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An Educator 's Pedagogical Content Knowledge

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An educator 's pedagogical content knowledge is pivotal, especially since the ultimate goal is to educate his or her students. For example, Mr. Cataldo teaches high school English and Ms. Brown teaches high school health. Recently, Mr. Cataldo discovered that one of his students, Yvette, a high school junior, only studies for her exams that night before. Nonetheless, in his English II class, Mr. Cataldo also discovered that Jason, a sophomore, rarely completes the writing assignments. At the end of the school day, Mr. Cataldo encountered Ms. Brown in the teacher 's lounge and learned that one of her students, Blake is frequently disrupting her health class with his “jokes” and inappropriate comments. How can Mr. Cataldo and Ms. Brown …show more content…

How can Mr. Cataldo help Yvette improve her studying habits?
Junior year is a pivotal year for high school students, especially since it revolves around preparing for his or her college admissions process. For instance, juniors normally take the SAT or ACT exams at least once before the beginning of his or her senior year. Nonetheless, high school juniors tend to take advanced placement courses as well, mainly because it gives he or she the opportunity to earn college credits. Yvette, a high school junior has a habit of studying for her exams the night before—Mr. Cataldo recently discovered this. How can Mr. Cataldo help? Think about it: First, Mr. Cataldo must have a one-on-one conversation with Yvette and ask her why and how long has she been cramming for her exams. In order to help Yvette, Mr. Cataldo must first identify the problem, followed by using his pedagogical knowledge to develop a plan that can help Yvette. According to Dr. Klemm (2012), “Students may be forced to cram because they have procrastinated or did not have a regular, organized, and disciplined approach to study” (p. 1). Thus, it seems that Yvette needs help establishing a disciplined approach to studying—it begins in the classroom. When it comes to managing behavior, it is important for educators to understand that establishing conditions that fosters preferable

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