Module 1

By Jacob Bowers
Introduction
Chapters one, two, and three of Learning and Teaching by Don Kauchak introduces us to many key
elements of teaching, many of which are shared in the TexES Pedagogy and Professional
Responsibilities. In this paper I will briefly underline the key ideas from each chapter and how they
relate to the competencies. I will begin by examining the chapter: Learning to Teach. Second, I will
discuss the next chapter: Student Diversity. Next, I will be looking at the third chapter: Creating
Productive Learning Environments. I will conclude this essay by overviewing.

Chapter One: Learning to Teach

Competency one states that teachers need to understand the human developmental process and apply
this knowledge to planning instruction and assessment. These lessons need to motivate students and
intrigue them. So Don began to look for what teachers could teach motivating and intriguing lessons.
Research proved that although there is no one size fits all glove for teacher instruction, two key
factors were discovered: How experienced the teacher was and how much information the teacher
knew on the subject. Similarly there are three contemporary views on learning. The first is the
Behaviorist view on learning in which Students passively respond to stimuli and teachers should watch
for observable, external events and reinforce those. This was determined to be oversimplified and
misguided. The second is the Cognitive View of Learning, which focuses on the thought processes.
Recently, the Cognitive viewpoint has been replaced by the Constructivism view point, which pictures
students as creators of understanding. The biggest change this presents is that student involvement is
very stressed. In an effort to guide teachers to teach effectively there have been many recent reforms.
These reforms mostly focus on educational standards for nationwide schools and accountability The

last important concept presented in this chapter is the concept of Teacher Decisions There are as many
as 130 decisions a teacher must make an hour. These decisions will be based on the teachers knowledge
and should be sculpted to the classroom diversity

Chapter Two: Student Diversity

Competency two asks the teacher to understand student diversity and plan lessons that are responsive
to each student. This can be difficult seeing as the term diversity includes: race, gender, Socioeconomic
Status, Gifted students, at risk students, students with exceptionalities, the child's languages, learning
styles, and the cultural background the student brings with them. The overall key is to be aware of these
differences and to incorporate specific changes into your lesson. A few strategies are as follows: Use
the cultural resources students bring you, accept and build on dialects, and incorporate activities that
benefit different learning styles. Lastly a teacher must identify a students strengths and weaknesses
early. The teacher must capitalize on the strength and develop it, while helping the student in the weak
point. All of these decisions will take some time to make, and if the class is not structured you will
often not even be able to reach this level. How can we manage the class to give us time to successfully
focus on student diversity?

Chapter Three: Creating Productive Learning Environments

Competencies five and six ask that teachers know how to create an organized, safe, and productive
environment. Teachers must focus on both the physical and emotional environment and know how to
manage student behavior. Classroom Management is directly linked to student achievement There are
two goals when creating a productive learning environment: Maximize learning by continuing to
improve your classroom management and develop in students the ability to manage their own behavior.
Three styles of parental/ teacher interaction have been discovered The first is Authoritarian, or rulers.
These parents or teachers would give rules without explaining why and expect a conformity. Children
tended to be withdrawn. Second is Permissive who had few expectations for their students. These

children proved that freedom does not always equal happiness, as they were immature, lacked self
control, and were uncertain. Lastly is Authoritative interaction or firm but caring. Successful teachers
are generally authoritative. They have high expectations, consistent in those expectations, and
explained their rules. Classroom management is dependent one three factors: classroom management
and effective instruction are inseparable, effective teachers prevent instead of react, and effective
teachers intervene quickly and consistently. Lastly classroom management plans need to be laid out at
the beginning of the school semester. Students need to know what is going on and why it is.

Conclusion
Being a teacher is a demanding profession that asks for many different decisions. It is important to
understand the key competencies involved. In this paragraph we examinded four of them: Human
Development, Student Diversity, Classroom Management, and Managing Student Behavior. If a teacher
understands and is aware of these competencies then the teacher can begin to effectively guide the
worlds youth to brighter future.

Refrences:
Kauchak, D., & Eggen, P. (2012). Learning and Teaching: Research-Based Methods (Sixth ed.). N.p.:
Allyn and Bacon.