertise. Early Childhood-Grade
6 classroom teachers exhibit an understanding of content, discipline,
and related pedagogy as demonstrated through the quality of the design
and execution of lessons and the ability to match objectives and activities
to relevant state standards. Early Childhood-Grade 6 classroom teachers
must:
(1) have expertise in how their content vertically
and horizontally aligns with the grade-level/subject area continuum,
leading to an integrated curriculum across grade levels and content
areas;
(2) identify gaps in students' knowledge of subject
matter and communicate with their leaders and colleagues to ensure
that these gaps are adequately addressed across grade levels and subject
areas;
(3) keep current with developments, new content, new
approaches, and changing methods of instructional delivery within
their discipline;
(4) organize curriculum to facilitate student understanding
of the subject matter;
(5) understand, actively anticipate, and adapt instruction
to address common misunderstandings and preconceptions;
(6) promote literacy and the academic language within
the discipline and make discipline-specific language accessible to
all learners;
(7) teach both the key content knowledge and the key
skills of the discipline; and
(8) make appropriate and authentic connections across
disciplines, subjects, and students' real world experiences.
(e) Learning Environment. Early Childhood-Grade 6 classroom
teachers interact with students in respectful ways at all times, maintaining
a physically and emotionally safe, supportive learning environment
that is characterized by efficient and effective routines, clear expectations
for student behavior, and organization that maximizes student learning.
Early Childhood-Grade 6 classroom teachers must:
(1) embrace students' backgrounds and experiences as
an asset in their learning;
(2) maintain and facilitate respectful, supportive,
positive, and productive interactions with and among students;
(3) establish and sustain learning environments that
are developmentally appropriate and respond to students' needs, strengths,
and personal experiences;
(4) create a physical classroom set-up that is flexible
and accommodates the different learning needs of students;
(5) implement behavior management systems to maintain
an environment where all students can learn effectively;
(6) maintain a culture that is based on high expectations
for student performance and encourages students to be self-motivated,
taking responsibility for their own learning;
(7) maximize instructional time, including managing
transitions;
(8) manage and facilitate groupings in order to maximize
student collaboration, participation, and achievement; and
(9) communicate regularly, clearly, and appropriately
with parents and families about student progress, providing detailed
and constructive feedback and partnering with families in furthering
their students' achievement goals.
(f) Data-Driven Practices. Early Childhood-Grade 6
classroom teachers use formal and informal methods to assess student
growth aligned to instructional goals and course objectives and regularly
review and analyze multiple sources of data to measure student progress
and adjust instructional strategies and content delivery as needed.
Early Childhood-Grade 6 classroom teachers must:
(1) gauge student progress and ensure mastery of content
knowledge and skills by providing assessments aligned to instructional
objectives and outcomes that are accurate measures of student learning;
(2) analyze and review data in a timely, thorough,
accurate, and appropriate manner, both individually and with colleagues,
to monitor student learning; and
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