(1) The program requires that successful candidates:

(a) demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the major concepts, principles, theories, and research related to the development of children and young adolescents and apply these understandings to construct learning opportunities that support individual student development, acquisition of knowledge, and engagement in learning;

(b) demonstrate knowledge, understanding, and application of central concepts as outlined in the Montana Content Standards for students across grades K-8 and engage students in meaningful learning experiences that support students in meeting standards; 

(c) demonstrate and apply understandings of the elements of literacy that are critical for purposeful oral, print, and digital communication; apply knowledge in the areas of language, speaking and listening, reading and writing processes, literature, new literacies, and technology; include texts from and about American Indians and tribes in Montana; plan, implement, assess, and reflect on English/language arts and literacy instruction that promotes critical thinking and creates engagement; teach children how to read; recognize that there are major theories of reading, writing, and communication processes and development, including first and second literacy acquisition; and recognize the role of a heritage language in learning to listen, speak, read, and write in a new language;

(d) demonstrate knowledge, understanding, and application of the fundamental concepts of physical science, life science, earth and space sciences, and engineering design to design and implement developmentally appropriate inquiry lessons based in the history and nature of science, including tribal ways of knowing and scientific contributions related to tribes in Montana, to build student understanding for personal and social applications;

(e) demonstrate knowledge, understanding, and utilization/application of the major concepts and procedures that define number and operations in base ten, fractions, operations, algebraic thinking, geometry, measurement, data, ratios and proportional relationships, the number system, expressions and equations, statistics, data science, probability, and functions to engage elementary students in problem solving, reasoning, constructing arguments, communication, connections, and representation through culturally inclusive instruction, including tribal ways of knowing and lessons and examples relating to American Indians and tribes in Montana;

(f) demonstrate knowledge, understanding, and application of the major concepts and modes of inquiry from the social studies, including the use of original historic documents and sources, which include the integrated study of history, civics and government, geography, and economics, including personal financial literacy, to promote elementary students' abilities to make informed decisions as citizens of an interdependent and culturally diverse world that includes American Indians and tribes in Montana;

(g) demonstrate knowledge, understanding, and application of the content, functions, and achievements of dance, music, theater, media arts, and visual arts as an essential part of communication, inquiry, perspective, and engagement among elementary students, and culturally diverse performing and visual arts inclusive of the works of American Indian artists and art in Montana;

(h) demonstrate knowledge, understanding, and application of the major concepts in health education to create opportunities for students to develop and practice skills that contribute to good physical and mental health;

(i) demonstrate knowledge, understanding, and application of human movement and physical activity as central elements to foster students' active, healthy habits in order to promote mental well-being and enhanced quality of life;

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

(k) plan and implement instructional strategies based on knowledge of individual students, families, learning theory, content, connections across the curriculum, curricular goals, and community;

(l) demonstrate understanding of how elementary students, within different populations, including American Indians and tribes in Montana, differ in development and approaches to learning and demonstrate the ability to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of individual students;

(m) demonstrate knowledge of proven instructional strategies and use this knowledge to develop elementary students' ability to use critical thinking, problem solving, and current and emerging technologies;

(n) demonstrate knowledge and application of relationship building and developmentally appropriate behavior responses to create learning communities that foster active engagement in learning, self-motivation, self-discipline, and positive, healthy interactions;

(o) demonstrate knowledge and application of effective verbal, nonverbal, and media communication techniques in elementary learning environments to foster active inquiry, collaboration, and supportive interactions among students and transparency with students' families; and

(p) demonstrate knowledge and understanding of formative and summative assessments to support data-driven decision making to monitor student growth and ensure the continuous intellectual, social, emotional, and physical development of elementary students.