Study Guide
Field 125: Italian CST
Pedagogical Content Knowledge
Review the
character selector tutorial video
and the
special character palette available for the Italian CST:
Directions for Pedagogical Content Knowledge Assignment
For the Pedagogical Content Knowledge section of the test, you will write a response of approximately 400 to 600 words start bold in English end bold to an assignment.
Read the assignment carefully before you begin to write. Think about how you will organize your response. You should use your time to plan, write, review, and edit your response to the assignment. Your final response must be typed in the on-screen response box presented with the assignment.
Please note that special characters (such as letters with accents or other diacritical marks) cannot be entered using the keyboard, but are available for insertion in the on-screen response box. To access these characters, click on the
button that appears in the upper left corner of the screen. Using the mouse, double-click on the character you wish to include in your response, or click on the character and then select " start bold Insert end bold ." The character will be inserted where the cursor is positioned in the response box.
Your response will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
- start bold COMPLETENESS: end bold The degree to which the response addresses all parts of the assignment
- start bold ACCURACY: end bold The degree to which the response demonstrates the relevant knowledge and skills accurately and effectively
- start bold DEPTH OF SUPPORT: end bold The degree to which the response provides appropriate examples and details that demonstrate sound reasoning
Your response will be evaluated on the criteria above, not writing ability. However, your response must be communicated clearly enough to permit valid judgment of your knowledge and skills. Your response must be your original work, written in your own words, and not copied or paraphrased from some other work.
Be sure to write about the assigned topic. Remember to review what you have written to ensure that you address all aspects of the assignment and make any changes you think will improve your response.
Select the start bold Next end bold button to continue.
Sample Pedagogical Content Knowledge Assignment
Competency 0005
Pedagogical Content Knowledge
start bold Use the information below and the exhibit provided to complete the assignment that follows. end bold
You are planning instruction for an Italian language class. Your instruction includes a specific learning goal aligned to the following New York State Learning Standard for Languages Other Than English.
Standard 1: Students will be able to use a language other than English for communication.
You will use the exhibit provided as part of your instruction. To view the exhibit, click the "Exhibit" button on the right above the response box.
Using your knowledge of Italian and your pedagogical knowledge related to teaching modern languages, write a response in English of approximately 400 to 600 words in which you:
- state the grade level (middle school or high school) of your instruction;
- state the NYS Checkpoint level (A, B, or C) that aligns to your instruction;
- identify a specific learning goal that aligns with the given standard and the grade level and NYS Checkpoint you have identified, and that relates to the given exhibit;
- provide a rationale for the learning goal you have identified;
- describe a research- or evidence-based instructional strategy or activity you would use to promote student achievement of the specified learning goal and explain how you would use the given exhibit to support your instruction; and
- describe an effective formative or summative assessment tool, strategy, or activity you would use to measure student achievement of the specified learning goal.
[The examinee will see the Exhibit button on screen:
]
To view the exhibit, the examinee will click the Exhibit button. The pop-up window can then be resized and/or repositioned on the screen so that the examinee can access the information while completing their response.
Exhibit
Employment opportunity webpage in Italian. The heading says Che tipo di lavoro ti piacerebbe fare? There are two columns at the top of the left column there is a clipart image of two men in business suites looking over a document the heading directly below the image says OFFERTE DI LAVORO then there is a site path > Home > Spazio Candidato > Login / Registrati then there is a button that says INSERIMENTO CV then there are 2 sections the first section says # 755-A COMMESSO/A CON LINGUE STRANIERE Modadonna S.p.A.—Milano Settore: Abbigliamento, tessile, moda Esperienza richiesta: Da 1 a 2 anni Lingue conosciute: Inglese—Ottimo; Francese, Tedesco, Spagnolo—Buono Tipo di contratto: Lavoro a tempo indeterminato then there is a link that says invia la tua candidature the next section in this first column says # 5725 CUOCO/A Ristorante Morini—Bologna Settore: Alberghiero Titolo di studio richiesto: Aiuto cuoco Esperienza richiesta: Minima di 5 anni Lingue conosciute: Inglese-parlato, Franceseparlato Tipo di contratto: Lavoro a tempo indeterminato then there is a link that says invia la tua candidature at the top of the second column there is an image of a lady sitting at a table with papers in front of her opposite another lady which looks to be an interview situation then there is a button that says La tua email then there are two sections, the first section says # V-487 PROGETTISTA ELETTRONICO JUNIOR Gregorio & Associati—Modena Settore: Informatica, IT Titolo di studio richiesto: Informatica Esperienza richiesta: Da 2 a 5 anni Tipo di contratto: Da definire then there is a link that says invia la tua candidatura the section section says # U-277 INSEGNANTE DI LINGUA Istituto di Istruzione Superiore—Forlė Titolo di studio richiesto: Laurea triennale/ Diploma universitario Esperienza richiesta: Da 3 a 5 anni Lingue conosciute: Francese—Ottimo Tipo di contratto: Lavoro a tempo indeterminato then there is a link that says invia la tua candidatura
CSA Images. Two Men Sitting. Collection: CSA Images. Getty Images.
Eric Audras. African American woman taking an interview of a woman. Collection: ONOKY. Getty Images
Sample Strong Response to Pedagogical Content Knowledge Assignment
I would use this exhibit in a high school Italian class at Checkpoint B. The specific learning goal is for students to use the future tense to speak and write about a future career interest. The exhibit would be one classroom resource to help students achieve this goal. The rationale for this goal is that students may be thinking about future career and college options and communicating about this topic is an important and relevant communicative function. The instructional strategy combines career vocabulary and creates a context for students to communicate about careers using the future tense.
Before presenting the exhibit to the class, I would use questions to activate prior learning about recently studied career vocabulary and academic fields in order to establish connections between the students' background vocabulary and the instruction. Questions in Italian might include: "Do you have a job now? What job do you have? What is the name of a job for a person that heals the sick?" Next, I would display the exhibit's question "Che tipo di lavoro ti piacerebbe?" on my Smart Board and have students work in pairs to practice asking and answering this question with a full sentence. A paired interview is an effective way to engage all the students in an activity and provides them with the opportunity to practice speaking and listening skills.
After the paired interview, students will receive a copy of the exhibit which is also displayed on the Smart Board. I would ask pre-reading questions about the format and general nature of the exhibit to ensure that everyone understands what type of document it is and to elicit predictions for what its content might be. Research on reading strategies shows that this type of pre-reading activity can improve reading comprehension skills.
Then, using the first ad on the page I would model a series of questions using the future tense about where the successful job candidate will work and what the employee will do at work. After asking questions orally, I would show the questions on the Smart Board and ask the class to answer the questions out loud.
I would then assign each pair of students one of the remaining ads. The pair's task would be to use the information provided in the ad to write one paragraph in the future tense describing where the successful job candidate will work and what the employee will do at work. Students will have approximately 10 minutes to complete this activity and produce one written paper per pair. Then each pair will be called upon to read their responses aloud.
Before the end of class I will conduct a review activity of the future verb tense to reinforce the verbs used during class and what those endings look and sound like. As an assessment tool to begin in class and be completed at home, each student will imagine being 10 years older. Students will compose a written paragraph of at least 10 sentences that describes a future career interest and uses the future tense. This assessment tool, similar to the paired activity, will ask students to write about where the student will work and what the student will do at work. Students may add additional sentences using the future tense to add reader interest and appeal to the assignment. The assessment tool is reflective of the work completed in class and applicable to individuals in a way that the ads may not have been. The students' work will demonstrate whether students can effectively use career related vocabulary and the future tense.
Performance Characteristics for Pedagogical Content Knowledge Assignment
The following characteristics guide the scoring of responses to the Pedagogical Content Knowledge assignment.
| COMPLETENESS | The degree to which the response addresses all parts of the assignment |
|---|---|
| ACCURACY | The degree to which the response demonstrates the relevant knowledge and skills accurately and effectively |
| DEPTH OF SUPPORT | The degree to which the response provides appropriate examples and details that demonstrate sound reasoning |
Score Scale for Pedagogical Content Knowledge Assignment
A score will be assigned to the response to the Pedagogical Content Knowledge assignment according to the following score scale.
| Score Point | Score Point Description |
|---|---|
| 4 | The "4" response reflects a thorough command of the relevant knowledge and skills. |
| 3 | The "3" response reflects a general command of the relevant knowledge and skills. |
| 2 | The "2" response reflects a partial command of the relevant knowledge and skills. |
| 1 | The "1" response reflects little or no command of the relevant knowledge and skills. |
| U | The response is unscorable because it is unrelated to the assigned topic or off-task, unreadable, written in a language other than English or contains an insufficient amount of original work to score. |
| B | No response. |