(1) The program requires that successful candidates:

(a) demonstrate knowledge and understanding and use the major concepts, principles, theories, and research related to the development of children and young adolescents to construct learning opportunities that support individual students' development, acquisition of knowledge, and motivation;

(b) demonstrate knowledge and understanding and use the central concepts as outlined in Montana's student content and performance standards, tools of inquiry, and structures of content for students across grades K-8 and can engage students in meaningful learning experiences that develop students' competence in subject matter and skills for various developmental levels. Candidates:

(i) demonstrate a high level of competence in the use of English language arts and demonstrate knowledge, understanding, and use concepts from reading, language, literature, and child development to teach reading, writing, speaking, listening, and thinking skills, and to help students successfully apply their developing skills to many different situations, materials, and ideas;

(ii) demonstrate knowledge and understanding of and use the fundamental concepts in the subject matter of science, including physical, life, earth, and space sciences, as well as concepts in science and technology, science in personal and social perspectives, the history and nature of science, including American Indian scientific contributions, the unifying concepts of science, and the inquiry processes scientists use in discovery of new knowledge to build a base for scientific literacy;

(iii) demonstrate knowledge and understanding of and use the major concepts, procedures, and reasoning processes of mathematics that define number systems and number sense, geometry, measurement, statistics and probability, and algebra, in order to foster student understanding and use of patterns, quantities, and spatial relationships that can represent phenomena, solve problems, and deal with data;

(iv) demonstrate knowledge and understanding of and use the major concepts and modes of inquiry from the social studies, the integrated study of history, government, geography, economics, and an understanding of the social sciences (e.g., anthropology, archaeology, psychology, and sociology), and other related areas (e.g., humanities, law, philosophy, religion, mathematics, science, and technology), to promote students' abilities to make informed decisions as citizens of a culturally diverse democratic society and interdependent world, including meeting the requirements of 20-1-501, MCA;

(v) demonstrate knowledge and understanding of and use the content, functions, and achievements of dance, music, theater, and the several visual arts as primary media for communication, inquiry, and insight among students;

(vi) demonstrate knowledge and understanding of and use the comprehensive nature of students' physical, mental, and social well-being to create opportunities for student development and practice of skills that contribute to health enhancement; and

(vii) demonstrate knowledge and understanding of and use interdisciplinary connections to integrate subject matter contents, employing inclusive ideas and issues that engage students' ideas, interests, concerns, and experiences;

(c) plan and implement instruction based on knowledge of individual students, learning theory, subject matter, curricular goals, and community. Candidates:

(i) demonstrate understanding of how students, within different populations, including Montana American Indians, differ in their development and approaches to learning and create instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners;

(ii) demonstrate understanding of and use a variety of teaching routines and strategies that encourage students' development of critical thinking, problem solving, and performance skills, including the appropriate use of current and emerging technologies;

(iii) apply knowledge and understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior among students to develop active engagement in learning, self motivation, and positive interaction and to create supportive learning environments; and

(iv) apply knowledge and understanding of effective verbal, nonverbal, and electronic communication techniques to develop inquiry, collaboration, and supportive interaction;

(d) demonstrate knowledge and understanding of and use formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and ensure the continuous intellectual, social-emotional, and physical development of each student.