FEBRUARY / MARCH CONVERSATIONS

At the February meeting we began preparing you to make a video. We encourage you to film early and often - just for the practice. You might consider setting the camera up and keeping it up for a period of time. Pretty soon it becomes "invisible" to the class -they'll barely notice it. If you don't want the students to know if the camera is running or not, you might be able to put a piece of masking tape over the "ON" light to hide it from view.

Filming often (and viewing the results) serves two purposes: 1) It gives you a chance to "get over yourself". You'll eventually accept how you look, how you sound, and all the other little details that we criticize about ourselves; and 2) You really do learn a lot about your teaching. You'll get a sense of what it's like to be a student in your class; you'll begin to recognize what demonstrating the standards looks like in your teaching practice.

There is a good chance that, even though filming can be frustrating,
you'll see some improvement in the lessons once you are more comfortable with the filming process. The kids won't be the only ones to forget the camera is running. You will too and then the footage will seem more natural.

So, the homework for April 3 is as follows:

1) Within the video footage you take, find a 5 minute segment to share.

2) Fill out the "Finding Evidence of Rubric Concepts in a Video" form. You can use more than the 5 minute limit for this - use the entire lesson.

3) Read Proposition 5 that is found on page 5 of the "What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do (Resource H). This is a shortened version of the full Proposition 5 explanation found in your portfolio. It can be accessed by going to www.nbpts.org. Go to "For Candidates", find your certificate, download it and in the index you'll see the propositions listed.

4) Answer one of both of the following guiding questions:

• What experience, if any, have you had with analyzing your practice or the practice of others in this type of format (a video)?

• What benefits do you see for teaching (your practice) and learning (impact on students) through videotaping your practice?

REMINDER: The next meeting is April 3, 2008 and we will extend the meeting from 3:00 - 6:00PM. See you then!

January Thoughts - Analyzing Student Work

After analyzing student work at the Saturday class, we hope you are beginning to see the depth of analysis that National Board asks for in an entry - and how to write to the prompts. This month, please answer ONE of the following guiding questions:

1) What part does student work play in the planning and design of lessons in your classroom practice?

2) Based on the NBPTS Standards for your certificate area, what new things will you consider when analyzing student work?

Remember, responding to the blog, printing it out, and putting it in your binder are part of the homework requirements each month. You can go back to any month and respond if needed.

December Celebration Rah! Rah! Sis-Boom Bah! Day!

Dear Pre-Candidates,

I hope you enjoyed the December 6th gathering as much as I did. One goal was to let you know how much the leaders in our district value the National Board Certification process. We are very lucky to have so much support from our district leaders. For a long time, that was lacking and it is so gratifying to see the difference it has made. Hopefully, hearing from Dr. Baracy, Katy Cavanaugh, and Nancy Creighton Brown as well as Andi Fourlis and Dr. Anne Hanson helped you get a glimpse of the support that is available.

Hearing Kathy Wiebke is always inspiring. She is the voice of NBC in Arizona. Without Kathy none of us would have come so far, nor would there be the number of candidates, or level of support that exists now. And she is never satisfied with the status quo! She is always looking for more, new, and better ways to support candidates. If you decide to become a candidate, you will gain a new appreciation of her efforts.

I would love to hear what you took away from the celebration. What was helpful for you to learn or hear about? Did the gathering influence your feelings about National Board Certification? If so how? I hope you'll post a response to share.

I wish all of you a wonderful, safe, and healthy winter break. We will meet again on January 17, 2008.

Module 2 Sunday, October 7, 2007

The comments you wrote after the September meeting were thoughtful and inciteful. You demonstrated your expertise in getting to know your students! Now let's see how you can extend your thinking. This month we are concentrating on the sentence stem:


Because I know___ These are the Five Core Propositions

I do ___ These are the NBPTS Standards

which impacts student learning by____ This is the evidence of how learning is impacted based
on instructional decisions and planning


You apply your knowledge of students every day in your classrooms in order to design appropriate instructional experiences (lessons) and provide evidence of the Core Propositions and the NBPTS Standards in your daily classroom practice. Teachers recognize individual differences in their students and adjust their practice accordingly. Exemplary teachers have an understanding of how students develop and learn.

You have posted the sentence stem in your room to enccourage you to think about how this statement applies to your instuctional choices and decisions throughout the school day. You have been doing this automatically. The challenge now is to bring this decision-making process to the forefront - to become conscious of it and recognize how frequently you do it.

This month talk to each other using the sentence stem. Share a few examples of how you have applied this statement in your classroom recently. Feel free to respond to each other's comments.You aren't bragging - you are citing evidence - just as you will need to if you decide to become a candidate in the future.

Hello and welcome to the 2007-2008 Career Ladder Pre-Candidacy Class! Our goal for the first session was to begin to provide an overview of the process of National Board Certification and begin to gain an understanding of the Five Core Propositions which are the foundation for the Standards that accomplished teachers demonstrate in their practice. After each session you will find some discussion topics and/or guiding questions to consider. After responding print out a copy to keep in your binder as documentation. We would like each of you to respond at least once each month. Hopefully this will be an easy tool to enhance your understanding of the National Board Certification process. There are no right or wrong answers and we can learn a lot from each other! Just click on "comments" below to post your response(s).

CHOOSE ONE OR MORE TO RESPOND TO:

1) From what you know about the National Board Certification process, list some concerns or challenges you have about pursuing certification. What benefits might you see if you accept the challenges and rewards that come with pursuing National Board Certification.

2) Share some actions you take to get to know and understand your students as learners. Now stretch your thinking a little and describe what is important to know about your students when designing meaningful goals, lessons, strategies, and assessments for students.