Domain III — Promoting Student Achievement in English Language Arts and Reading and in Mathematics
Competency 008: The special education teacher promotes students’ performance in English language arts and reading.
A. Applies knowledge of developmental processes associated with communication systems (e.g., listening, speaking, writing), including emergent and preliteracy skills, and knows how to provide a variety of opportunities for students with disabilities to learn communication skills.
B. Knows how to use a variety of assessment practices and procedures to plan and implement instruction in English language arts and reading that is responsive to the strengths and needs of individuals with disabilities.
C. Knows the nature and stages of literacy development, and various contexts and methods for promoting students’ literacy development.
D. Applies knowledge of phonological and phonemic awareness and strategies for promoting the phonological and phonemic awareness of students with disabilities.
E. Applies knowledge of the alphabetic principle and word analysis skills (e.g., decoding, structural analysis, sight word vocabulary) and knows how to provide students with disabilities with systematic instruction that promotes their ability to apply the alphabetic principle and word analysis and decoding skills.
F. Applies knowledge of reading fluency and the relationship between reading fluency and reading comprehension and knows how to provide students with disabilities with systematic instruction that promotes their reading fluency.
G. Knows the importance of comprehension in reading and knows how to provide students with disabilities with instruction in the use of skills and strategies (e.g., critical/creative thinking) to promote their reading comprehension.
H. Knows how to provide students with disabilities with systematic instruction to develop skills in writing conventions and competence in written communication.
I. Knows the relationship between learning and effective study, critical-thinking and inquiry skills and knows how to use various methods and strategies to teach students with disabilities to apply study, critical-thinking and inquiry skills.
Competency 009: The special education teacher promotes students’ performance in mathematics.
A. Knows how to use a variety of assessment methods to monitor the mathematical understanding of students with disabilities and adapt mathematics instruction to address individual strengths and needs.
B. Knows how to provide mathematics instruction that is based on principles of children’s learning and development and that reflects recognition of common misconceptions and sources of error in mathematics.
C. Knows how individuals learn and develop mathematical skills, procedures and concepts.
D. Understands numbers, number systems and their structure, operations and algorithms and quantitative reasoning and uses various instructional strategies and resources, including technology, to help students with disabilities understand and apply related content and skills.
E. Understands patterns, relations, functions and algebraic reasoning and analysis and uses various instructional strategies and resources, including technology, to help students with disabilities understand and apply related content and skills.
F. Understands geometry, spatial reasoning and measurement concepts and principles, and uses various instructional strategies and resources, including technology, to help students with disabilities understand and apply related content and skills.
G. Understands principles and applications of probability and statistics and uses various instructional strategies and resources, including technology, to help students with disabilities understand and apply related content and skills.
H. Applies knowledge of methods, strategies and resources for teaching students with disabilities to engage in mathematical reasoning and problem solving, apply mathematics in a variety of contexts and communicate mathematically.