Domain 3

Experiences and Reflections

Domain 3 focuses on communicating with students, using questions and discussions in the classroom, engaging students in instruction, using assessments and demonstrating flexibly. Teachers need to communicate with their students every day to make learning clear and purposeful. Students must be given clear directions for class activities, so they know what is required. Teachers should try and link class instruction with other classes to make the content more engaging. Questioning and discussion should be instructional strategies and are central to the teacher’s practice. These techniques should be used to deepen the students’ understandings. Discussions should be lively and engaging to further understanding as well. Engaging students in instruction happens when the students are actively learning and understanding challenging content. Assessment is important to instruction, so the teacher can know where each student is in the instruction and see if there is something that needs further instruction. The teacher should be flexible and are able to demonstrate this when teaching a lesson that is not going the way they thought it would.

In our increasingly diverse and multicultural society, it’s more important than ever for teachers to incorporate culturally responsive instruction in the classroom, whether teaching elementary school, middle school or high school students. And the increase of diversity doesn’t only relate to race and ethnicity; it can include students of different religion, economic status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and language background. Fostering inclusion and awareness around multicultural education and taking a culturally responsive approach to teaching benefits all students. Not only does creating greater multicultural awareness and inclusion help students with different backgrounds and needs succeed, but it encourages acceptance and helps prepare students to thrive in an exponentially diverse world.