Standard/Guideline

1.0

Standards for the Structure of the Elementary Language Arts Teacher Education Program

1.1

The language arts teacher education program will model effective pedagogical practices and provide opportunities for analysis of pedagogy, reflection on pedagogy, and implementation of effective pedagogy in pre-service teachers’ own planning and instruction.

1.2

The language arts teacher education program will embody a philosophy consistent with the Michigan Curriculum Framework 1996, Content Standards and Benchmarks, Teaching, and Learning Standards, Assessment Standards, and Professional Development Standards.

1.3

The language arts teacher education program will maintain an articulated and coordinated curriculum, involving content, pedagogy, and professionalism, that is aligned with standards from relevant state and national professional associations, including Michigan’s Guidelines for the Professional Development of Teachers of English Language Arts.

1.4

The language arts teacher education program will promote curriculum integration and cross-disciplinary application of content standards, conceptual understandings, themes, issues, and processes.

1.5

The language arts teacher education program will provide multiple school-based experiences in environments where effective practices are modeled and supported, including experiences with diverse populations and the use of technology in language arts learning.

1.6

The language arts teacher education program will maintain a system of evaluation that includes demonstration and documentation (e.g., a comprehensive portfolio) of teaching and learning processes and abilities.

2.0

Standards for Professionalism

2.1

Language Arts teachers demonstrate professional practices when they respect the worth, contributions, abilities, and languages of all learners.

2.2

Language Arts teachers demonstrate professional practices when they help students understand their own and others’ cultures, abilities, and languages.

2.3

Language Arts teachers demonstrate professional practices when they develop students’ effective use of oral, written, and visual literacy in their daily lives.

2.4

Language Arts teachers demonstrate professional practices when they develop students’ effective use of critical thinking.

2.5

Language Arts teachers demonstrate professional practices when they promote students’ appreciation of and engagement in a wide variety of media and genre.

2.6

Language Arts teachers demonstrate professional practices when they engage regularly in professional growth and reflective practice with an emphasis on inquiry-based teaching.

2.7

Language Arts teachers demonstrate professional practices when they work with colleagues, parents, community members, and professional organizations.

2.8

Language Arts teachers demonstrate professional practices when they participate in professional and public discourse and develop informed stands on English language arts issues.

2.9

Language Arts teachers demonstrate professional practices when they participate in professional activities that reflect national and state professional development standards.

2.10

Language Arts teachers demonstrate professional practices when they join and participate in professional organizations, such as the Michigan Council of Teachers of English, the National Council of Teachers of English, the Michigan Reading Association, the International Reading Association, the Michigan Association of Speech Communication, and the Journalism Education Association.

3.0

Standards for Knowledge of Content and Curriculum

3.1

Meaning and Communication.  Teachers of language arts will know the following and understand their applications for instruction and assessment:

3.1.1

the integrated nature of English language arts (listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing and visually representing);

3.1.2

a variety of communication models and the interdependence of their various components;

3.1.3

the elements of effective communication in a variety of rhetorical situations and the use of appropriate communication modes and behaviors;

3.1.4

the oral and written language acquisition and development process (from birth through adolescence) of first and second languages;

3.1.5

grammars, conventions, and history of English, e.g., morphology, phonology, semantics, syntax;

3.1.6

the social, cultural, and dynamic nature of verbal and nonverbal language, and how language choices affect peoples’ lives;

3.1.7

the diversity of language uses, patterns, and dialects in oral, written, and visual discourse; and

3.1.8

the variety of style, voice, and language choices in texts (oral, written, and visual) and their appropriate-ness in different contexts.

3.2

Literature and Understanding.  Teachers of language arts will know the following and understand their applications for instruction and assessment:

3.2.1

literature as oral, written, and visual texts;

3.2.2

a wide variety of quality contemporary and classic literature, especially literature for children and young adolescents, appropriate for different development levels;

3.2.3

key issues and recurring themes in classic contemporary literature in a variety of cultural contexts;

3.2.4

the distinct characteristics of different forms of oral, performance, and media literature, e.g., film, readers’ theatre, personal narrative, television, audio technology; and

3.2.5

the use of oral, written, and visual texts to explore and address important issues and problems in communities beyond the classroom.

3.3

Genre and Craft.  Teachers of language arts will know the following and understand their applications for instruction and assessment:

3.3.1

the grammatical, syntactical, and lexical features of the English language in a variety of contexts;

3.3.2

the differences between descriptive and prescriptive conventions of usage, and the ways in which conventions of usage are adapted to different communicative situations;

3.3.3

Authors’ techniques that convey meaning, enhance appreciation, and influence and audience;

3.3.4

the characteristics and forms of a variety of oral, written, and visual texts, e.g., narration, drama, poetry, exposition, and persuasion; and

3.3.5

appropriate rhetorical techniques and devices used to respond to, create, and revise texts in a variety of genres.

3.4

Skills and Processes.  Teachers of languages arts will know the following and understand their applications and assessment:

3.4.1

the integrated nature of processes, strategies, and skills of the language arts (listening, speaking, reading, writing, viewing, visually representing) at different developmental levels;

3.4.2

multiple strategies for constructing and conveying meaning for a variety of purposes and through a variety of texts;

3.4.3

word recognition strategies (phonemic, morphemic, semantic, and syntactic system of language) and the meaning of reading fluency at different developmental levels;

3.4.4

the nature of the writing process (i.e., pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing, publishing) and strategies for each step of the process;

3.4.5

monitoring and fix-up strategies for identifying and overcoming difficulties when constructing and conveying meaning across a wide range of situations;

3.4.6

multiple strategies for determining the meaning of unfamiliar words and concepts in texts;

3.4.7

techniques for student goal setting, metacognition, reflection, and self- assessment at different developmental levels;

3.4.8

Inquiry processes and the resources appropriate for investigating particular questions and/or topics and a variety of means for presenting conclusions;

3.4.9

the influence of different purposes and contexts on individual, shared, and academic standards;

3.4.10

critical standards used to make judgments about the craft, aesthetics, and significance of texts;

3.4.11

the process of creating and evaluating a collection of personal texts;

3.4.12

the special skills required in the production of mass media, such as radio and television broadcasting, newspapers, magazines, or film production; and

3.4.13

standards for evaluating whether a communication is truthful, responsible, and/or ethical in diverse contexts.

4.0

Standards for Pedagogy (Instruction and Assessment)

4.1

Instructional Design.  Teachers of language arts will be able to:

4.1.1

set meaningful goals as a part of short- and long-term planning for literacy instruction;

4.1.2

plan for literacy instruction to accommodate the range of learners and their developmental learning needs;

4.1.3

select and sequence integrated English language arts assignments which support standards-based thematic units of instruction;

4.1.4

plan instruction that takes into account students’ personal backgrounds and experiences, students’ prior curricular experiences in language and literacy, and students’ cross-disciplinary curricular experiences;

4.1.5

create learning environments that provide for oral, enacting, and media communication opportunities in a variety of formal and informal situations, such as personal accounts, public speaking, oral interpretations, creative drama, theatre productions, class newspapers, school magazines, and multi-media presentations; and

4.1.6

plan for learning experiences at different developmental levels that enable students to set goals for, reflect on, and self-assess their communication in diverse contexts.

4.2

Instructional Strategies.  Teachers of the language arts will be able to:

4.2.1

use discussion for a variety of purposes, e.g., to engage students in literacy tasks, to develop interpretations and understanding of multiple points of view, to promote critical thinking, and to promote an understanding of their own and others’ perspectives and experiences;

4.2.2

ask questions as a means of probing for learner understanding, helping students articulate their ideas and thinking processes, promoting risk taking and problem solving, facilitating recall of information, encouraging convergent and divergent thinking, stimulating curiosity, and helping students to question;

4.2.3

use small group work and collaborative learning to facilitate critical thinking as students construct meaning in the English language arts, e.g., shared writing, peer revision, dramatic performance, and literature discussion;

4.2.4

work with students individually through such activities as conferencing and facilitating independent projects;

4.2.5

present or explain information to support literacy learning, e.g., assignments, criteria for evaluation, terms or concepts in language, reading and revision strategies;

4.2.6

create environments that support respectful approaches to individual differences in culture, race, gender, religion, ethnicity, and heritage;

4.2.7

model the use of technology as an effective component of learning for conducting research and for the process of writing;

4.2.8

model or demonstrate how to determine purposes and audiences for communication and how to choose those elements of language, media, delivery, and genre which most effectively shape print and non-print texts;

4.2.9

engage students in interpreting and evaluating ideas presented through oral, written, and visual forms, as well as the language, style, and voice in which those ideas are presented;

4.2.10

model or demonstrate how to identify, compare, and synthesize key ideas and perspectives from oral, written, enacted, and media texts; and

4.2.11

model or demonstrate ways that learners can use textual evidence and experience to support a personal position or view.

4.3

Assessment Strategies.  Teachers of the language arts will be able to:

4.3.1

respond effectively and constructively on an ongoing basis to students’ literacy efforts, e.g., contributions to discussion, writing, and oral presentations;

4.3.2

generate (content) standards-based performance criteria and design rubrics appropriate for oral, written, and visual literacy tasks;

4.3.3

recognize students’ oral, written, and visual miscues and their underlying causes as a means of informing curricular choices for individual and group instruction;

4.3.4

design and conduct a variety of assessments that involve multiple indicators of learner progress, e.g., constructed and selected response tests, projects, performance tasks, portfolios, and student-based self-evaluations;

4.3.5

document, interpret, and report assessment methods and results to students, administrators, parents, and the public;

4.3.6

use assessment results to shape or revise curriculum, instructional strategies;

4.3.7

administer and use information from state, national, and other norm-referenced and criterion-referenced assessment programs to inform curriculum, instruction, and learning; and

4.3.8

assess students’ depth of understanding of important ideas, issues, themes, and perspectives from multiple texts and their ability to synthesize and apply key ideas.