As teachers we are self-proclaimed life-long learners... or at least that is what I self-proclaim. We are constantly encouraging and guiding our students to learn and become well-rounded beings of the world but, are we adhering that to own purpose in life? So, with the recommendation of one of my District teaching mentors, and sitting through the Professional Development workshops on the topic I have decided to "walk the walk" and begin the journey of becoming a National Board Certified Teacher. The area/content I have settled on is Middle Childhood Generalist. I have my BA in Elementary Education, my Master's in Elementary Education so it was either pursue another Master's Degree with a focus on Reading Specialist, which I am finding is a position that in many districts are expendable, go forward for my Doctorate, which I really have nothing I want to write a thesis on at this time, or seek National Board Certification ... which I finally settled on. I am taking this journey with 3 other colleagues in my district, one who happens to be a close friend so I have the educational support, now it's just deciding where to start.
If you haven't looked into it, do and don't get intimidated. After a lot of dissection, discussion, and combing through the dialogue and expectations it is going to be quite a bit of work but, doable - definitely doable. There are 4 different elements to complete before you get the privilege of adding the title behind your name. The 1st element is a test with 3 constructed response questions and a series of selected response questions. The 2nd element is where you focus on your work with one or more students and how your instructions, strategies, and differentiation helped them improve and become more successful in the Writing/Literacy area for a specific period of time, for my specific area it is 3-4 weeks of instruction. The 3rd element is teaching practices in which you are videoed giving instruction at 2 different times and detailing the why, how, and what next to show planning and interaction/climate of your learning environment. Finally, the 4th element is a reflection of your teaching practices through the classroom, the school, and community; especially in a more leadership role.
This is going to be a GREAT undertaking but it is something I am really motivated to take part in.
No comments :
Post a Comment