Standard Two: Content Area and Pedagogical Knowledge The competent teacher has in-depth understanding of content area

knowledge that includes central concepts, methods of inquiry, structures of the disciplines, and content area literacy. The teacher creates meaningful learning experiences for each student based upon interactions among content area and pedagogical knowledge, and evidence-based practice. This artifact was chosen to address standard two because it covers the content area, various methods of inquiry, and creates a meaningful learning experience for each student. The artifact is an appropriate representation of the standard because it was a lesson I had implemented in a middle school classroom but then later modified for an assignment for a special education class. The special education assignment required that we modify an existing lesson that we had implemented to fit the needs of a hypothetical student. The student I chose had trouble comprehending and decoding text as he read it; he was several reading levels behind. He got easily frustrated when he did not understand what he could not follow along in class. However, he had great auditory comprehension, so text that was read aloud to him and class discussions he was able to comprehend well. He also excelled in creative arts and was a recognized artist in his school and community. In keeping these characteristics in mind, I modified the existing lesson plan to best suit his particular needs. The changes I made are all in italics and red in the artifact. In addition, I modified all of the worksheets and texts to be read in class so that this student would be able to participate fully in class. This lesson still allowed this particular student to be fully functioning in class and still gain all aspects of the content that I wanted to get across to the other students. Additionally, I created multiple assessments so that all the students had an option to display their knowledge in a way that used their strengths. Modifying this lesson really helped me to develop as a teacher. When I first made this lesson, I thought it was really good and it went over really well in my middle school classroom. However, when I returned to it to complete the assignment for the special education class, and using all the knowledge I had gained through this class, I found many things that I could change to make this lesson more accommodating for all students. Many of the things I changed were very small but without this specific class or assignment, I would not have even thought about them being restricting for some students. From this class and assignment, I feel I have a much deeper understanding of the various challenges that students with disabilities can face and I now have more tools and knowledge to help me accommodate those students. I have had my eyes opened to small ways in which my lessons can be adapted for various types of learners and I am now more well prepared to make those changes from the beginning without having to go back and modify every piece of a lesson.