Ashleigh Carls

Professor Edgar
22 October 2015
InTASC Standard 5: Application of Content
How a teacher applies content knowledge during a lesson is an
important aspect of education. If an educator is able to effectively
connect concepts and use differing perspectives through various
teaching strategies, students are more likely to enhance their critical
thinking, creativity, and collaborative problem solving skills. In other
words, educators should be able to explain and relate content
knowledge to students using different methods and techniques. It is
more than simply knowing the content, teachers should be able to
effectively apply it in the classroom. Similarly, the learning process
involves more than simply memorizing facts and ideas, a textbook
could replace a teacher if this was the only goal. Instead, teachers are
responsible for helping students build content skills and ways to apply
this information. This is especially true for social studies. For example,
requiring students to memorize the first Thanksgiving was in 1621 just
for the sake of recalling the date is pointless and a waste of energy.
Instead, teaching students that this date is important because it
provides context is useful. The first Thanksgiving is an example of the
few instances of positive relations between the Pilgrims and the Native
Americans, and knowing this date can help students understand this
complex period in early U.S. history. It is important for all teachers, new

and experienced, to improve their application of content knowledge to

continue to develop their teaching style as a whole. Especially as
curriculums and standards are often replaced, there is certainly always
room for improvement.