Learning Outcome #2:
Possess In-Depth Knowledge of the Subject Area to be Taught
Possess In-Depth Knowledge of the Subject Area to be Taught
Contextualization emphasizes the in-depth knowledge that teachers have in their content areas. Not only do teachers need to comprehend their content, they must also be able to relate it to the world around the students whom they are teaching so that the students can activate prior knowledge and understand the material being taught. According to Contextualizing Teaching by Kincheloe, Slattery, and Steinberg, "without the learning context, academic content holds no significance - it gains meaning only in light of its context as it is viewed in relation to (1) human knowledge, (2) issues of research, (3) comparison to other information, (4) synthesis, and (5) application" (72). The context signifies the importance of the information being taught; teachers may be able to understand the content themselves, but teachers need to transfer this knowledge to students in a way that students will see the value in having acquired the knowledge. By presenting content in context, students are able to critically analyze and question the material that they are learning. In order to focus on this level of higher learning for students, teachers need to have mastery over the content, and they need to be well informed on the facets of the content that they are teaching so that they can guide students towards finding the answers to the provocative questions being posed.
Works cited
Kincheloe, Joe, Patrick Slattery, and Shirley Steinberg. Contextualizing Teaching. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, 2000. Print.
English and literature classes taken at Broome Community College:
Academic Writing I
Academic Writing II
Intro: Literature
Intro: Women in Literature
Communicating About Values
Psychological Investigations of Literature
American Literature since 1900
English and literature classes taken at SUNY New Paltz (undergraduate):
Writing About Literature
The Beats
English and literature classes taken at Cortland (undergraduate):
Maj Figures: Brit Lit to 1780
Maj Figures: Brit Lit 1780-Pr
Literature for Adolescence
Study of English Language
Amer Literature before 1900
World Literature
Authors, Movements, Scenes
Shakespeare
English and literature classes taken at Cortland (graduate):
19thC Brit.Women Writers
Chaucer
Sem-Comp Proc: Rhet & Analysis
Part-Observ Exp: Comp. Process
Teach Lit. & Critical Literacy
Research: Teaching of English
Language Devel. in Adolescence
Part-Observ Exp: Lang. Devel.
TP: Arthurian Literature
Studies: Realism & Naturalism
Studies: Amer Lit - Postmodern
Academic Writing I
Academic Writing II
Intro: Literature
Intro: Women in Literature
Communicating About Values
Psychological Investigations of Literature
American Literature since 1900
English and literature classes taken at SUNY New Paltz (undergraduate):
Writing About Literature
The Beats
English and literature classes taken at Cortland (undergraduate):
Maj Figures: Brit Lit to 1780
Maj Figures: Brit Lit 1780-Pr
Literature for Adolescence
Study of English Language
Amer Literature before 1900
World Literature
Authors, Movements, Scenes
Shakespeare
English and literature classes taken at Cortland (graduate):
19thC Brit.Women Writers
Chaucer
Sem-Comp Proc: Rhet & Analysis
Part-Observ Exp: Comp. Process
Teach Lit. & Critical Literacy
Research: Teaching of English
Language Devel. in Adolescence
Part-Observ Exp: Lang. Devel.
TP: Arthurian Literature
Studies: Realism & Naturalism
Studies: Amer Lit - Postmodern