Ashley Bason

April 10th, 2018

SCED 499

InTASC #7 Reflection

When planning lessons, teacher has to employ many skills in order to ensure the success

of the students within the classroom. InTASC Standard #7 states, “The teacher plans instruction

that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of

content areas, curriculum, cross-disciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of

learners and the community context. ” (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2013, p. 34). In

other words, when a teacher begins to plan a lesson he or she must ensure that the lesson is

challenging for all students. Although the lesson is challenging, it must also be doable for

students. Meaning, the teacher must use their own understanding of their content, provided

curriculum, skills, and data about their students to make a lesson that is able to rigorous all

students.

Let us assume that there is a class of 25 students. Out of the 25 students, 3 have IEP’s, 14

come from diverse backgrounds, and the class reading scores range from below basic to

advanced proficient. When the teacher begins to plan for instruction, he or she must take into

account the class data. Realizing that the lesson should academically challenge student, the

teacher may break the class into groups. During the group work period, the teacher will be able

to pair students who rank close to each other, and work more closely with students who made

need extra accommodations. This relates to InTASC Standard 7(b), which states, “The teacher

plans how to achieve each student’s learning goals, choosing appropriate strategies and
accommodations, resources, and materials to differentiate instruction for individuals and groups

of learners (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2013, p. 34).

Within an English Language Arts classroom, InTASC Standard 7(e), which states, “The

teacher plans collaboratively with professionals who have specialized expertise (e.g., special

educators, related service providers, language learning specialists, librarians, media specialist) to

design and jointly deliver as appropriate learning experiences to meet unique learning needs,”

would probably be most evident (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2013, p. 34). For

example, when deciding which supplemental text to use to enhance a lesson, an ELA teacher

may meet with the special educator and school librarian in order to ask for advice about which

texts would be appropriate considering the class data.

InTASC Standard #7 is important because it forces teacher to think critically about

instruction. This critical thinking leads to teacher collaborating with other faculty members in

order to ensure students are being challenged appropriately. Also, teachers become more familiar

with their content area and students in order to see how their curriculum can be more relatable

for students.