Study Guide
Overview and Test Objectives
Field 135: Professional Knowledge and Skills (5–9)
Test Overview
| Format | Computer-based test (CBT) |
|---|---|
| Number of Questions | 50 multiple-choice questions |
| Time | 1 hour and 15 minutes* |
*Does not include 15-minute CBT tutorial
Test Objectives
| Subarea | Range of Objectives | Approximate Percentage of Questions on Test | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Learner-Centered Supports | 001–003 | 60 percent |
| 2 | Professional Knowledge and Strategic Partnerships | 004–005 | 40 percent |
Hover over each subarea for details of subtest content or see table above.
Sub area 1 60%, and Sub area 2 40%.
Subarea 1—Learner-Centered Supports
Objective 001—Middle Grades Learners
Includes:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the whole learner comprised of cognitive, physical, behavioral, social, and emotional needs of adolescents in grades 5–9.
- Demonstrate knowledge of how to purposefully incorporate approaches that are responsive to the unique abilities and development opportunities of the whole learner (e.g., cultural, racial, linguistic, religious, sexual orientation or identity, gendered, historic, socioeconomic) in grades 5–9 throughout all aspects of teaching and learning.
- Recognize the multiple influences on adolescent development (e.g., cultural, racial, linguistic, religious, sexual orientation or identity, gendered, historic, socioeconomic) and strategies for responding appropriately to these influences.
- Identify signs of trauma in adolescents and respond with trauma-informed and resiliency-informed instruction that promotes communication, safety, and a sense of belonging in the classroom.
- Apply knowledge of how to appropriately adjust instruction in response to emotional and social distress in the classroom through positive relationships with learners, families, guardians, and caregivers.
Objective 002—The Learning Environment
Includes:
- Apply knowledge of how to cultivate and manage an equitable student-centered classroom that leads to student empowerment/ownership, active engagement in exploration and learning, positive social interaction and behaviors, and an inclusive classroom community through norms, routines, restorative practices, and other nonpunitive measures.
- Apply knowledge of how to utilize individual and collaborative learning environments and how to incorporate and model for learners interpersonal and intrapersonal problem-solving techniques and strategies for conflict resolution to develop positive and supportive relationships.
- Apply knowledge of how to design and enact appropriate instruction (e.g., asset-based, inclusive instruction) that leverages the strengths and contributions of all learners, including the unique abilities, development opportunities, and instructional and behavioral goals of adolescents with disabilities.
- Demonstrate knowledge and application of a variety of strategies, instructional approaches, behavioral assessments, and positive behavioral interventions within the general education learning environment to promote the active engagement of all adolescents, including learners with disabilities, advanced learners, and culturally and linguistically diverse learners.
- Demonstrate knowledge and use of a variety of culturally and linguistically responsive strategies to provide equitable access for active engagement of English learners in classrooms.
- Acknowledge and identify strategies for reflecting on the impact of personal beliefs, biases, privileges, and experiences on the equitable interpretation of learner communication, behavior, and academic progress.
Objective 003—Instructional Practice
Includes:
- Demonstrate knowledge of how to evaluate and analyze available curriculum; adapt or design rigorous, standards-aligned lessons/curricula that reflect students' needs, assets, and interests; and connect the learners' languages, cultures, and experiences to learning.
- Apply knowledge of how to design rigorous, standards-based instruction aligned with curriculum that reflects learners' needs, assets, and interests and connects the learners' languages, cultures, and experiences to learning.
- Apply knowledge of how to design, manage, and implement standards-based content instruction to support English learners' successful engagement with the core curriculum while developing English language proficiency, content-area literacy, and academic content knowledge.
- Apply knowledge of how to design and enact appropriate instruction (e.g., equitable, asset-based, inclusive) that leverages the strengths and contributions of all learners, including the unique abilities, development opportunities, and instructional and behavioral goals of learners with disabilities.
- Demonstrate knowledge of how to integrate instructional technology, aligned with International Society for Technology in Education (I S T E) Standards for Students, to empower learners as knowledge constructors, creative and analytical thinkers, collaborators, and responsible digital citizens.
- Demonstrate knowledge of how to administer and analyze outcome-aligned, systematic, formative, summative, and standardized assessments and how to use and appropriately share assessment data with necessary stakeholders to monitor learners' progress, inform instruction, and provide timely and constructive feedback to learners and their families, guardians, and caregivers.
- Demonstrate knowledge of how to engage learners in using metacognitive strategies to reflect on their own learning and self-regulation, including self-assessment, self-reflection, feedback from others, and goal setting (e.g., aligning with I E Pees, 5 O 4 Plans, Personal Curricula, or other official goal documents) as part of the assessment process.
Subarea 2—Professional Knowledge and Strategic Partnerships
Objective 004—Ethics and Professional Growth
Includes:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (I D E A), the Americans with Disabilities Act (A D A), and the Michigan Administrative Rules for Special Education (M A R S E) by engaging in the procedural development, assessment, and enactment of Individualized Education Programs (I E Pees), including the multidisciplinary evaluation team process, and/or 5 O 4 Plans.
- Demonstrate knowledge of how to address the impact of curriculum, policies, processes, and practices on the education of all middle grades learners, with particular attention to removing barriers for historically underserved communities and social identity groups through culturally responsive curriculum, instruction, and advocacy.
- Apply knowledge of ethical practices aligned with professional and legal codes of conduct for educators, including but not limited to maintaining student and family privacy (in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act [F E R P A]), adhering to the Michigan Policy for the Emergency Use of Seclusion and Restraint and the Michigan Code of Educational Ethics.
- Apply knowledge of ethical practices aligned with state laws related to the responsibilities and rights of the teacher in reporting known or suspected abuse, neglect, or maltreatment, such as mandated reporting.
- Demonstrate knowledge of how to use reflective practices to design, monitor, and adapt instruction as a means for gauging professional growth.
- Demonstrate knowledge of how to engage in formal and informal ongoing professional learning opportunities that strengthen instructional practice, understanding of adolescent development, and student outcomes.
- Model responsible digital citizenship as outlined in I S T E Standards for Educators.
Objective 005—Strategic Partnerships
Includes:
- Identify valuable contributions and input that all families, guardians, caregivers, and community stakeholders provide for learners by engaging with them as partners and agents in their learners' education.
- Apply knowledge of the roles and responsibilities of school professionals and how to collaborate with and utilize resources to support learners, classroom instruction, and positive classroom climate and culture.
- Demonstrate knowledge of intentional collaborative approaches aimed at assisting a learner's unique social-emotional health, well-being, and academic growth through mutually beneficial partnerships with colleagues.
- Identify appropriate agencies and other resources in the larger community, in partnership with school resources, to support academic growth, social-emotional growth, and well-being of the whole learner.
- Demonstrate knowledge of how to use a variety of effective and appropriate communication strategies to create mutually beneficial relationships with students, families, guardians, caregivers, and community stakeholders that promote engagement, learning, and agency.
- Demonstrate knowledge of how to engage in intentional community and business partnerships beyond the school setting to support learners' interests, expose learning opportunities and skills not offered in the classroom, scaffold postsecondary education and college and career readiness, and develop pathways to the workforce.