Minnesota Administrative Rules

8710.4250 TEACHERS OF COMMUNICATION ARTS AND LITERATURE.

Subpart 1.

Scope of practice.

A teacher of communication arts and literature is authorized to provide to students in grades 5 through 12 instruction that is designed to develop skills and understanding in reading, writing, speaking, listening, media literacy, and literature.

Subp. 2.

Licensure requirements.

A candidate for licensure to teach communication arts and literature to students in grades 5 through 12 shall:

A.

hold a baccalaureate degree from a college or university that is regionally accredited by the association for the accreditation of colleges and secondary schools;

B.

demonstrate the standards for effective practice for licensing of beginning teachers in part 8710.2000; and

C.

show verification of completing a Board of Teaching preparation program approved under part 8700.7600 leading to the licensure of teachers of communication arts and literature in subpart 3.

Subp. 3.

Subject matter standard.

A candidate for licensure as a teacher of communication arts and literature must complete a preparation program under subpart 2, item C, that must include the candidate's demonstration of the knowledge and skills in items A to C.

A.

A teacher of communication arts and literature understands central concepts common to the teaching and learning of communication arts and literature content. The teacher must understand and apply:

(1)

language development, cognition, and learning;

(2)

the phonological, grammatical, and semantic functions of language;

(3)

philosophy and theories of communication arts and literature instruction;

(4)

technological resources including software, databases, and networks that can be used to gather, synthesize, create, and communicate knowledge;

(5)

language for independent learning and enjoyment;

(6)

communication which is clear, fluent, strategic, critical, and creative;

(7)

the aesthetic dimensions of communication arts and literature;

(8)

strategies that allow appropriate engagement in communication tasks for a variety of purposes and audiences;

(9)

the integration of reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing;

(10)

strategies for selecting and using texts and materials that correlate individual student abilities with developmentally appropriate learning experiences;

(11)

strategies for selecting and using texts and materials which recognize and accept a broad range of common and diverse perspectives;

(12)

research methods encompassing content;

(13)

the social, intellectual, and political importance and impact of communication;

(14)

the meanings of messages, content and relational;

(15)

communication and its value in exploring and expressing ideas; and

(16)

communication arts and literature activities such as forensics, debate, journalism, literary journals, and related activities.

B.

A teacher of communication arts and literature demonstrates understanding and skills essential to the teaching and learning of reading, writing, speaking, listening, media literacy, and literature. The teacher must demonstrate the:

(1)

knowledge of reading processes and instruction including:

(a)

orthographic knowledge and morphological relationships within words;

(b)

the relationship between word recognition and vocabulary knowledge, fluency, and comprehension in understanding text and content materials;

(c)

the importance of direct and indirect vocabulary instruction that leads to enhanced general and domain-specific word knowledge;

(d)

the relationships between and among comprehension processes related to print processing abilities, motivation, reader's interest, background knowledge, cognitive abilities, knowledge of academic discourse, and print and digital text; and

(e)

the development of academic language and its impact on learning and school success;

(2)

the ability to use a wide range of instructional practices, approaches, methods, and curriculum materials to support reading instruction including:

(a)

the appropriate applications of a variety of instructional frameworks that are effective in meeting the needs of readers of varying proficiency levels and linguistic backgrounds in secondary settings;

(b)

the ability to scaffold instruction for students who experience comprehension difficulties;

(c)

the ability to develop and implement effective vocabulary strategies that help students understand words including domain-specific content words;

(d)

the ability to identify instructional practices, approaches, and methods and match materials, print and digital, to the cognitive levels of all readers, guided by an evidence-based rationale, which support the developmental, cultural, and linguistic differences of readers;

(e)

implementation of a variety of grouping strategies that include individual, small group, and whole group reading experiences that promote enhanced comprehension of text; and

(f)

the ability to plan instruction and select strategies that help students read and understand language arts texts and spur student interest in more complex reading materials, including the ability to help students:

i.

distinguish fact from opinion and the words that signal opinions and judgments in persuasive texts;

ii.

think critically, draw inferences or conclusions from facts, analyze author's purpose and point of view, evaluate author's argument and evidence, and synthesize information from more than one text; and

iii.

use aids such as glossaries and appendices that pertain to reading, writing, and English language conventions;

(3)

use of a variety of assessment practices to place and evaluate effective reading including:

(a)

understanding the measurement systems and proper interpretation of assessment tools that determine individual student's reading level, fluency, comprehension abilities, and reading interests;

(b)

using data to set goals and objectives, make effective instructional decisions, and demonstrate responsiveness to students' needs; and

(c)

the ability to communicate results of assessments to specific individuals in accurate and coherent ways that indicate how the results might impact students' achievement;

(4)

knowledge, skills, and ability to teach writing including:

(a)

various stages of the writing process, including prewriting, writing, conferencing, revising, and publishing used in teaching writing;

(b)

diverse strategies for assessing and responding to student writing;

(c)

the functions of language and how they influence effective written communication; and

(d)

conventions for presenting, arranging, and organizing information in particular genres or media;

(5)

knowledge, skills, and ability to teach speaking including:

(a)

relationships among the verbal and nonverbal components of the speaking process across a variety of contexts including small group, interpersonal, and public;

(b)

methods and steps necessary to construct meaning for participants in both formal and informal speaking situations;

(c)

methods of managing and overcoming communication anxiety and apprehension; and

(d)

ethical responsibilities of a speaker associated with competent and effective communication in society;

(6)

knowledge, skills, and ability to teach listening including:

(a)

relationships between and among the components of the listening process;

(b)

the different listening skills appropriate for diverse types and levels of listening;

(c)

how to identify and manage barriers to listening; and

(d)

ethical responsibilities of a listener;

(7)

knowledge, skills, and ability to teach media literacy including:

(a)

relationships among the elements of the communication process across various types of print and nonprint media;

(b)

effects of the various types of electronic audiovisual media on the communication process;

(c)

competent participation as a consumer and producer of media communication; and

(d)

functional, aesthetic, and ethical values of media communication; and

(8)

knowledge, skills, and ability to teach literature including:

(a)

a repertoire of literary texts, including fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works, and works written for preadolescents and adolescents by a diversity of authors;

(b)

characteristics of various literary genres, including poetry, drama, novel, short story, and essays;

(c)

tools of interpretation including literary devices, critical theories, and various methods of analysis, interpretation, presentation, and evaluation of literature;

(d)

how to help students respond to, interpret, and evaluate texts in a variety of ways, including text centered and reader centered approaches;

(e)

how to encourage students to respond to texts through written and oral communication, both privately and publicly;

(f)

how to help students construct meaning out of texts through various processes applied before, during, and after reading;

(g)

how context shapes meaning; and

(h)

how to encourage students to become lifelong readers and writers.

C.

A teacher of communication arts and literature demonstrates an understanding of the teaching of communication arts and literature that integrates understanding of communication arts and literature with their understanding of pedagogy, students, learning, classroom management, and professional development. The teacher of communication arts and literature to preadolescent and adolescent students in grades 5 through 12 shall:

(1)

understand and apply educational principles relevant to the physical, social, emotional, moral, and cognitive development of preadolescents and adolescents;

(2)

understand and apply the research base for and the best practices of middle level and high school education;

(3)

develop curriculum goals and purposes based on the central concepts of communication arts and literature and know how to apply instructional strategies and materials for achieving student understanding of this discipline;

(4)

understand the role and alignment of district, school, and department mission and goals in program planning;

(5)

understand the need for and how to connect students' schooling experiences with everyday life, the workplace, and further educational opportunities;

(6)

know how to involve representatives of business, industry, and community organizations as active partners in creating educational opportunities;

(7)

understand the role and purpose of cocurricular and extracurricular activities in the teaching and learning process; and

(8)

apply the standards of effective practice in teaching students through a variety of early and ongoing clinical experiences with middle level and high school students within a range of educational programming models.

Subp. 4.

Continuing license.

A continuing license shall be issued and renewed according to the rules of the Board of Teaching governing continuing licensure.

Subp. 5.

Effective date.

The requirements of this part for licensure as a teacher of communication arts and literature are effective on September 1, 2010, and thereafter.

Statutory Authority:

MS s 122A.09; 122A.18

History:

23 SR 1928; 34 SR 595

Published Electronically:

July 14, 2010