Overviews of INTASC Standard Domains

¶ … Domain

Intasc Domain: Instruction

This domain is covered by INTASC Standards III, Adapting Instruction for Individual Needs and VI, Communication Skills.

These standards require that the teacher create instructional plans that address the fact that students' learning styles are diverse, and that those differences are legitimate and need to be addressed in the teacher's instructional methodology. The teacher must use his or her ability to use a variety of methods for communicating with students during instruction, including not only verbal and nonverbal but media approaches as well. That goal is that the instruction use inquiry, that it collaborates with the student and that it supports real interaction between students and teacher and between students.

These standards build on other standards covered in INTASC. Other standards require that the teacher realize when a student is struggling, but in addition the instructional domain requires that the teacher alter teaching style in an attempt to help the student learn. In addition, the requirement in this domain is that communication flow in many directions. The impact of this domain is that teaching is no longer a matter of the teacher standing at the front of the room, imparting the all-important information he or she has selected, with the students' role a passive one of absorbing the selected information. The Artifact titled "More than one Definition of Exceptional" demonstrates this teacher's understanding of how student learning styles may vary. The Artifact "The Inclusion Classroom" shows that this teacher has knowledge and understanding about a variety of learning differences students might have. The Artifact "Educational Software Review" demonstrates that this teacher knows how to evaluate educational software in depth. The Artifact "Teaching Methods for Middle School English" demonstrates that the teacher possesses a variety of instructional strategies that can be used to address individual learning needs. The Artifact "Fieldwork Observation Report" demonstrates that this teacher can evaluate teacher performance in terms of communication styles used, and note the strengths and weaknesses.