Swanson 1

Daniel Swanson
Professor Suk
Education Field Experience Educ 230-01
Fall 2014
Rationale Statement for NJPTS #4
Statement of Standard 4: Content Knowledge. The teacher understands the central concepts,
tools of inquiry, and structures of the discipline(s) he or she teaches, particularly
as they relate to the Common Core Standards and the New Jersey Core
Curriculum Content Standards and creates learning experiences that make these
aspects of the discipline accessible and meaningful for learners to assure mastery
of the content.
Name of Artifact: 10 Minute Lesson presentation
Date of Artifact: 11/20/2014
Course: Education Field Experience EDUC 230-01
Rationale Statement: Theres no way that anyone can teach anything unless they have a complete
understanding of what theyre teaching. It would be impossible for me to take on a calculus class
because I have little prior knowledge of calculus. When I think about teaching biology, which is what I
want to teach, I know very well that there is still a wealth of information for me to learn. The more a
teacher loves their subject material, the more knowledgeable they are about it and are able to explain it
better. Going beyond this, an effective teacher can teach a topic so well, that they can actually get their
students to think critically about what it is theyre doing so they can think about the material for
themselves. Once the students understand and remember the information, they should be able to work
their way up from the bottom of blooms taxonomy to the higher order tasks, like analyzing and creating.
Keeping students engaged and interested during a lesson is key to getting them to learn the material.
For my presentation, I had to come up with something that I knew and understood completely.
Other than school, most of my time is spent working, so I wanted to present a skill that Ive picked up
and refined over and over more than any of my hobbies. I decided to teach the class how to pour a
perfect ounce without a measuring tool. I do this at my job and Ive explained how it works to my friends
and for some reason theyre fascinated by the whole ordeal. Im going to introduce the lesson by

Swanson 2
explaining why this may be useful for reasons other than making drinks, but cooking or other projects as
well. Hopefully this will make the lesson appeal to more people in the class. Ill briefly explain how to
free pour, and then give cups and water bottles to the class to try for themselves. Ill go around the
room and see what the class is doing and provide support when needed while evaluating their
understanding of what Im trying to teach. Finally, before my presentation is over, I want to try and have
people make their own kiddie cocktails. Using grenadine, lemonade and sprite, Ill show the class how to
make Shirley temples and flavored lemonades.
The hardest part of this presentation is deciding what to present. I wanted to make sure
whatever I present I knew through and through without any lapse in understanding. I felt that Im
comfortable presenting this as my lesson because its something I do every day in my work life. Because
Im so comfortable doing this, Im better able to point out mistakes and make corrections for my
students. I also plan to bring in a lot of extra supplies to get the whole class involved and practicing.
This way I feel Im engaging with the students and helping them learn. If the class doesnt get it, I hope
Ill be able to modify the lesson to help them understand. In my future career, I hope that Im just as
knowledgeable to be able to teach a class effectively and have my students not only understand the
material Im teaching, but formulate their own ideas and concepts from that knowledge. This lesson
presentation will be a small taste of what that will be like as a teacher. From this Im learning how to
teach a class while being active and charismatic so that I have the students attention. I also have a set
time frame to work with, and need to be able to present and teach my material all while making
corrections and assessing the students within 10 minutes. I hope to be able to present the material
efficiently and in a fun way.

References
Board, New Jersey Professional Teaching Standarts. 2014. "New Jersey Professional Standarts for
Teachers and School Leaders." August: 37-38.